An Aleatoric Harangue

Parisian Heat (Darn you Global Warming)

The trip is now over and I must wrap up Paris and the last two days in this strange heat we have been experiencing. We traveled half way around the world, or maybe just a third, to escape the heat of Arizona only to find that the heat had followed us and brought its friend humidity. For those who aren’t familiar with Arizona, it gets up to 120 F (48 C), but we experience no humidity so when we native Arizonans are in humid climates we are ill-equipped. Regardless, we ventured on into the city of Paris and made the best of an uncomfortable situation, made worse for many on the tour by fatigue from traveling and illness.

Our first full day, and the only that was part of the tour, was quite jam packed and required a lot of running around, though we did get to see most of the major sites. We started off in the morning with a bus tour of Paris where we drove by most of the major site. We were able to catch a good view of the Arc de Triomphe from the bus as we drove around the round about several times, on purpose of course. We learned from our bus driver, Rob, that this was the most dangerous spot in Paris to be driving, which is saying something considering Parisian drivers are animals. In fact, if an accident occurs in this circle, no insurance company will cover the claim. It is the only place that I have heard of in the world where your insurance becomes temporarily void due to geographic location. After picking up the guide, we continued the tour passing the various government buildings, Notre Dame, the old opera house, and so on. We finally arrived at the point that all tourists are drawn to like moths to the flame in Paris; the Eiffel Tower.

The Eiffel tower, completed in 1889 under the director of engineer Gustave Eiffel, is the heart of Paris. Though citizens of Paris originally protested its construction and presence, Parisians have since come to accept and adore it as the symbol, not only of Paris, but of France. The 1,063 foot tower is constructed of three floors. A note to those headed to the Tower, or anywhere in Europe, check the signs for the age of “children” as it is up to the age of 24 in many places, Eiffel included. The first two floors are not terribly high and it is only a matter of about 650 steps to go from ground level, past the first floor which is reserved for a restaurant and its patrons, onto the second floor. The view from here is exquisite and you can see most of Paris from this vantage. This is, however, not where my journey ended as I had to venture on to the third floor which is a much larger leap and about 1100 steps to climb to. I, of course, did not climb any part of this beastly tower, but took the lift as the majority of people do. I would, at some point in life, like to revisit the Eiffel Tower with a bit more time and attempt to make it all the way up. I envision the weather being much more agreeable and me equipped with shoes that aren’t Converse and perhaps my Camelpak. As you climb a small staircase after exiting the lift and step outside, the breeze of Paris hits you. Being up 896 feet above the city changes the temperature, the atmosphere, and your existence. You can no longer just see all of Paris, you can now see what seems like all of France. Even though there is a fair crowd on this top level, there is something peaceful of being so far removed from the rest of the society for a bit like that.

After having some time at the Eiffel Tower, we went through a perfume “museum” which was, quite frankly, wasted time. It was warm and miserable and most of the tour did not really care about the history of the manufacturing processes of perfumes. I made my way in and out of there as fast as possible and enjoyed the city street instead. It was really after this that we had some time to ourselves and were able to explore a piece of Paris… We had finally arrived at the Louvre.

The Louvre has a rich history having once been a palace and an integral background to that French Revolution, which would soon be celebrated on July 14, Bastille Day. The Musée du Louvre is a fantastic place, filled with so much life and activity with the stale air of antiquity. After coming through the security checkpoint and main underground entrance of the Louvre, you begin to understand just how vast it really is. It is made up of three wings and houses the greatest collection of art throughout history. With so little time, we started straight towards the jewel of the Louvre and, perhaps, the most famous painting in the world. As you start on your journey towards this piece you begin to realize that this is not what the Louvre is about. After walking past the first main hall filled with art more incredible than you can imagine and walk around the art class trying to imitate a Michelangelo in their sketchbooks, you arrive at a grand staircase leading in all directions. At the top is the Winged Victory, or The Nike of Samothrace, so close that you can actually reach out and touch it. You can actually feel each mark of the chisel and the energy that comes from something that is 2,199 years old. After passing her, you weave through some smaller galleries where you cannot look any direction without seeing something stunning as even the ceilings are painted.

We finally arrived at a seemingly endless hall with paintings, statues, and busts as far as the eye could see. The path was obvious as you could see where the crowd was herding naturally drawn by the magnetism of one room. I decided to ignore the draw and press on to the end of the hall and soak in the atmosphere and aura given off by these works of art that were, in many cases, older than the USA. One of the most interesting things was that they put modern pictures against many of the old scenes in much of the museum. I finally circled back through the great hall, no longer able to fight the pull of her stare and made my way into her room. And, while there are other paintings present, this is her room. As you enter this ominous room you glance around and see various paintings on the walls and have a passing glance at each of them as they force your eyes to the blank wall in which you can see nothing through the crowd. As you approach and work through the crowd, the top of the glass starts to appear and the background peeks its way through. When you finally reach the front, there she is hiding behind a 20 foot gap of velvet rope and a sheet of bullet proof glass; Mona Lisa. Everyone always says it is smaller than they imagined because she has been built up so much that she could never be quite as large as your mind has made her, but she is perfect. All the questions of whether she was smiling, or if she was pregnant, or if she was da Vinci’s lover seem to melt away as her eyes follow you and stare into you the way only a woman could stare until you are overwhelmed and must leave her to the solitary existence she has been forced into.

What really intrigued me in the Louvre was the protection around her versus the lack thereof around everything else. As I made my way back through a side hall to the main staircase in search of an even older beauty, I realized that I could touch most anything in the museum, though I didn’t out of respect and fear of being thrown in a Parisian jail if I was caught (mostly the first one). As I went down the grand staircase to the lower level in search of the woman with no arms, I passed through the Ancient Greeks and Ancient Romans and could reach out and feel a fair majority of the sculptures and busts. Even as I approached her, I realized that the only thing separating me from the more than 2,100 year old lady was a velvet rope and 4 feet of distance. She is, of course, Venus de Milo and was sculpted sometime between 130 and 100 BCE and is thought to depict Aphrodite, Goddess of Love. Even as I passed her and went down stairs to visit the Ancient Egyptians, I could have leaned over a solid railing to be able to touch the Grand Sphinx in all its glory. I do appreciate the ability to be able to enjoy these without a bunch of glass reflecting the light and ruining the view, but I am intrigued as to what the Mona Lisa has that these others do not. Is she a more deserving woman or just more frail? Was she not built as tough as Venus de Milo, who stands tall and strong even after having lost both arms? I am sure there is a reason I clearly don’t comprehend, but I am curious. Wikipedia, here I come!

It is not this curiosity that makes the Louvre such a magnificent place. It is the ability to explore every culture, ancient and modern, while on one massive compound. From the beginnings of religion to representations of the torture videos of the US Army in Iraq and everything in between, visitors get to relive history in a way that is not possible in any other place in the world.

This concluded the main part of the tour, though we were not done with the city of Paris. The rest of the evening was optional and many opted out from partaking in this optional as it included Paradis Latin Cabaret Show. From the Louvre, we said our goodbyes to those who were not joining us and took a cruise on the Seine. We were able to see all the sites we had seen now from the bus, and some that we had gotten off and enjoyed, one last time from the main vein of Paris. It was a pleasant enough ride, though it was rather warm and the breeze had not picked up the way most of us expected had expected while on the river. After this, we all went on to Paradis Latin. Our tour guide said that all visitors to Paris should see at least one, if not all, of three shows while visiting the city (in no particular order): 1. Paradis Latin; 2. Moulin Rouge; 3. Nouvelle Eve. We were booked to see the first of those, though I would have been more intrigued to see Moulin Rouge after the fame and international notoriety it has received over the years. It was an enjoyable variety show and I understood why some families opted out as there was a fair amount of topless women throughout the show. I will say, however, that the majority of it was tastefully done and you almost don’t notice the nudity. There was only one section that seemed a bit more ‘strip club’ rather than cabaret show. They, of course, did not allow pictures inside, though we snuck one just of our table before the show started since we all dressed up so nicely.

After that, our tour manager, Mac, took us on the last bit of our time with SOTC; a night time tour of illuminated Paris. I knew Paris is the city of lights but I could never have imagined how stunning it actually is. We revisited the major sites of Paris one last time to see them all magnificently lit up. From the Notre Dame and its simple lighting to the Louvre and the brilliant glow from the pyramid and even the major bridges along the river Seine, I was in awe of the view. Our final stop before returning to the hotel was the Eiffel Tower, lit up like a beacon in the heart of the city. I had already seen it from a great distance while atop our hotel the night before, but up close it was something entirely different. We arrived just moments before midnight and got out of the bus to get a closer look and snap a few photos. Just as we all stepped off of the bus, the night began to sparkle. On the hour every hour after the main tower lights are turned on, the Eiffel Tower glitters against the night sky and looks positively brilliant. We arrived just in time to enjoy the show of this huge structure which was the perfect end to our long day.

Pictures of Paris