Paris!!

Gallery in the Louvre

Paris on Friday was a bit fast paced, but it was an opportunity to hit the highlights in a day.

We started with a two-hour dash in the Louvre. That may sound like a long time to some, but considering the size and the famous pieces that are in the Louvre, it's not much at all. On this trip I came across the Mona Lisa, The Winged Victory of Samothrace, Venus de Milo, and Liberty Leading the People, just to name a few. Although the Louvre is a huge tourist attraction the only way to really get the history while you're there is to take a guided tour or an audio tour in your native language. I kept trying to check out the placards to get more information on the piece to discover that it was all in French. You might be looking for pictures of these things, and they do exist but they are awfully fuzzy. There are two reasons for this: 1) You're not supposed to use a flash in the Louvre and 2) some were very difficult to get close to.

Once we regrouped, we were off on a tour bus that lets you hop on and hop off at various points around the city. Our destination was the Eiffel Tower, which took about an hour to get to, simply because the route is very circuitous. I was enjoying riding up top taking pictures of the sights. All of a sudden I looked to my left and there was the Eiffel Tower. Even though I was in Paris it was a bit of a surprise, and a reminder that I wasn't in London anymore. Once we stopped it's clear to see how large the structure is. I'm sure the view from the top is amazing, but there was no time on this trip.

Sandcastle along the Siene spotted
during the boat ride.

We hopped back on the bus and headed toward Notre Dame, where we were to catch a boat for a tour along the Siene. This had to have been my favorite part of the day. Riding along in the boat was breezy and there were more opportunities for fantastic pictures. Also, Dr. Everhart and her husband Harry had a surprise for us. They started passing out glasses and Harry popped bottles of Peach Champagne. (We must hunt this down for New Year's next year, it was delicious!). We rode along the Siene listening the tour in three languages and enjoying not trudging around with our full packs.

Following the ride was some free time. I walked around the outdoor stalls with Kalyca and was happy to see that some of them sold maps like one I picked up in Ireland. I didn't have much time to browse before we were due to meet up again for dinner.

Dinner was another best part of the day. We crowded into a restaurant that caters to groups. We each chose a starter, an entree, and a dessert and the wine, soda, or water was as much as we could drink. Wine tastes so much better in France.  All the food was delicious, but this was only the second full group dinner we have had. The first was within the first few days of our arrival. Now that everyone knew each other better, we spent hours eating, drinking and chatting. We were all very sad when Dr. Everhart said it was time for those not staying in Paris to head back.

After finding our hotel, the remaining group conked out for the night. We had all gotten up around 3:30am or so to make our way to Paris by train, which left at 5:25am. The excitement of spending the day in Paris (and the Eiffel Tower keychain salesmen, which I'll talk more about later), were enough to keep us all awake.

It was an extraordinary day in Paris and if I had left Friday, I would have an amazing memory to take with me. Luckily, I stayed so there are more amazing memories to share. There were also a few difficulties during the day. For example, we stopped at a little take-out bakery place to pick up a quick lunch for the bus ride, and when the woman told me my total, I had no idea what she was talking about. They seem to be used that, however, and she just pointed to the register so I would know what to hand over. The other thing is that it is much harder to determine what something really costs (to my American mind) in euros than in pounds, especially since I've been dealing with pounds for the last few weeks.

Viola! The Eiffel Tower


You may be asking yourself, why I've posted pictures of this twice with that title. During our boat ride, the guide explaining various points sent our attention to the Eiffel Tower using that exact phrase. She sounded bored though, as if she had just taken a moment and placed it there merely for our amusement and pleasure.

Library!

Today our group visited Platform 9 3/4 quarters and the British Library!

King's Cross Station is currently undergoing a renovation, so Platform 9 3/4 has (temporarily?) been moved up and out of the station. This assists with construction and the daily commute of many not having to deal with Harry Potter fans flocking to the placard. Hopefully, once King's Cross has been renovated, the platform will be returned to its rightful place.

The British Library, like many other sites of London, has more to offer than one can see in a time-limited capacity. Today our focus was on the Treasures Gallery and the Reading Rooms.  The Treasures Gallery gets its name because it holds many unique books and documents. I had a look at Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, A Gutenberg Bible, Shakespeare quartos, and a copy of the Magna Carta.

Although the library has these priceless pieces as part of its collection, it also has many modern titles in a broad range of categories. For example, when Cassie and I visited the Reading Rooms, one of her selections was The Art of Finding Nemo, and I pulled a book titled Cats in Books. My selection was actually a lot more interesting than I what I thought it would be; it covered the history of cats and where they are found in familiar titles through the ages.

The most interesting aspect of this library is that everything is library-use-only. You request your materials and read them in one of the many reading rooms available. You also have the option of asking them to hold the materials again for your next visit. The procedures for the Reading Rooms was a lot like using The Smather's Library at UF. You can only have the materials you need, like a notebook, laptop, and only a pencil. The difference at the British Library: you show your ID to enter, keep all your materials in a clear plastic bag (which is checked when you exit), and give your seat number to the desk so they know where to find you if the materials don't make it back.

I recognize that the British Library's purpose as a place of research rather than a place for recreation. As much as I enjoyed using my new British Library Card to access the reading rooms and taking a look at some materials from their collection, open libraries are definitely more my speed. I like the idea of individuals entering and browsing to find what happens to suit them at that particular moment in time.

I'll be incommunicado for a few days while I explore PARIS! See you on Monday.

Backtrack

Tonight, I'm going to back up a few days. Monday's blog consisted of information related to my video project, so I didn't relay the information of the day.  Monday's roaming included a trip to the Museum of London and an official inside tour of St. Paul's Cathedral.

Close up of the old leather fire hat.

The Museum of London could also be called the History Museum of London. It follows the city's history from before the Romans to the present. The museum houses artifacts, replicas, and popular culture items in eye catching and interesting displays. I also like that they had hands-on things to do throughout. Many of the informational placards had a (computer) mouse icon, meaning you could head to the nearest computer bank for more information. There were also hats and shoes to try on from Medieval times as well as trying out the old versus new fire helmets. 

Mexico having lunch in the park.

Next was lunch in St. Paul's Churchyard. This was favorite part of the day. After chowing down with my classmates, it was relaxing to stay in the park and people watch. My digital story from today has many of the covert pictures I snagged in the churchyard, including one couple that were enjoying each other more than their lunch.

I think the most interesting aspect of this is that it involves every type of person. There was a man in a suit napping nearby, families enjoying the day, along with various other groups and duos here and there. I imagine the impetus for lunching in the park is the result of the difference between dining in and getting take away at many of the popular lunch spots. For example, Pret A Manger's products cost more if you eat them in the store.

St. Paul's dome.

The last part of the day was visiting St. Paul's Cathedral. The cathedral and its history is incredibly vast and intriguing. Christopher Wren was inspired by the architecture and decoration in Catholic Churches, but was forbidden to include anything remotely Catholic in the cathedral.  Even though Wren never saw it as it looks today, it's been updated with decorations added to fulfill his full vision of the marvelous cathedral. He's buried in the crypt with a very simple stone marking the place. But really, what better monument could he have than St. Paul's?

I'll also mention briefly that I have seen three shows while vising London. They are Billy Elliot, The 39 Steps, and Anne Boleyn. I also have my ticket for Les Miserables next week (so excited!!) I have a post about the four shows in the works. Keep an eye out next week for my London Theatre experiences.

Parks

One of my favorite things about London is the various squares, parks, and churchyards that seem to be on every other corner. I can travel in either direction from my flat and hit a square: Bloomsbury to the left and Russell to the right.  When we visited St. Paul's we stopped and had our lunch in the chuchyard, along with many Londeners on their lunch breaks. Watching them socialize, nap, read or listen to music inspired this project.






The video features photographs from Russell Square, St. Paul's Cathedral Church Yard, and Regent's Park, though there are many others to be found in London.


This digital story features the song "Fun in D Major" composed by Tim Stevens. This song is used in its entirety with permission.

Daytrip

Today our group headed to Stonehenge and Salisbury. We had another Blue Badge Guide named Sean, though not the same Sean from before. He kept us awake with humor and interesting tidbits until we were out of London.

This was a completely different experience from our other tours. For one, we were never really in a rush. Sean gave some information on Stonehenge as we approached, then we were free to meander around the grounds. I grabbed a few shots from different angles, plus the obligatory "I'm-at-Stonehenge!" photo.

On the way to Salisbury, Sean described the three phases of Stonehenge. Stonehenge began as a set of holes that held wooden posts and ditches. At the next phase, there were fewer wooden posts and some of the holes had been used for cremation burial sites. Also, there is evidence of a wooden structure, though no ideas on what it looked like or what it was for are known. Finally, the last phase involves the stones that are still there today.  It's amazing that earlier generations had the ability to create such structures.

After climbing back aboard the coach, we made our way to Salisbury for a visit to Salisbury Cathedral. This tour was also different in that we were able to take pictures inside the cathedral. Other locations wouldn't allow photos at all (Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's), while some allowed photos without the flash (Museum of London and The Wallace Collection). They all have good reasons for their rules, but it was nice to be able to document parts of at least one of these beautiful churches.

When I visited Ireland, I felt that Londonderry was the quintessential Irish town. Salisbury is the English equivalent. Cassie, Angela, Aubrey and I found a nice pub, The Old Ale House, for lunch then found our way to the market (similar to a farmer's market) they hold on Tuesdays and Saturdays. It was a very nice place to pass the afternoon.

An interesting current event at Salisbury Cathedral was an installation of modern statues. It was an odd combination of old and new.  Below was the most interesting one I came across.