Sound Off Invades Europe
On June 14th, Molly and I arrived at Paris's Charles DeGaulle airport to begin our 16 day adventure in Europe. This is an account of our escapades. Please forgive the simplicity of this layout. It's my first tentative foray into the land of the Web. Feedback is welcome and encouraged. For a complete thumbnail list of the photographs, click here. Otherwise, you may access all the pictures by following the hyperlinks. For some personal reflections on our trip, check out the Journal section of the website. Hope you enjoy.
Wednesday, June 14th, 2000
We left Milwaukee at 10 in the morning yesterday and arrived approximately a full day later. We were predictably exhausted by the ordeal, but in fine spirits. I made my first mistake of the trip by paying 19FF for a Coke. I realized after the fact that that translates to almost $3! Oops. At least I learned from my mistake. Molly's friend Julie met us at the airport. She's an old friend of Molly's. Julie was an exchange student at Sussex Hamilton High School, where Molly went to school. They stayed in contact and Julie most graciously offered to take us under her Parisian wing for a portion of our stay. We took the Metro to her Uncle's apartment in the 19th Arrondissement. It's a lovely place on the 7th floor, overlooking a canal. The apartment is absurdly small, but also amazingly functional. There are only two rooms, a kitchen and a bedroom. Many apartments in Paris are small. It's the opposite of the United States. Those who can afford it live in the city, while the poorer folks live in the suburbs. We unloaded all of our stuff and headed out to begin our adventures in Paris. We wandered a bit around the area of her uncle's apartment. We walked to the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, which is a park created by Napoleon III. It seems that while he was in exile in England, Napoleon III became quite enchanted with English gardens. The park is all man-made, even down to the fake rocks and cliffs that tower over the surrounding grassy areas. A waterfall and a small lake was also created. The waterfall is quaintly tucked away in a small cave, filled with fake stalactites. At the top of the cliff is a Roman temple that affords a very nice view of the surrounding area, although the hike to the top took something out of us after traveling all day.
Thursday, June 15th, 2000
Julie went out to the Boulangerie and picked up a baguette and some jam and strawberries for breakfast. This became something of a morning tradition for us as the trip went on. We walked to the Basilique Du Sacré-Coeur. For anyone who has ever been there, the most memorable thing seems to be the insane number of steps to the top. Located in the heart of Montmarte, Sacré-Coeur isn't so much visited as climbed. It can be seen from all over Paris. It's built on the site of the birthplace of the Commune. Built in 1873 by the existing Catholic establishment, Sacré-Coeur is supposed to be in memory of the fact that these same Catholics, under the Thiers Government, massacred thousands of Communards after the civil war. Oops. Inside the Basilica, there are some really cool mosaics and down in the crypt there's a relic that some believe to be a piece of the sacred heart of Christ. Plus there's an amazing view of Paris from Sacré-Coeur.
From here we walked a bit around Montmarte. I was excited to run across the Lapin Agile Cabaret. It's a really old tavern/cabaret which was visited by Verlaine, Renoir, Max Jacob and Picasso (who had one of his studios nearby). Near the Lapin Agile we found a small park tucked away between a few buildings. In the park there was a statue of St. Denis, Paris's first bishop and martyr. St. Denis was martyred by being beheaded by the Romans for spreading Christianity in 260 A.D.. This act gave Montmarte its name, "Mount of the Martyr". After he was beheaded, it was said that he carried his head and walked North. Tough guy. But that's why he's often portrayed as holding his head in his hands. Anyway, it's a cool statue.
We walked back down Montmarte, to visit a cool Haitian exhibit. Lots of really cool and creepy art. There were also some really excellent photo essays of Haitian life and religious practice. Unfortunately for us, all of the descriptions were in French. Included in the exhibit were some great pieces by New York native Basquiat, who was made famous by Andy Warhol. After touring the museum, we enjoyed some great Indian food, then took the Metro to the First Arrondissement in the center of the City, where we got our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower. Molly and I took a ride on a giant ferris wheel (the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel) in the Place De La Concorde, which afforded us a cool view of the city. We then wandered through the Jardin Des Tuileris, a pretty cool park, and past the Louvre. We then strolled down the walkways along the Seine, looking at some of the beautiful and justifiably famous bridges. We arrived (completely exhausted) at Nôtre-Dame. The stained glass inside the Cathedral is amazing. Looked at the gargoyles and flying buttresses a bit, then stumbled back to the apartment, where Julie served up some homemade crepes for dinner. We returned to Nôtre-Dame later in our trip, stay tuned.
Friday, June 16, 2000
After the previous day of walking, it took us until about ten a.m. to get moving again. It was a big, bright, sunny day, and Julie took us by Metro to a Jazz Festival near the Grande Arche. It's in the business section of downtown Paris. We were surrounded by tall buildings and acres of concrete. There was a good band playing, and a wonderful mix of people enjoying the music. Unfortunately, there was also no shade, so we sat and baked on the concrete. After the concert we took the Metro to Gard du Nord to seek out some caffeine. There's also a crazy underground mall at the Gard du Nord. More about that later. Julie left with her friend Bridgette, leaving Molly and I to venture out into the city solo for the first time. We took the Metro to visit the Catacombs. This was a truly creepy experience. You enter under a small awning and pay your 33FF for entrance, then descend. And descend. When you begin to get a bit concerned about exactly how far down you're actually going, you reach the bottom. The floors are covered with gravel and you begin to walk along low and narrow passages. The entire route is almost 2 km long. At first you see nothing, only damp walls. But it certainly sets a tone. The catacombs were first excavated to provide stone for building the city. Excavation stopped when the Left Bank was in danger of caving in on itself. You enter the Catacombs under a sign which says (in French) "Stop! Beyond here is the Empire of Death". The Catacombs are stacked with bones. Femurs, skulls, all manner of bones, neatly organized and everywhere. It just goes on and on and on. There are even street names, and signs in French reminding visitors of the brevity of life. Signs also designate when the bones were placed there. I can't really describe the place. It really has to be experienced. You emerge almost 2 km later feeling a bit dazed at an exit with no designation, in the middle of a block of a street that's not marked. Weird. We strolled around a bit to shake off the creeps and regain our bearings, finding ourselves on Gen. Charles de Gaulle Boulevard. We took the Metro back to the apartment, where I felt feeling a bit sick. We met Julie's uncle and her Mom and Step-Dad who drove all of us back to Julie's father's house in Burgundy. I was feeling quite awful, and the car trip was scary, through all the twists and turns of Paris. We had dinner at a very nice restaurant, but all I could think of doing was getting into a bed. I spent much of the meal in the bathroom vomiting.
Saturday, June 17, 2000
By the morning I was feeling a little bit better. At least I convinced myself of that fact. I got the chance to look around the house and the surrounding area, and it was beautiful. Julie drove us into the neighboring village of Avallón to go to the market. We enjoyed wandering around the narrow cobbled streets and had coffee and eclairs. My mind also succumbed to my body and I got completely sick. My head was pounding, I was nauseous and I had quite the fever. Yes, one of my true full-blown migraines had arrived. Oh joy. I rested in our room for awhile, then managed to pull myself together enough to drive Molly and myself to a small elementary schoolhouse where a one-man play was being performed. It was wonderful. The play was called "Le Tigre", and the actor was fantastic, engaging the small children and having them screaming and jumping up and down. When we returned to the house, I collapsed into bed once again while Julie drove off to pick up her friend Emma Jane from the train station. Emma Jane is an old friend of Julie's from England. I end up skipping dinner, and spending all of my precious time in bed. That evening I decide that enough is enough and wind up visiting the hospital in Vézelay. They confirm that it's a migraine, brought on by the sunlight. They give me codeine and order me off to bed. That suited me just fine.
Sunday, June 18, 2000
I spend the day rolling around the bed in pain. I'm frustrated because I can't get up and explore the countryside. Julie, Molly and Emma Jane travel to see the ancient church and visit a cafe near the Cure River. I lie in bed, groaning occasionally.
Monday, June 19, 2000
Recovery. I finally begin to feel better. Julie drove the rest of us to her Grandmother's land on a beautifully secluded lake far in the middle of France. It is beautiful country. When we return, I am very excited that my appetite has returned. Julie makes Molly and I omelettes and potatoes. I am happy. The family eats all of their meals outside, and meals are an event. It is a pleasant experience to share.
Tuesday, June 20, 2000
It was time for us to leave Julie and Burgundy. Julie drove us to the train station and we were off on our own. We took the train to Paris, then (after some confusion) caught the Eurostar to London. The scenery was nice, and we passed through the Chunnel. We arrived in London without a place to stay. We decided to pay to get a registration at a local hotel. I'm glad we did. It minimized any hassle and we were comforted by the fact that we had a place to stay for the evening. Finding our hotel however proved to be a rather trying undertaking. We were staying at the Elizabeth Hotel in Westminster. It's located on Eccleston Square, which you would think is on Eccleston Street. Not so. It's around the corner, and past the park. Once we found it we settled in and were very happy with our new home. Turns out the Elizabeth is only 3 doors down from where Winston Churchill grew up. After dropping off our things we went in search of food and found "O Sole Mio". Dumb name, great Italian restaurant. We were happy. The streets were empty because England was playing Romania in the EuroCup. We caught the end of the game at St. George's Pub, where we were immediately made to feel like Londoners by folks who cheered on their team (C'mon Lads!) and patted us on the back excitedly. Unfortunately, England lost the match and was tossed out of the Cup. This led to much dismay among our newly found friends, and some rather inebriated patrons were found sobbing on the curb. Poor lads.
Wednesday, June 21, 2000
The Elizabeth served free breakfast, so we got up just early enough to start our day with eggs, toast, tea and cereal. Then we started walking. Seems like we were always walking on this trip. We walked past Victoria Station to Westminster Cathedral. We walked through the Cathedral which looks like a giant candy cane, and were impressed by the stained glass windows. The Cathedral is the present day home of the Roman Catholic Church in Britain.
We continued our walk with a trip to Westminster Abbey, which is quite impressive. With the exception of Edward V and Edward VIII, every sovereign of England has been crowned there since William the Conqueror in 1066. That's quite a track record. And after they're crowned, they get buried there as well. All the monarchs from Henry III (who died in 1272) to one of our American faves, George II (1760) were buried here. Since the death of George III however, they've been laid to rest in St. George's Chapel in Windsor (which we visit later in our trip). Kind of like a royal death tour. Westminster Abbey is loaded with history, and it's interesting to see how the nobles are portrayed in such glowing and loving terms. My knowledge of many of them is as ruthless, tyrannical despots. Yet here they're lovingly portrayed as protectors of their people. Interesting. Queen Elizabeth's tomb is here, as is her half-sister "Bloody Mary". Henry III, Henry V, Henry VII, they're all there as well. There's a plaque designating where Oliver Cromwell's body laid...that is until it was disinterred, hanged at Tyburn and beheaded. Such is the course of history. Lots of history in this case. The stained glass is magnificent, particularly in the Chapel of St. Edward the Confessor. There's even a Royal Air Force Chapel with a Battle of Britain stained glass window. The whole building is steeped in history. The Westminster Abbey website is: www.westminster-abbey.org
From Westminster Abbey we walked to Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, then over the Thames. On the other side of the Thames we found the County Hall was holding an exhibit of Dalí's work. He's probably my favorite artist, so naturally I was very excited. The exhibit didn't disappoint me at all. It was wonderfully done, with some amazing pieces. I bought a book. You should look at it. Really. It's neat. Or you could check out the website: www.daliuniverse.com
Walking walking walking... Back over the Thames, then along Whitehall. We passed No. 10 Downing St., but Mr. Blair wasn't home. We passed the Banqueting House, which is all that's left of the old Tudor Whitehall Palace and is now surrounded by huge, nasty, sharp looking wire. And we passed the Ministry of Defense. We ended our long trek at Trafalgar Square. It's much smaller than I imagined it. It's also filled to the brim with pigeons. In the middle of the square is Nelson's column. commemorating Admiral Nelson's victory over Napoleon off of Cape Trafalgar in 1805 (thus giving tourists like ourselves a reason to visit the spot, and a place for pigeons to annoy said tourists). Off of Trafalgar Square we had coffee and snacks at Cafe in the Crypt. Which is exactly what is sounds like, a cafe in a honest to goodness 17th Century crypt. We ate dry chocolate chip muffins in the crypt. Then, giving our much complaining feet a break, we took a bus back to the hotel for rest. Later that evening we had a lovely dinner at Jenny Lo's Tea House (I recommend it), and turned in for the evening. Quite a day.
Thursday, June 22, 2000
We started our day with breakfast at the hotel, then once again put our legs to work. This time we walked the opposite direction from our hotel. We strolled along Hyde Park, where we saw the Horse Guard pass in procession. We paused to look at the Albert Memorial, then strode along past the Imperial College to gaze at Royal Albert Hall, which was under construction. Our goal was the Natural History Museum. The museum is very nice. Its exhibits are well laid out, and I enjoyed our visit. There wasn't any particular portion of the museum that really moved me, but taken altogether, it was a neat place. The website for the Natural History Museum is www.nhm.ac.uk We had lunch, then took the tube to Victoria Station and back to the apartment to read and rest before returning to "O Sole Mio" for dinner.
Friday, June 23, 2000
We slept in and let our poor weary bodies relax for a bit before heading out once again. We found a lovely deli near our hotel and had delicious subs for breakfast/lunch. We walked to Victoria Station where we found a bus that would take us to Windsor. Windsor Castle is enormous. It's surrounded by lots of little tourist shops, but once you walk for a bit, you find yourself in a nice little commercial area with plenty of restaurants and tiny specialty shops. Parts of Windsor Castle were closed because the Queen was throwing a little party, but we enjoyed most of the grounds. Windsor Castle started out as a wooden castle in 1070 and has been built and rebuilt ever since. It was originally built for William the Conqueror to guard the western approach to London. On the grounds is Queen Mary's Doll House. It was built in 1921, and is huge, built by 1500 craftsmen and has remarkable detail. We also walked through St. George's Chapel. It was built by Edward IV in 1475. The Chapel contains the royal tombs of George V and Queen Mary, George VI, and Edward IV. All the big royal stars since they stopped burying them in Westminster Abbey. From Windsor Castle, you can see Eton Prep School, where Princes William and Harry go to school. We had dinner at Francesco's, a neat little pizza place in Windsor before heading home to our hotel. Once we returned to our room, it was my delight to discover that it was Simpson's night on one of the three channels we received in our room. Happy day! I was pleased. After the conclusion of Simpson's Night we went out to a pub before Molly taught me how to play rummy. Then proceeded to trounce me soundly.
The Official Royal website is: www.royal.gov.uk
Saturday, June 24, 2000
We woke up in time to have breakfast, then headed out for the British Museum. There's no better way to describe it than in Molly's words: "it's big and full of stuff". It's main focus is on Roman, Greek and Egyptian art and history, but I found the Tibetan and Indian artifacts amazing as well. It was a fairly daunting task for us to attempt to see all that interested us, but attempt we did. And to a large extent we succeeded. We perused the Elgin Marbles, taken from the walls of the Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens by Lord Elgin in 1801 to 1806. Stinkin' thievin' Brits. There were also figures and statues taken from the portico of the Erechtheion in Athens, and sculptures from the Mausoleum of Halicanassus, and the Themple of Artemis at Ephesus. It was amazing to finally look upon the famed Rosetta Stone in person. There's just too much to relate. We spent almost the entire day in the museum. The Lindow Man, a poor lad from the Iron Age who got bashed in the head with a narrow axe then garrotted and landed in a peat bog which preserved him almost perfectly is now on display for all of us tourists to gawk at. There's also the finds from the Sutton Hoo, and Anglo-Saxon burial ship. The list is almost endless. Wow. The British Museum's website is: www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk
After spending the day at the British Museum we hauled ourselves back to the hotel to rest a bit before venturing out for some chips.
Sunday, June 25, 2000
Woke up and enjoyed our last free breakfast of the trip. We hauled our big ole packs to Victoria Station where we took the tube to Waterloo Station. Molly grabs an iced latté at the station to successfully spend the last of our English pounds. And we're off to Paris once again. This time without the benefit of Julie as our chaperone. When we arrive at Gard du Nord Station in Paris we begin to get a bit nervous. Here we are in Paris and we have no idea where we're going to spend the night. We solved the problem in London by finding a booth which finds housing for tourists such as ourselves. In Gard du Nord there is no such booth. A lady who books tours told us we needed to go to the Tourism office, which just happened to be across town. We jumped on the Metro to Charles De Gaulle Étoile Station. We emerged from the Station feeling even more nervous, but in the shadow of the Arc de Triomphe. Okay, so you know about the Arc de Triomphe, it's a monument to France's military victories. Started by Napoleon in 1805, he was exiled before it was completed, but Louis XVIII ordered its completion and dedicated it to the war on Spain in 1823. The Arc marks the end of the Champ-Elysées. The Champ-Elysées is a big fancy boulevard loaded with all sorts of fancy nightclubs and places I wouldn't want to shop. Anyway, we still didn't have a place to stay, so we wandered about trying to find this Office of Tourism. Found it. Closed. Damn. I found a possible hotel listed in our ever trusty "Let's Go" guide and we lugged our luggage off in search of it. We found it. They had an opening. Fantastic. But only for one evening. Oh well. We were happy to have it. We unloaded our things and set back out on the streets in search of food and feeling better about the world in general. We walked down the Champ-Elysées and gazed at the Arc de Triomphe. We also attempted to figure out how to use the damn payphones. Turns out you need to buy a card. So we buy a card and commence to call about ten different hotels, all full. We finally found one that was available, and we jumped at it. Turns out our luck continued, as it turned out to be a pretty nice place to stay.
Monday, June 26, 2000
Woke up and headed to check in at our new hotel. By this point we've had just about enough of toting our heavy luggage, but we arrive without any difficulty at our new temporary home. The hotel is called the Hotel Du Centre, and sure enough, it's right in the center of everything. The location is tremendous. And it's cheap! Only came out to about $45 a night. If we craned our necks out of our window, we could see Êglise De St. Eustache. It is beautiful on the outside, but the interior needs some fixing up. There was still some impressive stained glass in the church, but what grabbed my interest was the history. It is named after Eustache (Eustatius), a Roman general who adopted Christianity after seeing the sign of the cross between the antlers of a deer. As punishment for his conversion, the Romans locked him and his family in a giant brass bull that was then placed over a fire until it became white hot. Yikes. The construction of the church began in 1532. Pretty old. Richelieu and Moliére were baptized here, and Mozart chose to have his mother's funeral here.
The area around the Church (and where we were staying in the 3rd Arrondisement) is called Les Halles. It was a huge food market created in 1135. Now it's home to lots and lots of restaurants, a giant sprawling subterranean shopping mall (Forum des Halles, sporting 3 movie theaters and over 200 stores holding very little of interest), and a few strip clubs. A definite upside of our new hotel was the proximity to almost everything, including plenty of wonderful restaurants.
It was also walking distance to the Louvre and most of the other museums we wanted to visit. On this particular day we set our sights on the Louvre. We walked around trying to find "La Victoire Suprême du Coeur". Fancy name for a vegetarian restaurant. It was run by devotees of Sri Chinmoy. Molly enjoyed some tasty food while I enjoyed a chai. The Louvre was open late, and we didn't get there until about 2:30. There was a tremendous line to get in, but it moved quickly.
Check out the Louvre's website at: www.louvre.fr
The Louvre is as daunting as the British Museum. It's enormous. Many very old and very large paintings. How many depictions of the Crucifixion do you think you can handle? Go to the Louvre and test your stamina. Rows upon rows of Jesuses (?) Jesii? Many of the paintings were impressive, but Molly and I weren't moved by most of them. Saw the Mona Lisa. Yup. Venus de Milo was there. Okay. Some of the statues were pretty cool. The Winged Victory of Samothrace commands a stairwell. Maybe you've seen it in "Funny Face" with Audrey Hepburn. The statue was excavated from a precipice overlooking the sea in 1863 on the Greek island of Samothrace. It commemorated a Rhodian naval victory. I was also impressed by the paintings of the French Revolution by Delacroix, the vast collection of Greek vases and antiquities, the Islamic Art and Michelangelo's Les Esclaves (The Slaves). Located near Les Esclaves was an amazing sculpture of a woman wearing a shroud. How the artist managed to sculpt delicate folds of cloth in marble is beyond me. We were out late at the Louvre, so we had a late dinner of Chinese food near our hotel. I slept poorly, as our hotel seemed to be a bit of the party place, but I was also caffeinated. Ah well.
Tuesday, June 27, 2000
We slept in for a bit, then took a walk to the Musée d'Orsay. Pretty much whenever we left our hotel we ended up crossing the Seine at Pont Neuf. It's name means "new bridge", but in fact it's the oldest and most famous of the bridges over the Seine, it was built in 1607. Once again we ran into a long line. This time it was at the entrance of the Musée d'Orsay. Once again, the wait was well worth it. I think we enjoyed this museum more than any other. Our favorite painters exhibited included Rodin, Cezanne, Van Gogh and, of course, Monet. The Musée d'Orsay is the museum of the Impressionists. And I like the Impressionists. The Musée d'Orsay isn't as large or indimidating as the Louvre, but it's still very large. We spent most of the day perusing the three levels. The website of the Musée d'Orsay is: www.musee-orsay.fr At the end of our day we actually ran in to Linda and Becky from Richmond. Small world. We made plans to meet with them for lunch the following day. We finished off our evening by playing cards and relaxing.
Wednesday, June 28, 2000
Once again I operated on little sleep. We awoke early and wandered through Les Halles. We had coffee then headed to Pont Neuf to meet Linda and Becky for lunch. We had pizza at Pizza Pino in Les Halles then walked with them to Nôtre-Dame. When we arrived Becky was feeling very poorly, so they bid us farewell and returned home. Nôtre-Dame is fantastic to view. Particularly if you're as big a fan of gargoyles as Molly and I. The flying buttresses aren't too shabby either. Hugo called Nôtre-Dame a "vast symphony of stone". Well spoken. Pope Alexander III laid the cornerstone for Nôtre-Dame in 1163, and it was completed a mere 200 years later, in 1361. It's built on the ruins of a Roman temple. It is the site of Joan of Arc's trial for heresy in 1455. Napoleon was crowned here by the pope in 1804. Didn't see Hugo's Quasimodo anywhere, but the stained glass inside the Cathedral is impressive.
From Nôtre-Dame we took the Metro to the 3rd Arrondisement to visit the Musée Picasso. When Picasso died, his family paid the heavy inheritance tax in artwork. The French government created this museum to house it. Picasso painted for over 70 years, and most of his career is fairly well documented in the museum. The museum leads you through his career chronologically, from his early work in Barcelona to his Cubist and Surrealist work done in Paris. Each room covers one period of Picasso's life. It was very well done. Both Molly and I really enjoyed this museum, and although it was small, we spent almost 3 hours here.
We returned to Les Halles to shop for gifts before our return home. I picked up some fancy chocolate for my Mom, and we took the Metro across Paris to try and locate a particular newspaper for Molly's brother Mike. We finished our last evening in Europe by having a nice dinner. We awoke the next day to begin our travel back to the United States.