Day Eleven – Ste Chapelle; Le Tour Eiffle
Monday March 12
We followed our usual morning routine of having cereal, fruit, and pastries for breakfast while Nicole got her beauty sleep, then around 11am we walked to her apartment.
Her apartment is on the tenth floor of the building on the right and enjoys a nice view of the city from her balcony, with Sacre le Coeur and the Eiffel Tower in the distance.
Paris is a great 'walking' city, and once again we'd be hoofing it. The popular attractions are reasonably close to most Metro stops. All you need is a comfortable pair of shoes, an umbrella, and two wallets.
First up we headed to the ‘American Café’, "Breakfast In America", set up like an American diner. The perfect place if you're a little homesick, and to carb up and enjoy a bottomless cup of coffee and chocolate chip pancakes. In France, the 'bottomless cup' of coffee is rare. Often I would see two people in a cafe, talking over empty, thimble sized cups of cappuccino.
After brunch, we bought our museum passes on the way to Luxemburg Palace and gardens. The passes could be purchased in two, four, or six day increments. We bought a four-day pass, which allowed us to skip the lines at many popular attractions, museums, and monuments. Those under age eighteen, like Logan, can show student ID and get in free, and Nicole, with her student pass got her admitted to many museums and attractions free, or at a reduced rate.
At Luxembourg Palace, since it was another beautiful day, we strolled the gardens and skipped going into the Palace. The gardens reminded me of the Louvre mall, decorated with beautiful statues throughout the property.
We continued our walk, which took us to Sainte Chapelle...
This church was built in 1240 to house relics of what were believed to be fragments of the true cross, and the crown of thorns. These were purchased by Saint Louis, (not Missouri), in Venice and Jerusalem in 1239 and 1241.
Sainte Chapelle features upper and lower chapels. In the lower part, the vaulted ceiling is painted to resemble star-filled heavens...
...and the floor contains tombstones covering the sepulchers of treasurers and reverends of the Sainte Chapelle. During the period of the monarchy, the lower chapel was reserved for palace staff.
The upper section, was reserved for the king, his friends and family, and for displaying the holy relics, and features complex compositions of stained glass under its vaulted ceiling. Sainte Chapelle suffered considerable damage during various calamities such as fire, flood, and the French Revolution, seeing the relics scattered, and much interior damage. Yet, about two thirds of the original six thousand square feet of stained glass remain, and the building was declared a historic national monument in 1862. After thirty years effort the was returned to it's original splendor in 1868.
While some of the relics were never to be found again, others are today kept in the treasure of Notre-Dame Cathedral and at the National Library.
Even though my camera lens was set at the widest possible angle and with my back against the opposing wall, I could barely capture one of these two story windows in my eyepiece.
No individual was recorded as the person who did the glasswork, but Pierre de Montreuil, who completed the facade Notre Dame, is sometimes mentioned in connection with Ste Chapelle.
A replica of this church was built in Chicago, Il, located at 103 E. Chestnut St.
We capped our day with a ride to the top of the Eiffel tower...
...after a forty minute wait in line. Then it was up, up, up, via elevator, over 1000 feet.
Access to three different levels to those with cash or credit. Sorry, no museum cards accepted.
Tomorrow it would be time to head indoors, rain or no. First up...Versailles!
Day One Travel To Iberia
Day Two Marbella
Day Three Mijas
Day Four Granada
Day Five Gibraltar
Day Six Ronda
Day Seven Marbella
Day Eight Paris
Day Nine Pere Lachaise
Day Ten Louvre mall; in Notre Dame
Day Twelve Versailles; Musee D'Orsay
Day Thirteen Louvre Musee
Day Fourteen Musee's D'Orsay, Rodin, Paris Modern Art
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