Paris by Boat

My group recently took a boat cruise, during which we listened to talks all day.  The talks were in French, and I spent most of the day being so sick I couldn't even look at the screen as it bobbed up and down in front of my eyes.  But that's ok, it gave me an excuse to sit on the deck and watch Paris float by.  (Which, I'm sorry, is more fun than listening to science talks in French.  Even the organizer agreed with me on that one.) 

Being from the desert, I am still amazed by so much water.  We went through several locks.

The lock begins to fill with water.

Totally filled with water now.

And the floodgates open!

Some of the locks were quite deep.

 

We headed south-east of Paris.  We went through beautiful suburbs that I didn't even knew existed.

Many trees beginning to turn color and very nice houses.

Wouldn't be a bad place to live.

We even went through a tunnel.

One of the interesting things we saw: a floating swimming pool on the river.

Back in Paris proper.  The Eiffel Tower in the background.

Sailing towards Notre Dame.

On the other side of Notre Dame now, seeing the bridge that connects Île de Cité and Île St. Louis. 

Entering our final lock.

It fills with gushing water!

Almost all filled now!

And it opens!

Nuit Blanche. A Night of Art? Maybe. A Night of Confusion? Definetly.

For the second year in a row, I made the trek out to Nuit Blanche, a night where all of Paris forsakes sleep in their love of art.   That's right, millions of people wander the streets all night, going from parks to churches to courtyards to see various art exhibits that have been put up.  Last year was amazing.  So amazing that millions of people went this year, making lines 3 blocks long to see one art exhibit.  It was a bit too crazy for me.  But there were a few things I managed to see, despite the crowds.

The first was in a gymnasium.  We walked into the dark room and there was a glowing wall of blue lights.  Pretty cool - although we didn't get it.  Many people lined up to take pictures of the "art".

Ah!  But to our surprise, that wall wasn't the art!  It was on the other side, a giant "yeti" - which looked more like a red furbie filled with Christmas lights...

Yeah, I didn't get it either.

We moved on to one of the most popular exhibits, that had a wait of an hour and a half to get into.  Well, to make a long story short, we didn't wait in line, but looked over the  heads to see what everyone was waiting for.  It did look cool - a courtyard where they made it "rain" - and the rain was purple. 

Picture taken over the crowd of Purple Rain

In another courtyard was a very interesting sculpture.

Another piece of "art" that reflected the disappointment some people feel at seeing modern art. 

Well, they successfully conveyed their message...

Another short film was a series of images telling the story of a fallen angel.  Some pictures from the film are below.

We finally wandered to the modern art museum, Centre Pompidou.  It betrays modern art well.  

I call it the world's ugliest building.

Now some videos!  The first is an art exhibit that composed of a room filled with fog, a bilinking white light, and, if you looked really carefully, figures in the fog.  Warning: blinking light may not be pleasant for all.

 

The next video was projected on a wall of a building and portrayed the hopelessness of the post-industrial world.

There were people and cars everywhere, which was my main complaint.  The roads were not closed off, so I almost got hit by a bus, a bike, and a parade.  That's right, a parade.  People got more celebratory as the evening wore on.  Here's the parade.  Many people were incorporated as it made its way by.

Wandering through Paris with the Parents: Part 2

Shortly after my parents left, my husband's parents came to visit us.  They were here for my birthday.  To celebrate, we went to the Cathedral of St. Denis, which is far northern Paris.  So far, in fact, that many people don't go there at all.  I have been wanting to go for a while - it is a church featured in a book I read recently - Pillars of the Earth - and many of the architectural styles talked about in that book were used first in this church.

This church was visited hundreds of years ago by Joan of Arc.

St. Denis is named after the martyr that was killed in Paris by beheading.  After he was decapitated, he calmly picked up his head, walked 10 kilometers while still preaching, washed off his head, and died on the spot of the future cathedral.  The stained glass tells the story.

As do the sculptures.

Poor guy.  It's a heck of a way to be remembered.

Inside the cathedral is the cite where all of the kings and queens of France were buried.  Most have a monument devoted to them.

Monument to Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette. 

The mausoleum continues far beneath the church and dates backs for nearly a thousand years.

Some of the famous kings and queens buried here. 

King Louis' XIV tomb.

Kinda a weird place to spend one's birthday, right?  Back up to ground level, we take them to a picnic on the Seine.

Enjoying wine and cheese on the river, like real French people!

Nearby, Notre Dame is in the process of being cleaned.  It's easy to tell the difference between the newly cleaned, shimmering white façade, and the gray, sooty side of the church.

And Sacre Coeur.

Nearby, we found Pac Man!

We Showed my Parents around Paris!

So I guess now's a chance to show you some nice pictures of Paris - the places I went to visit with them.  It's been a while since I've put up Paris pictures, so now is a nice opportunity to do so.  We started out in Notre Dame.

We then crossed to Ile de la Cite to get some ice cream, which we ate along the Seine.

 Then we went to see the Opera building

 

Nearby is the department store Galeries Lafayette, where the ceiling is truly spectacular!

Saint Severin is one of the interesting churches nearby, with the unique twisted pillars and awesome stained glass.

Another place we visited is one of my favorite places in Paris, Jardin du Luxembourg.

My parents and Pan.  Appropriate.  Just kidding!  ;-)

They had a wonderful little concert going on in the gardens.  Note the leaves changing color.

People enjoying the music in the park.

Neat statues in the garden.

And we watched a rousing game of bocce!  These guys were good!

Even though the leaves are beginning to turn, there are still many flowers to enjoy.

I also took them to see the Pantheon.

With the beautiful carved pillars.  

Behind the Pantheon is a neat little church called St. Etienne du Mont.  They have an amazing carved double staircase surrounding the altar.  Very cool!

At the altar to St. Genevieve.  My candle is bottom row, third to the left.  

We also chanced upon the thinnest building in Paris.

Neat flower arrangement.

We visited the Roman Amphitheater.  

These were the cages that released the animals into the theater.  

Today they hold something much less frightening... folding chairs.

My mom and dad take a picture by a giant tree in Jardin des Plantes.

 Some of the wonderful flowers there.

 

A fish in a fish.

The Mosque of Paris.