Paris Arsenal
Seascapes Travel Log
Michael Grew
Wed 6 Jul 2011 20:44
Paris Arsenal 06.07.2011. 48:51:01N 02:22:13E
Awoke to a very cloudy sky with a forecast of rain for the day. (looked about right). We were going for a walk straight after breakfast but the rain beat us to it, so we read for an hour, until it looked a bit brighter. We took our macs with us to be on the safe side, but it brightened up steadily and we had a bit of blue sky and sunshine as well. We wandered up the side of the Seine to the Louvre and were very surprised that the queue to get in was at least 2-3 kilometres long! And we thought the queue to the Notre Dame was long. Needless to say we decided not to bother and to walk through the Tuileries gardens instead. They are really lovely, with ponds, fountains and statutes. There were hundreds and hundreds of tourists about all enjoying the sunshine. The gardens exit out on to the Place de la Concorde, where something was being planned for Bastille Day on the fourteenth. A huge covered grandstand had been erected in the centre and all the fountains and ponds around it were getting a spring clean with high pressure hoses. We bought a filled baguette from a stall and sat and ate it on a park bench and watched the world and his mate walk by, my goodness what a diverse collection of fashions were on display, from the sublime to the ridiculous. We wandered back through the gardens and watch some kids sailing miniature yachts on one of the ponds. The yachts were being hired out by the hour, by a vendor who had about twenty of them, on a trolley. How very enterprising of him! We then had a ride on the garden’s huge Ferris wheel (it’s just a bit smaller than the London Eye, but lot cheaper) and took aerial photographs of the Louvre and the gardens from the top. We then left the gardens and walked into the church of Saint-Eustache (1532). Yet another beautifully decorated church with huge soaring roof pillars and brightly painted side chapels. Lots of very famous people have been christened there, Richelieu (as in Cardinal Richelieu) and the future Marquees de Pompadour and Scaramouche to name just three. It also has a huge organ that would rival the one in the Albert Hall. We learnt that there was to be an organ recital that evening, had we have known earlier we would have attempted to get tickets. Ah well we haven’t done badly for entertainment so far so we shouldn’t complain. After we left the church we walked down one of the main streets and were very surprised to witness the full dress rehearsal for the military flypast of around 50 odd aircraft that flew right down the length of the road we were on, at a low level. Naturally lots of photographs were taken! Before returning to the boat we made a short detour into the local supermarket for food supplies. By the time we got back to the boat we were both very footsore and weary having walked a lot of miles for the second day in a row. I really do think we have seen all the main sights of Paris now. So when we leave tomorrow it will be without any regrets. After dinner I walked over to the Capitainerie’s office and used the WiFi facility to update the log. I don’t think there will be any more WiFi facilities after this, until we get to Rouen.
Paris Arsenal 05.07.2011. 48:51:01N 02:22:13E
We were up early today as Maureen had promised herself that we would get in the queue early to go up the tower of Notre Dame. We tried to do it last year but the queue was miles long and it was in a heat wave and there is no shade on that side of the church, so we gave it a miss. This year we were in the queue by 09:15hrs and only 40 or so people back from the entrance gate. But like last year the sun beat down mercilessly and after an hour and a quarter we were very relieved to be allowed inside the building. (it opens at 10:00hrs) By then the queue had lengthened so that the people at the end would not get in for at least another 3 hours or so. A Russian (or Eastern European) couple tried to jump the queue right behind us just as we were about to be admitted. They pushed in front of four young Americans, and although they pulled faces and muttered under their breath, didn’t say anything to stop the couple. I was very hot and irritable at this point, so as the couple went to move forward, I moved back, put my face in the males face and told him in no uncertain terms where the end of the queue was. The look of shock and horror on his face was worth a picture. I was pleased to hear several favourable comments from people around me. As I looked back a few minutes later I was amused to see the couple were still rooted to the spot with their mouths open and people in the queue going past laughing at them. To get to the top of the tower there are 400 spiral steps to negotiate. By the time we got on to the roof we were to say the least a little puffed and a bit damp, but boy was it worth it! You can see for miles (sorry kilometres!), a full 360 degrees of view and the strange gargoyles all round the roof are worth photographing. Having spent nearly an hour up the tower we then walked up to Sainte-Chapelle in the Palais de la Cite, which in the 10th to the 14th centuries was the residence and seat of royal power. The Palais housed the Conciergerie and the Chapel, which are now part of the Palace of Justice. The chapel houses the largest collection of medieval stained glass windows in Europe. They are absolutely stunning. At the end of the 14th century, King Charles V turned the Conciergerie from a palace into a prison. During the French Revolution in 1793-1795 the building was used to house the Tribunal Committee and was a prison. It was from here that the Royal family, Marie-Antoinette and 2,700 other people went to the guillotine. A fascinating but macabre place. (that’s it for the history lesson). By now the time was 14:30hrs and we had not had lunch, so we dropped into a Boulangerie and picked up some food and ate it on a bench in the main street. We then walked back to the boat hot, tired and footsore. After a couple of cold beers to revive the inner self we took the laptop over to the Capitainerie’s office and used the WiFi facility to read our E mails and to update the Mailasail website. Maureen washed all the bedding in the marina laundry and then after dinner we just lazed around until bedtime.