We board the bus for our riding tour of Paris. We meet Vincent (Yep, more on him later!), our guide around Paris and some of the other sites. I am like a child at Christmas! At every turn is another well-known site I have either seen in a book or in a movie or on the travel channel. Samatha Brown doesn't have anything on me! I take 52 pictures as we ride around and make a quick stop at the Eiffel Tower. I will not bore you with all of them but will show you a few just to wet your appetite just as is mine while we ride.
Arc de Triomphe
River Seine and the Concerige, tower one the corner
Notre Dame
Riding down Le Champs E'lyseese with Arc de Triomphe
Eiffel Tower
View oft he Seine River, the ???Bridge and Presidential Palace in the upper right background
Our first stop of the morning is the Tomb of Napoleon at Les Invalides. FYI: Les Invalides was built by King Loius XIV as a veteran's hospital and home. Then 150 years ago the site also became the final resting place for Napoleon. He is laid to rest under the dome of the Invalides church. The actual church is on one side of the dome with the tomb on the other. An interesting fact about Napoleon's tomb is that the initial view of the tomb is from an upper level so that when viewing the tomb, the visitor has to bend at the waist to look down as if in a bow. Even in his death, Napeleon wants respect. The church is beautiful, and we go down closer to get a better view of the tomb. Class dismissed!
Entrance to Les Invalides
Church of Les Invalides
Door to the entrance of Napoleon's Tomb
Dome over the tomb
Napoleon's resting place
We are given 30 minutes on our own to walk around Les Invalides and to take a break. We find a nice sidewalk cafe across from the hospital where the cafe au lait is wonderful. We enjoy the morning sunshine for a few minutes, and Rolando then gathers us for the thirty minute ride to Fontainbleau.
Enjoying the morning sunshine--DK, Mary Ruth, Paula, and Jeffery
We settle in, some for a quick nap others for quiet conversation. We arrive and are given time to get lunch before we tour the palace. The area is wonderful and there are several cafes at which to eat. After a bit of confusion, Debbie, Natalie and I decide on a cafe. The meal is wonderful, and the weather gets more beautiful as the day progresses. Rushing to eat within the time limit, we make it with a few seconds to spare and walk to Fontainebleau.
Waiting for our meal
FYI: The beginings of the palace were thought to have been built in the 12th century somtime around the reign of Louis VII. The site became a place to retreat from Paris for the king in the 15th century and began to take the layout that is seen today. Louis XVI brought Fontainbleu to its glory and spent time there with his queen, Marie Antoinette. The palace was sacked during the French Revolution, but not destroyed. The palace represented everything the "have nots" were rebelling against during the revolution. Later, Napaleon had the palace restored to its past glory and even had a room furnished for Pope Pius VII who crowned Napoleon emperor. The Pope was later imprisoned there when he refused to sign a new concordat (I missed what this was.).It was also at Fontainebleau that Napoleaon signed his abdication in 1814. Class dismissed!
The palace is beautiful with guilding and fabrics and art. It is easy to see why the people revolted against the royality. The money spent on one room could have fed hundreds. We see the bedrooms of Marie Antoinette and Josephine and Louis XVI and Napoleon. As a note, Marie Antoinette did not really say, "Let them eat cake." There are lots of theories on what she really said, if she said anything. Nice urban legend, but no truth to it.
Entrance to Fontainbleu
This hall would have been used for guests to mingle before a dinner or ball
Library
Ballroom
I need to make an observation at this point. You will notice the young children sitting on the floor, most intently listening to their guide. We encountered groups of children such as these at many of the sites we visited. What impressed me was the interest the children showed in what was being said and their quiet behavior. As I said, the scene shown here was not an isolated one. Part of the education of the French children is the history of their nation and an appreciation for it. If we don't get back these principles in this country and continue to let pop culture be main focus of our children, we are going to continue to slide down a slope for which there is no stop. Okay, I had my say.
The Queen's bedroom
The Throne Room
One of the several chapels
An example of the many beautiful artifacts
Mary Ruth, all smiles on her birthday. Notice the sparklers in the creme brulee
After our meal we gather at the hotel to go visit the Eiffel Tower. We have our first experience with the subway and train systems. We are successful in getting to our destination without losing anyone and walk the few blocks to the tower. The tower is lighted all the way to the top and exhibits a light show every hour. We have to wait almost an hour to get on the elevator that takes us to the top, but what a view when we get there. To say Paris is the "City of Lights" is not a misnomer. We can see all of Paris and the famous landmarks across the city. FYI: The Eiffel Tower was built in just two years as part of the Universal Exhibition in 1889. It is named after the builder Gustave Eiffel. It has 2.5 million rivets, 15,000 metal sections, 1,672 steps to the top, and is 1000 feet tall. It has served as a broadcast antenna, military obsevatory, aircraft beacon, billboard, and countdown clock for the year 2000. It is the official landmark of Paris. Class dismissed!
Those of us who have gone to the top gather at the base of the tower and begin our trip back to the hotel with Rolando in the lead. We make it back to the hotel fairly late, and the last time I look at the clock is 12:15 a.m. as I lay my head on my pillow.
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