Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Classic Paris

Friday morning started with a free tour that Fran recommended. While there are a lot of different tours, I figured I would take one of Classic Paris and learn more about the iconic monuments. We met at Place de la Concorde, where there was originally a monument to Louis XV. When the Revolution started, they tore down the statue. It then became the site of the guillotine where hundreds of noblemen and royalty were executed. Today, it's the site of an Egyptian obelisk that was a gift from Egypt after the discovery of the Rosetta stone by a French archeologist.



The tour went down the Champs Elysee, going near Sarkozy's house, different palaces, and replica of the Flame of Liberty. It was given to Paris by the Herald-Tribune to celebrate 100 years of their office in Paris and it is in honor of everything Paris has given to the United States. Unfortunately, it right next to the spot where Princess Di died. The flame is often the site of many memorial flowers and most Parisians actually think it is in her honor.


We ended at Place du Trocadéro, which was originally a palace built for the world fair and has the best view of the Eiffel Tower. The esplanade in front of the Palace de Chaillot is called the esplanade of human rights because the UN Declaration of Human Rights was signed there (referencing Paris's inspiration for the document with the Declaration of the Rights of Man). 





I was supposed to meet Eric after, but he was running late so I went to the Pantheon by myself. The ticket policy was supposedly the same as the other museums, but the woman working at the counter made me pay this time because I was not French. It was still worth it though. 



Foucault's pendulum greets you as you enter, a sign of the Pantheon as a secular place:


All the greatest men and women (mostly men) of France are buried here--Voltaire, Victor Hugo, Rousseau, Marie Curie, Alexandre Dumas, etc. 


I met up with Eric and we walked through les Jardins du Luxembourg. They were beautiful, but not much of an attraction on a rainy day. We decided to go to Père Lachaise Cemetary, where Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde are buried. By the time we got there (it was further than we thought), it was closed. In retrospect, I had already seen enough burial sites for one day. 

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