Seine City

What a weekend...

After having spent two days simply trying to adjust to life in Paris, I decided that I would make like a tourist this weekend and start seeing the sights. The only problem is that there is SOOO much to see here, you can't do it all in one weekend. Unless of course you have the speed of Usain Bolt, and no desire whatsoever to actually appreciate what you are seeing. Luckily, I don't fit the bill for that sad lot...

Anyway, I decided to start my journey at Île de la Cité, the birthplace of Paris and home of le Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris. The Île is one of two islands on the river Seine, running right through the heart of the city. The island is one of the most historically-rich places in the entire city. Centuries ago, the river encouraged the Romans to establish a city in the area, where the Parisii people lived. Citizens later escaped to the Île with Saint Genevieve (now the patron saint of Paris) when the city was under attack by bloodthirsty Huns. Modern "Huns" can now be seen attacking the island in cargo shorts, sporting fanny packs, and taking countless photos. Seriously, if you combined the digital camera inventory for all the Best Buy stores in the US into one, you probably still wouldn't be able to match the number I saw in front of the cathedral.



After checking out the outside of the cathedral (too impatient to wait in the huge line to go inside), I slipped down a discreet staircase in the front lawn to the Crypte Archeologique. A sign at the door says that the Crypte is not a museum. It is not an art gallery. It is an archeological treasure. The non-museum is a site where the French have preserved centuries-old foundations, walls, cellars, and staircases -- all mere meters under the crowds in front of the cathedral. Even though it was a touch creepy, it was really amazing to see.


I finished up my little exploration of the Île de la Cité, hopped over to the sister island, Île St-Louis, then strolled up the bank of the Seine to the Musée du Louvre. I've always heard that it would take months to see everything in this huge museum, but I never really thought about how large of a building it would take to house a collection that big. Holy balls the Louvre is enormous.


Since I will be receiving a carte du Louvre shortly from IES (a card allowing me to go to the Louvre any time I like -- for FREE), and since the line to get in seemed to stretch for miles, I decided to stick to the outside. Which is still completely impressive. Next, I headed home to Chez Tardy to get ready for an evening at a local jazz club, only blocks away. I was having an awesome time with my friends from IES listening to some great music, but I had to cut the evening short. I had been feeling a little under the weather all day, s0 I guess going out was a bad idea. At least that's what my body told me.

The next day, I thought I'd take advantage of the first-Sunday-of-the-month-equals-free-museum deal they've got going here. The Musée d'Orsay would be my destination. From what I've heard, the museum feels a lot like someone took an old train station and decided to fill it with art from the 19th century (which is atually exactly what happened). Well, I didn't get to experience that, as I continued my campaign of going to famous sights, then being too impatient to wait in huge lines to actually go in. Once again, I made the rounds on the outside. I'm telling you, too many people take the architecture of museums for granted. There is just as much beauty in the wrapping paper as there is in the contents (if I may use a reminding-you-all-of-my-birthday metaphor).

If you'd like an example of a museum at which it is completely impossible to take the archecture for granted, just look at the Centre Georges Pompidou, home of the Musée National d'Art Moderne. Yeah, that's the inside-out building.

After my trip to the d'Orsay was shortened, I took a stroll through the Jardin des Tuileries and then headed to the Centre Pompidou. Man, I don't know what it is, but I just don't understand a lot of modern "art". I can't help but feeling like I could have drawn some of the pieces I found lining the walls of the gallery. But then again, some of it was awesome. So I guess I'm not a completely lost cause.

Having had my fill of walking and gallery-perusing, I headed back home for a nice dinner. Then it was off to bed before another round of IES orientation in the morning.

To see all my photos from my weekend excursions, click the links under "mes photos" to the left.