Originally posted at LiveJournal on Jun 29, 2009
Bonjour! It's Day 3 in Paris; and it is hot; hot; hot! And humid. One thing I've learned while traveling is to always have a super-size water bottle with me while sightseeing. And the computer keyboards are arranged differently in each country, to account for different letters and symbols, so it takes me a bit longer to write anything. Just a random little tidbit.
So far, we've seen all the major sights---the Eiffel Tower (the view from the top is incredible!! All the buildings look like clusters of Legos and dollhouses), the Louvre museum, the Arc de Triomphe...
There were a number of informal concerts going on under and around the Eiffel Tower yesterday, to honor Michael Jackson. There was also a demonstration to protest the Chinese government's persecution and torture of Falun Gong practitioners.
In the evening, we took the metro to Montmartre and climbed up to Sacre Coeur church, behind which is a great bohemian artists' village. We bought crepes and ice cream there, and I watched a man with a violin playing "Fiddler on the Roof" in front of an Irish pub. Finally, we walked over to the Moulin Rouge and took some pictures in front. It's an...interesting neighborhood around the Moulin Rouge. Lots of sex shops (including a giant building called the "Sexodrome"...
And now, for the moment morleigh13's been waiting for....(drumroll)....my brother and I took a guided tour of the Opera Garnier the first day we got to Paris. It was pretty fascinating; learning all about Charles Garnier and his process for building the opera. For instance, it was the first opera in Paris built with attention to detail and decoration, because each one before had been built hastily after the previous one was destroyed by fire. Garnier also built his opera with a lot of attention to its social function--people came as much (if not more) to show themselves off--"to see and be seen"--as to actually see the performances.
Also, there was a special secret carriage entrance built for the emperor, to protect him from assassination attempts. And the auditorium is large enough to fit the Arc de Triomphe!
The tour guide even mentioned a few Phantom related facts--there is no lake beneath the opera, only a cistern. And there are actually three Box 5's--one on each floor.
Not to worry, morleigh, you will get plenty more details (and pictures) when I get back :)
Last thing I'll mention is there's a great little bookstore near the Notre Dame cathedral; called Shakespeare and Company, which Samantha Brown had mentioned on the Travel Channel. Their website: www.shakespeareandcompany.com. I totally felt like Belle, from "Beauty and the Beast," or Rory from "Gilmore Girls" :) The upstairs has this little nook with a chair and desk, and an old typewriter; and in another room is window seat overlooking the street. A woman was sitting there, reading.
Tomorrow we're taking the train to a town outside Paris, where Van Gogh lived, and Wednesday we fly out to Vilnius, Lithuania.
Bonjour! It's Day 3 in Paris; and it is hot; hot; hot! And humid. One thing I've learned while traveling is to always have a super-size water bottle with me while sightseeing. And the computer keyboards are arranged differently in each country, to account for different letters and symbols, so it takes me a bit longer to write anything. Just a random little tidbit.
So far, we've seen all the major sights---the Eiffel Tower (the view from the top is incredible!! All the buildings look like clusters of Legos and dollhouses), the Louvre museum, the Arc de Triomphe...
There were a number of informal concerts going on under and around the Eiffel Tower yesterday, to honor Michael Jackson. There was also a demonstration to protest the Chinese government's persecution and torture of Falun Gong practitioners.
In the evening, we took the metro to Montmartre and climbed up to Sacre Coeur church, behind which is a great bohemian artists' village. We bought crepes and ice cream there, and I watched a man with a violin playing "Fiddler on the Roof" in front of an Irish pub. Finally, we walked over to the Moulin Rouge and took some pictures in front. It's an...interesting neighborhood around the Moulin Rouge. Lots of sex shops (including a giant building called the "Sexodrome"...
And now, for the moment morleigh13's been waiting for....(drumroll)....my brother and I took a guided tour of the Opera Garnier the first day we got to Paris. It was pretty fascinating; learning all about Charles Garnier and his process for building the opera. For instance, it was the first opera in Paris built with attention to detail and decoration, because each one before had been built hastily after the previous one was destroyed by fire. Garnier also built his opera with a lot of attention to its social function--people came as much (if not more) to show themselves off--"to see and be seen"--as to actually see the performances.
Also, there was a special secret carriage entrance built for the emperor, to protect him from assassination attempts. And the auditorium is large enough to fit the Arc de Triomphe!
The tour guide even mentioned a few Phantom related facts--there is no lake beneath the opera, only a cistern. And there are actually three Box 5's--one on each floor.
Not to worry, morleigh, you will get plenty more details (and pictures) when I get back :)
Last thing I'll mention is there's a great little bookstore near the Notre Dame cathedral; called Shakespeare and Company, which Samantha Brown had mentioned on the Travel Channel. Their website: www.shakespeareandcompany.com. I totally felt like Belle, from "Beauty and the Beast," or Rory from "Gilmore Girls" :) The upstairs has this little nook with a chair and desk, and an old typewriter; and in another room is window seat overlooking the street. A woman was sitting there, reading.
Tomorrow we're taking the train to a town outside Paris, where Van Gogh lived, and Wednesday we fly out to Vilnius, Lithuania.
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