Paris: Je t’adore!

The next morning, the Simons took me to their local market where the smell of the cheeses and fish was enough to drive anyone crazy with hunger, and then it was back into Paris.

Musee Rodin: This was probably one of my favorite things to see. The house where Rodin had lived and worked was converted into a museum filled with mostly his works, as well as a room featuring sculptures by his mistress and some paintings that he had collected. I had never been exposed to his work before and found it absolutely awe-inspiring. He is probably the greatest sculptor ever. His works are so vivid and full of dynamic movement that it’s breath-taking to look at. One of his works that was scaled to life-size was so well done that critics initially brushed it off, saying it must be a mold and not actual sculpture.

Pictured, Young Girl with Roses on Hat (one of my favorites), the Gates of Hell, and the Kiss, one of his more famous works (The Thinker was also displayed here). The Gates of Hell is a depiction of Dante’s Inferno, and The Kiss is based on the story of Francesca and Paolo from the Inferno; shoutout to Junior Year Humanities Class with Fio!

   

Napoleon’s Tomb: Next we went to the Hotel des Invalides and the Eglise du Dome, which houses the remains of Napoleon Bonaparte (we actually walked here the first day but it was closed by that time, contributing to my extreme tiredness!). It was set up almost as a monument to him listing all his great works, and in the center was a massive coffin which I later learned was actually six coffins, each inside the other.

 

Notre Dame: This was probably my other favorite thing. The Notre Dame was so incredibly, amazingly awe-inspiring. It’s massive but at the same time light and airy. One can just imagine how it must have soared over all the tiny peasant huts that surrounded it back in the day. It took over a hundred years to build—can you imagine what it must have been like to work your whole life on something that you would never see the end of, or plan an arch to support x that wouldn’t be completed for another 40 years? The math involved would have been impressive. The cathedrals were the main centers of learning in medieval times, and many of the pictures, reliefs, and sculptures that decorate both inside and outside were meant to educate an illiterate public on the stories of the Bible. Some pictures of the interior and exterior that don’t really do it justice, followed by a picture of me nomming on a delicious crepe right outside the Notre Dame.

 

The remainder of the day we spent exploring the streets, window shopping, and occasionally popping into shops to drool over clothes I couldn’t possibly afford. The Parisians always dress impeccably stylishly, as evidenced by the shops. The Gap was completely different than Gap in America; no way would a store selling only basics survive in France, so they developed an entirely new line that looks way more Eurotrashy. The mannequins in all the windows were set up beautifully, just to walk by was to get a sense of the style, and an instant desire for that exact outfit. We went into the occasional shop for a peek—French women are tiny! Even if the clothes would have fit waist-wise, they would definitely be way too short on someone as tall as me. We drowned our sorrows over not being able to have the clothes with some macaroons—I’d never had them before and they were delicious, it did just the trick!

We went back to the house to chat, watch Rugby (England beat France, and I actually understood what was going on!), watch Gigi (actually a pretty creepy movie: man meets girl, treats girl as little sister, falls in love with girl so makes girl his courtesan, disgraces girl, then [because this movie was made in the 60s] marries girl), and eat the most delicious fish I’ve ever had. It was, again, another day filled with walking, so I was ready to sleep by the end of it.

That’s it for day two, check out the next post for day three!