JULY 30-31: Notre Dame de Paris

So as my adventure comes to a close I decide to take a trip to Notre Dame de Paris. Yes this is the Notre Dame that inspired the story Hunchback of Notre Dame. So if you have read this blog from the very beginning you’ll know that I have already been here. But to make this post different from that I’ll share a bit of my time climbing Notre Dame and getting one of the best views of Paris.

Now climbing up Notre Dame may seem easy but that is a horrible lie. It is about 400 steps up and another 400 down. If you’ve been using a step climber for exercise come try out this prehistoric version. But making it up there is so worth it. The first thing you’ll notice is this incredible view. You can see so much from here.

Next comes the wonderful sculptures. This is where the gargoyles come in. They are so amazing. Its really spectacular how they all have such strange faces. Appearing as happy to sad to even in the moment of eating.

Also up there is a small room that houses 2 of the biggest bells I have ever seen. I still can’t comprehend how to make something so big and heavy ring.

If you get the chance to do this in Paris I highly recommend you do.

JULY 29: La Seine

Today we had a group dinner but the best part was taking a ride of the Seine. The Seine is a large river that runs through Paris. It is pretty amazing. I don't have much to say about it but here are some fun pictures while out on the water.

There was a super cool sailboat. We all decide that we could so sail it.

You also get a really nice view of the Eiffel Tower from the Seine.

JULY 28: Pompidou

Our stop today was at the Pompidou arts museum. The place is filled with recent and not so recent pieces of post-impressionism art that includes cubism and surrealism art. One of the most amazing facts about the building is that it has an outside (though enclosed) set of escalade stairs that take you to the different floors of the building.

Inside is just as amazing as the outside. The museum has a two floor part. The first floor of the museum is filled with not so new art. Piece such as Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse (my all time fav) are located here.

The second floor has new art dating all the way to current time period.

Furthermore the Pompidou also host different galleries (4 total if your wondering). My favorite galleries were the Beats Generation and Pierre Paulin exhibits.

The Beat Generation exhibit was all about the time of oppression that brought out art. They Beat Generation was also recognized as a beginning and major part of the “hippy” life. Something I found cool was these telephones. If you dialed a number a poem would be recited to you.

The Pierre Paulin was about furniture. Mostly chairs. While this doesn't seem interesting it actually was really cool. His furniture was a revolution at home decore and I recognize many pieces from the 60s to 80s time period. Also the chairs are super comfortable. (I did not sit on the display pieces only those allowed)

JULY 27: La Cinémathèque Française

Our location of the day was the La Cinémathèque Française. The place is an amazing library of films. The Cinémathèque was first pushed and started by Henri Langlois. Langlois and colleges started the Cinémathèque by collection every and any film they could. Todays collection reaches over 50,000 films.

Inside is also a museum of cameras, costumes, art, and more that all have to do with cinema. The museum was a personal project of Langlois that started with the donation of Georges Méliès’s personal items from his film making days. Inside today you can see some of his cameras. The donations came from friends or were purchased pieces. There are so many pieces that sections of the museum are changed to help showcase them all.

My all time favorite donation was of the mother’s mummified head from Alfred Hitchcock’s film Psycho. The best part is that Hitchcock didn’t tell them he was giving it to them. He just sent it through the post.

The history of the Cinémathèque is vast and would take a long time to share. But some of the cool things about it today are:

• The currently work with several film institutes across the world.
• They show around 9 films a day.
• The currently building of the Cinémathèque  was designed by Frank Gehry.

JULY 25: Claude Monet's home in Giverny

This morning started out with a train ride out to Giverny to see Claude Monet’s home and garden. Claude Monet is was born 1840 and died 1926. One of his most famous paintings, ‘the Blue Water Lilies’, hangs over in the Musée l'Orangerie, which Monet created to hold these paintings.

The house itself use to be a brewer and has always been the pink and green color seen there today. It was extended a few times by Monet but that is all.

Outside the house is filled with a giant garden. The street in front was originally paved by Monet himself as he complained that the dust kicked up from the cars ruined his flowers.

Over in his garden where the water lilies are located you can experience dozens of different types of plants. Monet had sent seeds and plants home frequently with instructions for the gardeners. He even had bamboo transported and grown.

The best highlight is seeing the art inspiring water lilies. They are truly beautiful and there are plenty of bridges and paths to see them from.

The entire place is very beautiful and filled with amazing flowers that smell like a dream. Monet created a very inspiring place to be.

JULY 24: Les Catacombes, Musée Rodin, and Le Tour de France

Today was a super exciting day. In the morning I headed out the catacomb of Paris. Even showing up early had us waiting 2 hours to get inside but it was definitely worth it if you very heating up due to the 80 degree weather.

The catacombs of Paris were created as the cemeteries were overflowing and due to poor burials they were also becoming a health hazard. The catacombs hold over 6 million remains and have stone plaques all spread through out with different warnings, thoughts, and pieces of poetry. The most famous being the one about the entry reading ‘Arrête! C'est ici l'empire de la Mort’ (“Stop! This is the Empire of the Dead”).

Once you pass this doorway all the remains from the cemetery come into view. Some are even structed into designs. One such was in the shape of a heart.

The plaques all over are just as interesting as the remains stacked in such designs. This one read at the bottom “C'est par la malice du démon que la mort et entre dans le monde” (It is by malice of the devil that death enters the world) *roughly translated*.

Also because the water that drips down there and the passing of life that travels through a mossy type growth has taken place on parts of the walls and bones.

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After the catacombs of Paris a few of us went to the Musée Rodin (Rodin Museum). There we saw famous pieces such as the Thinker (which sadly was partially blocked due to restoration work but there was a smaller version inside),

the Kiss,

And Dandïd.

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Lastly we went over and waited for Le Tour de France to make its appearance. We ended up waiting for nearly 3 hours but it was definitely worth it. We saw a small parade of sorts and got a great view of the cyclists coming in. (sorry I dont have pics of the cyclist but I do have videos that I will share when possible)

JULY 23: Musée du Louvre

I finally have made it to the Musée du Louvre (Louvre Museum). The Louvre is the world's largest museum and a national monument of Paris. The Louvre is originally a palace that was ordered to be built by King Phillip II. King Louis XIV moved to Versialle and the Louvre became more of a place to display royal collections. In 1793 the Louvre opened as a museum. It was closed in 1796 but reopened again in 1801. The Louvre today holds nearly 35,000 pieces of history.

On my adventure around the Louvre I visited some of their most prized pieces. I visited the Mona Lisa by Léonardo da Vinci,

the Great Sphinx of Tanis,

the statue of Aphrodite,

and the Winged Victory of Samothrace.

There were dozens of sections that I couldn’t get to see everything. A few of the sections I did visited included the Islam, Greek, Roman, and Egyptian collections.

I really enjoyed those of the greek and roman as they had many statues of the olympians and of the seasons.

Winter made me think of Minnesota.

JULY 22: Musée de la Préfecture de Police

An option visit today took me to the Musée de la Préfecture de Police (Museum of the Police Headquarters). Inside it holds artifacts and notes of the history of France’s, more specifically Paris’s police force. It shows different uniforms, toles from criminals, book entries, and letters.

There are strange things such as potted plants and books that were used as explosives, cases of knives, and little tidbits from the criminal sections.

For the actual police there are old books that use to be for record keeping, uniforms, and medals given to officers.

JULY 21: Musée d’Orsay

As a lover of art museums I had a wonderful day today getting to go to the Musée d’Orsay (Orsay Museum). A large majority of its pieces come from the Louvre. It is filled with art all from the Impressionism age. Its location is right next to the Seine and the building itself use to be an old train station.

Some of the piece of art shown there include Vincent Van Gogh's portrait,

a statue of a child Mozart,

and some ballerina/dancers art by Edgar Degas.

While the place had been remodeled in 2011 it still holds some of its original piece such as the giant clock overhanging the entrance inside. You can get a really nice view of it on the next level up.

JULY 19: Sacré Coeur

The trip of the day was going over to Montmartre to see the area and Le Sacré Coeur. The Montmartre area in paris is a giant hill that reaches about 130 meters high. The area has been home to many artist over the years. Some of the well known ones being Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh, and Claude Monet. Montmartre is also home of the well known “Le Chat Noir”, a famous nightclub.The area is highly decorated in art work all over which makes it a very interesting sight.

Montmartre is mostly known by the basilica that sits on top of the hill called Le Sacré Coeur. It started creation 1875 and finished by 1914. It is a Roman Catholic church and inside holds a large panel on the ceiling of sacred heart of Jesus.