Paris - March/1997
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| FRANCE II | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| The gardens of the Palais du Luxembourg (built in the 1600s and nowadays the seat of the French Senate) are especially beautiful in spring. It was the place we chose to "take our time", enjoy PARIS just like the parisiens do. That is: sit in front of the gardens, open a bottom of good french wine and enjoy it with a baguette and, of course, camembert cheese. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Picnic in the garde of the Palais du Luxembourg Paris - March/1997 |
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| The most famous Paris' museum is the Louvre. It was constructed around 1200 as a fortress and rebuilt in the mid-16th century as a royal palace, becoming a public museum in 1793. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Musee du Louvre - Paris - March/1997 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| It is humanly impossible to see all the preciosity of the museum in two or three days... it may take months to see it in its entirety. Undoubtedly, the Gioconda (Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa) is the Louvre's most famous work. Outside the museum, there is a contrast between the "gold" (the museum itself) and the "modern" - La Pyramid du Louvre, completed in 1990, which is now, the entrance of the museum. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sacre Coeur was also one of the points we visited in Paris. There is a direct contrast between the festive environment outside the Sacre Couer de Montmartre and the solemn environment within. The basilica is perched high above the city of Paris in its oldest neighborhood. Out in front, people relax and enjoy the view on several sets of steps leading down to a lookout with telescopes. At the base of one set of steps, an organ grinder plays and sings, while further down the hill a violinist plays as tourists take pictures of each other and the incredible view of the city. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Basilique du Sacre Coeur - Paris - March/1997 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| As visitors enter the basilica - designed in Romano-Byzantine style - they leave the outside commotion behind. The Sacred Heart basilica was built from 1875 to 1914 and was consecrated in 1919. The church withstood the bombing of Montmartre during World War II and a bomb set off in 1974. The faithful pray here day and night, year round. It is said that people were praying here even on the night Montmartre was bombed in April of 1944 when the stained-glass windows fell.The chapels of saints around both sides of the basilica are also worth a closer look. The crypt on the lower level contains less ornamentation but is worth a quick walk around. Also, from the Sacre Coeur, you can have an outstanding view of PARIS! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| see our visit to Versailles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||