14

I suppose most would agree that a year living in France would not be complete without a trip to Paris. So I'm going to wrap up my travelogues with Paris. It's been a very interesting year of travel and I have found the people in the Alps to be extremely fun and friendly, natives as well as American friends I've met here. The Christmas lights are now glowing every night and residents have recovered from the Beaujolais Nouveau party that rocked the old town last week.

In 1968 I was glued to the TV broadcasts of the Winter Olympic Games from Grenoble. I never dreamed I'd have a chance to live here for a year and it should be apparent to anyone who has had the time and interest to read these emails that I have taken full advantage of this time. There are very few roads in the French Alps I have not traveled.

We caught the 7AM TGV for Paris after a short TRAM ride to le gare de Grenoble (yep, the train station). The TGV (literally: Train a Grand Vitesse i.e. train of great speed) reaches a top speed of 180 MPH when tracks and terrain allow. Three hours later we arrived at Paris' gare de Lyon, a short walk from the hotel. Well, it would have been a short walk but the internet map had placed the hotel about a mile from its actual location and

I never bothered to verify against my map of Paris. If you've ridden the TGV you'll know I'm not exaggerating when I say it is an almost perfect ride and the seating area is so quiet that you literally must whisper to keep your conversation private; or, you can speak English. This seemed to work well until we discovered the people across from us spoke (and understood) English perfectly--one person was from Philadelphia.

The three-day trip was to be a whirlwind tour of the typical tourist venues, and it was. I won't take the time to bore you with intricate details of each sight. Most are quite well known, but, if you don't get to Paris too often, the brief descriptions below will at least document some of the popular spots. If you have a question, just let me know.

The weather cooperated, fortunately, and we set out for one of the most beautiful, smaller churches in Paris. Sainte Etienne du Mont (right) is in the Latin Quarter and has a bright interior due to the light marble that is used throughout. It's not likely to be listed as a must-see, but if you get to Paris I would say it's worth the short trip up the hill from Notre Dame It's adjacent to the Pantheon.

Our route took us from the Pantheon, at the top of the Latin Quarter (on the Left Bank) down to the Seine and the islands, through Ile St Louis and onward to Ile de la Cite where Notre Dame Cathedral is located. It's difficult to get a good photo of the exterior of Notre Dame due to its size. Photo at right is taken from the Left Bank of the rear of Notre Dame but this is an interesting angle because it shows the flying buttresses that are used to support the tall dome of the church thus removing the need for internal supports. Only a portion of the stained glass in Notre Dame is original, dating back to the 14th century. The rest is much more recent, for various reasons.

The interior was even more difficult to photograph with my little digital camera but I have included my best full-view to try and give you a feel for the immense interior. The gargoyles protect the cathedral from evil spirits. But I got by 'em.

After a few more stops including the fantastic display of stained glass at Sainte Chapelle (right), the largest display of stained glass in the world, and older than Notre Dame's, we crossed the Pont Neuf bridge, the oldest bridge in Paris, and arrived at Place de la Concorde the site of over 1300 beheadings during the final decade of the 18th century (no photo).

After a stop for lunch in a cafe along the Champs-Elysees it was on to the Arc de Triomphe. Begun in 1806 by Napoleon, it has been a key setting for post-battle and post-war parades. To grasp the size of the monument notice the people on top.

Montmartre is an interesting area in the northern part of the city. The predominant landmark is the Sacre Couer (Sacred Heart) built just 100 years ago (right).

A short walk away is a popular but very touristy plaza called Place du Tertre. Built in the 14th century, and once a popular place to hang (by the neck that is), it is now a great spot for a cafe au lait (coffee with milk) or a biere while you watch artists paint overpriced scenes of Paris. (left) Montmartre is also the home of the Moulin Rouge.

A 20-minute ride on the Metro (subway) will bring you back to the Louvre museum (right). How to see the Louvre in two hours--a challenge. Obviously a viewing of the Mona Lisa was in order, as was the Venus de Milo and Winged Victory statues, and other Roman and Greek statues, but, given the short time we had we skipped by the thousands of paintings and instead toured the Napoleon staterooms (below).

A visit at dusk allowed us to view the Eiffel Tower during the day and night . The Tower was built in 1889 and, just this year, had the lighting system upgraded. They now twinkle from 8PM until midnight each night. The lights shown in photo 13 are the normal lighting.

That's it. Hope you enjoyed the stories and pictures from France. I sure enjoyed living them. And I'll be back, but not soon enough.