Paris Day Three

This morning I was really excited because we were going to some of my very favorite things. First on the list was the little church of Saint Chappelle. It is this Little glass box of a church and is located across the street from Notre Dame. This part of the city is beautiful. Right next to the river. We went in and you enter below the chapel itself. You enter in what is more of what would be an apse. There was an alter and sort of Mini radiating chapels with Religious insignia in the little alcoves. The detail work in this chapel was incredible. I am not lying. Everything was hand painted in these beautiful red, blues and gold’s. Every surface was covered. The ceiling has ribbed vaulting with more Gold than any other color. The Effect was glorious. Even though there was little natural light in the room the reflecting of the gold from wall to wall had a fabulous warm glow on everything. Including the gift shop in the corner…leave it to the Catholic Church to make a profit in a house of the lord….right. Next you climb up these super narrow and teeny stairs to the most beautiful High Gothic Cathedral. It is so amazing. It takes the wind right out of you. Everywhere you look is stained glass in the most exquisite colors. Everything shimmers in the sun and you feel like you are being bathed in the light of a rainbow…as corny as that sounds. From left to right all around this little oval dome is stained glass. It tells the story of Christ and in the center over the Alter is the Passion. If you take the time to read them the pictures and attention to detail is really cool. The pictures do not do it justice…its definitely a Paris Must SEE!

Next on the list was the Pompidou. The Pompidou was designed by Richard Rogers, He is a famous architect and known for his flare for contemporary styles. He is one of the first architects to really awaken the modern bug in the city of Paris and is one of the most prestigious. The Pompidou ia a museum that houses modern art and temporary exhibits. They have one of the best gift shops I have ever seen. Everything was super cool. They had mini iconic chairs….like Le Corbusier and Mies Van der rohe chairs…LOVE IT! The modern art exhibit on the top floor of the Pompidou was my favorite part of it. We saw so many things I never thought I would see. Like original hand drawn plans by Eileen Gray, and Corbusier Furniture, Picassos, Braques, Monets, Manets, Gaugains, Degas, Marcel Duchamp, Miro, Chagalls, and so many many more. I felt like I was in art heaven. One of the best things about the Pompidou is the view from the top. You can see some of the greatest sights of Paris up close and personal. It is really great. The Escalators that take you up and down all the levels run on the outside of the building in a clear tube that enables you to see Paris as if you were coming up over ht horizon. Ha ha it makes you feel like the sun…all bright and shiny inside. Do IT!

We took a little break to have some lunch and I had a delicious ham cheese and egg crepe. It was so good and very cheesy. I also had a banana and sugar one for desert. Kylee and I shared…thrifty thrifty. We headed on foot over to something that I had been anticipating for a while. I could hardly contain my excitement because I knew how soon I would be in one of my very favorite spots ever. We exited the metro and right there front and center was Mecca. It was calling me home and I could not wait….THE LOUVRE!

We entered the courtyard and there was I.M.Pei’s Masterpiece. The glass pyramid which is the entrance to the Louvre. We took a couple photos and group shots and then we were let loose on the Louvre to see and do what we wanted to do. First we wandered through he medieval remainders of the Louvre. You can walk underneath the current Louvre in what would have been the medieval time’s moat. Very cool. We also wandered through Ancient Egypt and then through antiquity. We came up the stairs to my favorite thing in all the 30,000 years of art that I have studied she is the one that speaks to me the most, She is the one who stops my heart and brings a silent still tear to my eye in awe of her beauty. The Nike of Samothrace. Winged Victory. I am not really sure what it is about her that strikes me so. She is Incredible. Her arms and head are missing and somehow it becomes more beautiful to me this way. I feel like I can relate. I can put my arms and my head on her beautiful body. The way the drapery hangs and clings as if it is wet is so classical and right. I love that she speaks Greek things to me in her stature, stance and drapery. She is the canon of beauty for me. In a world where beauty is measured by the size of your skinny jeans and the sheen of your hair, she stands supreme with her healthy body and womanly curves. She is it. I love this work and I always will. This was my second time seeing her in my life and it was as good if not better than the first.

We continued through the Louvre and saw almost everything and I mean it. We had to practically run through some of the rooms to fit as much in as possible but it was worth it. Last time I was here with some friends who did not quite understand or care as much about art history as I do and I felt a little robbed in my first Louvre experience. This more than made up for it. I can’t even name everything I saw…that doesn’t mean I won’t try however. Venus de Milo, Palette of narmar, Ishtar Gate, Napoleon apartments Caravaggio, Rubens, le Brun, Turner, Clasical Sculpture, Raphael, Michelangelo, Mona Lisa, da Vinci, velasquez, Delacroix, degas, brughel, durer, pissaro, poussin, millet, Vermeer, van eyck,van der wyden, Ghirlandaio, giotto, altarpieces, oh man and so much more…it really is mecca. I once heard a statistic that said if youw ere to take 30 seconds to look at every piece of art in the Louvre it would take you 2 ½ weeks. DIVINE! I can only dream.

Well after like 6 ½ hours of the Louvre we were hungry. We decided to go over to my favorite little creperiesa on the Champs Elysses. It is super good. It is a little surprising as the interior is all wagon wheels and horses. Ha ha a little out of place but it doesn’t matter it’s worth it. I had Black German Sausage with apples and for Desert Susie and I split the Pistacio Crepe. They stuff an hot crepe with Ice cream and drizzle whip cream and caramel on top….BON JOUR! SO GOOD! We then headed over to the Eiffel Tower to decide if we wanted to climb to the top. We didn’t because we missed the cut off time. But man is that tower pretty at night. Especially how they make it sparkle! It is a shame because it would be a great night to go up the weather is perfect and the air is sweet. Well we headed home and got ready for bed… as you can see it was quite a long day and we are POOPED!