Parisian Pursuits (4): The Last of It For Now
On Wednesday, my last day in Paris, Susan didn't have any class so we got to spend the day together with her guidance of the city. On that day, we called it the Day of Perfect Timings, because everything seemed to fall in a convenient place that basically made our plans work out in the best way possible.
We woke up and headed out of her apartment early for our first stop of the day: the catacombs of Paris. The reason why it was first on our list was because Susan often bikes past it to go to school and always sees a HUGE line up there; so, we headed out and got there about 25 minutes before it opened where a small but manageable queue was present. It only took us about 20 minutes to actually get in and slowly walk ourselves deep into the cold undergrounds of Paris to have some time with six million skeletons in one of the world's largest graves. It was eerie, to be sure, but sombre as well to pace through the ossuaries with the tastefully written quotes that mark the different cemeteries the skeletons were moved from. It was definitely worth seeing as a one-time deal and it's really one of those really cool things in Paris.
(1) Entrance to the catacombs
(2) Entrance marking the start of ossuary; the quote translates to "Stop! The empire of death is here"
(3)(4) A couple snapshots of some of the skeletal remains within the ossuary
After the catacombs and noticing the huge queue that went around the block for it as we were leaving, we hopped onto the Metro to Trocadéro. Although I had been to Trocadéro already, it was only a nighttime, and I actually hadn't seen the Eiffel Tower from Trocadéro in the daytime. So we went there and took a crap ton of pictures for my sake (props to Susan for being the most patient guide and photographer!). To be standing at a lookout towards the Eiffel Tower in the daytime had the same magical effect it had for me when it sparkled at night, and again I was caught in a moment of surreal disbelief, not quite believing that I was there.
From there, we headed underneath the tower over to Champ de Mars for a different look at the tower and snapped a few more pictures there before heading in the direction of the Arc de Triomphe for a great view of Paris. Although there was minor dispute over whether or not we could get in for free (it didn't happen unfortunately), the view at the top of the Arc was unreal and the next time I go back to Paris I'd really like to go to the Arc at night for a different kind of view.
(5) The Eiffel Tower in the daytime
(7) View of the Eiffel Tower from the top of the Arc de Triomphe
Right after walking up and down the stairs of the Arc, we immediately just walked towards the street in front of us, which was none other than the famed Champs-Élysées with its luxury shops, restaurants, and cafes. Istopped into a bunch of the stores, from H&M (with the best deals I've ever seen at an H&M) to Lacoste to Zara (there's never enough Zara in Europe apparently) to Marks & Spencer (my first-time ever in one and I totally fell in love with it and want it present in my life all the time) to the macaron heaven that is Ladurée. I ended up buying a box of its macarons and they were hands down the best thing ever. I mean, I usually get macarons at the Sunday markets in Lyon but these were actually extraordinary, with such a rich filling that was just fan-freaking-tastic. SO good! I should also mention that the whole time I was on the street I was basically humming this song in my head.
(8) Walking along the famed Champs-Élysées
(9) Proud first-time buyer of Ladurée macarons
Walking all the way down the Champs-Élysées eventually brought us to the Place de la Concorde and in that moment we decided that we would walk through the Jardins de Tuileries to be able to go to the Louvre at four in the afternoon.
At first I wasn't considering of going to the Louvre at all during my time in Paris, but at the same time I did want to to simply cross it off my list. Then again, I knew that there was no way that I was going to be able to see the entire place and that if I did go, I would just hit up the main things to see -- mainly the Mona Lisa, Delacroix's La liberté guidant le peuple, Venus de Milo, and the Hammurabi Code (among other things). However, I'd noticed from my trip to Versailles that when I left at around 4pm, there were still people going in to the see the estate but there was no line up. I gleaned something from that, and what I gathered was that getting to a popular tourist attraction early isn't going to have you avoid huge queues; it's such a common misconception that people have about going to places, thinking that getting there early will be best, when in fact the best time to go is in the mid-afternoon when that morning horde of tourists begins to leave said place.
With this in mind, we had our fingers crossed that it wouldn't be too crowded at the Louvre, as when Susan picked up a friend who went to the Louvre at around noon once it was insanely crowded at max capacity of the courtyard of the museum. Thankfully when we got there, there was absolutely no queue whatsoever into the glass pyramid and as a bonus, we got it in for free with our European students cards and saved 12€! Thus, it was totally worth it to wander around the Louvre and to not have a gazillion people around; rather than the normal crowd of a million in front of the Mona Lisa, there were only about a group of 30 tourists spread out around the room in which the famed painting was placed behind glass and 20m away from its barrier along with two security guards in front of it in its bathroom mirror-sized shape. But it was definitely cool to see, and I got to take a selfie with Mona and took my time through the artwork, antiquities, and sculpture gardens in peace and in a way that was definitely not typical for most Parisian tourists. Talk about perfect timings!
(10) The rather sparse Louvre courtyard at four in the afternoon (which I now recommende as the best time to go)
(11) Selfie with my homegirl Mona Lisa holla
(12) Viva la vida: just kidding, I know that this painting is more than just a cover from a Coldplay album
After the Louvre, I was getting a little tired but I still had enough energy for some delicious galettes filled with tomato, egg, cheese, mushroom, and ham with Susan before taking in my last sights of Paris at night before having to leave the following morning. The very last place we went to before calling it a night was the one and only Shakespeare & Co. bookshop. Of course it's not the original one opened by Sylvia Beach and that was frequented by Hemingway, Joyce, and Ezra Pound, but rather one that has also seen its fair share of literary passer-bys with Allen Ginsberg, Henry Miller, and Anaïs Nin. Regardless, the premises left me in a sense of literary fangirling similar to what I felt while being Les Deux Magots. Browsing through the bookshop's shelves and going up the stairs to see that lovely famous quote written on the wall ("Be not inhospitable to strangers lest they be angels in disguise") made me feel at peace and at ease to be surrounded by one of the things I love most -- books. There was also a reading room called the Sylvia Beach Memorial Library as well as a piano room where strangers would come and go and play. We met some interesting and very talented players while we were there, and I couldn't have spent a better last night in Paris than one where I was amidst the shelves of Shakespeare & Co. with beautiful piano music. Absolute perfection.
(13) Literary fangirling over an antiquarian bookshop
I can honestly say that I had a wonderful first time in Paris and it was pretty much everything I ever imagined it to be. Of course there was no way you can see everything; that just simply means that I'm going to have to go back! Thankfully I have a friend there (who's going to be coming to see me in Lyon during the city's Fête des Lumières in December!) who is superb guide and (giggle) Metro master. However, at the same time I'm very glad to be living and studying in Lyon rather than Paris for a number of reasons -- better food, cheaper to live in, a cleaner Metro (I've gotta say that I was disgusted with the Parisian Metro), and just a better environment for practicing French (re: everyone in Paris think you're a tourist). But there's always something magical about Paris that has everyone wanting to go all the time, and I can't say that I disagree with that -- it truly is a unique and beautiful city with endless things to do. I'm looking forward to the next time I go there for sure!
Until then, I'm going to be hitting the books for school and then gearing up for Toussaint plans, meaning my Fall break at the end of October. I'll post about those travel plans soon!
