Travel
Text and Photos by JENNEE GRACE U. RUBRICO, Sub-Editor
Paris still charms with its museums, churches and romantic views
The red flowers on the sills of matching white French windows
brightened the otherwise somber facade of sold apartments that rose a
few storeys from the smooth, grey sidewalk.
At ground level, bar and café owners were hosing down the street
while garbage trucks with their universal odor were parked by the
cobblestoned road, ready to make their rounds for the day.
Sidewalk libraires (bookshops) and boulangeries
(bakeshops) were opening for the day. In front of me, a fashionably
dressed couple was walking an eager pug while across the street, a girl
was riding a scooter while chatting with her dad, who was walking
beside her.
It was balmy at 9 a.m. on a Saturday in Paris, and on my second of seven mornings in this city, I was beguiled.
Paris had always topped my list of places to visit. So when I was
informed that I would be going to the French capital for official
business, I jumped at the chance and asked for a two-day extension.
While the official part of the trip would only take three of the five
days I would have in Paris, I knew I needed more time to see the
attractions of the city: the monuments, the museums, and the churches.
I was fortunate not only to have gotten my bosses’ approval for the
extension but also to have gotten my college pal Michelle, who was
migrating with her French husband to France after nine years in Los
Angeles, to agree to stay with me in the City of Lights for a few days.
My first of three hotel rooms in Paris was on the 26th floor of the
Concorde La Fayette near La Defense, the business district. From my
room, I could see the Sacre Coeur in Montmarte, the highest point in
Paris, as well as the Arc de Triomphe, the monument that honors
France’s soldiers.
That room would later provide me with other views, including a
resplendent sunrise and an unforgettable view of the night sky with
only a crescent moon and a lone star.
Museum tour
I had my fill of French art and architecture when I visited two museums and two churches in Paris.
The Musée d’Orsay, home of impressionist paintings, was my first
stop. Sitting on the left bank of the Seine River, d’Orsay which used
to be a train station, was converted into a museum in 1986. It now
houses paintings by several artists including Vincent Van Gogh, Claude
Monet, Gustave Courbet, and Edouard Manet. Inside, there are
sculptures, decorative arts and photographs.
The building, completed in 1900, still bears traces of its railway
beginnings — a giant clock hangs by the entrance and the ceiling is
quite high. A central nave occupied by sculptures dominates the ground
floor while terraces can be found on the upper floor.
The 9-euro entrance fee included access to an exhibit entitled De Cezanne Ü Picasso: chefs-d’oeuvre de la galerie Vollard (From Cezanne to Picasso: masterpieces of the Vollard Gallery). Among the pieces in the exhibit, Picasso’s fierce painting Pierreuse la main sur l’épaule, and his bust called Fou (Fool) were my favorites.
Meanwhile, among the permanent works in the museum, I was most drawn to La Nuit Etoilée de la Rhone
(Starry Night by the River Rhone). I stood transfixed in front of one
of Van Gogh’s most popular paintings for I don’t know how long, and was
only jolted back to reality when someone said, "Ang ganda ’no? (Isn’t it beautiful?)"
I also liked Ernest Christophe’s sculpture Le Masque (also called La Comedie Humaine). The sculpture inspired Charles Beaudelaire to write his poem, "The Mask."
If d’Orsay is the museum for paintings, the much bigger Louvre — home
of the Mona Lisa — is the museum of choice for sculptures and its
prehistoric collections. The Louvre, which is divided into three
sections, cannot be tackled in a single day, much less in the four
hours that we had before closing time so we chose the areas we wanted
to see.
Ancient Greek sculpture Venus de Milo (believed to date back to 130
to 90 B.C.) failed to match my expectations, but the Winged Victory of
Samothrace, one of the surviving works from the Hellenistic period (the
statue is believed to date back to 220 to 190 B.C.) was the epitome of
strength and regality.
We also visited Michaelangelo’s "The Dying Slave," sculptures of Cupid and Psyche, and the sections for Islamic Art.
Also on display at the Louvre are the Code of Hammurabi from the
Mesopotamian antiquities section; a sphinx and an Egyptian tomb from
the Egyptian antiquities section; and sarcophagi from the Roman and
Greek antiquities section.
The Louvre itself is a work of art, with its golden walls and painted
ceilings, and if only for this, the 6 euros I paid for the night tour
(from 6 to 10 p.m.) was well worth it.
The apartments of Napoleon III, made up of several rooms covered in
velvet, gold, and glass, were also an interesting display of French
excessiveness. Chandeliers hung in every room and the opulent interiors
of the grand salon were intimidating, to say the least.
Church visits
The intricate portals of Notre Dame
For my church visit, I went to Montmartre one evening to see the
Basilique du Sacre Coeur up close. Arriving at Montmartre at 6 p.m.,
two hours before sunset, we decided to walk around a little before
going up the church. Little shops near the church sell souvenirs, some
of which are cheaper than the ones being sold in other tourist spots in
Paris.
Postcards were sold at almost half the price at the Latin Quarter.
Prints of Paris sites, meanwhile were sold three for 10 euros, at
around the same amount they were being sold near the Louvre.
Thirty minutes before sunset, we set out to tackle the 360 steps
leading to the church. When we got to the top, I was breathless partly
because of the climb but mostly because of the view. Add to that the
way the stained glass windows reflected the setting sun’s rays on the
walls.
A few days later, I had a somewhat similar experience in the
Cathedrale Notre Dame in Paris’ Ile de la Cité. Notre Dame’s frills
make it an impressive structure, if not a beautiful one.
Images of saints line the walls outside the white church, the most
startling being one bearing his head in his hand. The dilapidated side
door belied the splendor of the church’s interiors. From the narrow
nave that ended in the intricate altar and the stained glass windows
that broke the sun’s rays into different colors to the small but
striking chapels at the sides of the church, Notre Dame was an
awe-inspiring structure.
I had wanted to go up the church to see a gargoyle up close as well
as to view Paris from what is said to be the best vantage point in the
city, but was disheartened by the 3 o’clock sun’s sting, the long queue
outside the church which did not appear to move, and the 7-euro
entrance fee.
Paris by night
But one does not always have to shell out cash to appreciate Paris.
One of the activities I found most cathartic was walking by the Seine
one chilly night. On one side, the old buildings of Paris looked
foreboding but on the other, the Place de la Concorde was well lighted,
and the Louvre was grand, even in the dark.
The river itself was mysterious, and the walk allowed me to
appreciate the bridges that run from one bank of the Seine to the
other.
The grandest was Pont Alexandre III, with its gold sculptures and
high arches, but the other bridges, though much simpler, were no less
interesting to me.
The only problem with walking by the Seine at night is that it might
not be safe. The wide road is deserted, and there are beggars who
approach strollers to ask for coins.
But if one is brave enough to venture out into the night, one can be
well rewarded. When we got to the Latin Quarter, we saw Paris alive at
night. In front of Notre Dame, people were milling around, admiring the
darkened church’s facade. Farther away, young people were having fun
in bars. Street performers also provided entertainment all over the
place.
My favorite was a "headless" accordion player who was stationed near
Notre Dame, but the mime who performed to hiphop music was a close
second.
But like all cities, Paris has its share of ugliness. I had to deal
with a couple of rude cabbies and Parisian women who didn’t think twice
about cutting Asians in queues.
And while the metro was efficient and inexpensive, different odors intermingled to form an offensive subway smell.
Paris is also not the cheapest place to visit, especially when one
earns in pesos and spends in euros. At an exchange rate of P70 to 1
euro and $1 to 0.70 euros, I had to watch what I bought. The room that I
shared with my friend during my extension cost 157 euros a night. It
was in a three-star hotel in Montparnasse, and had just enough space
for twin beds, a table, and a comfortable chair, though it did have a
nice bathroom.
It did not help that I was there during the Rugby World Cup. I was
told that hotel rooms — and perhaps everything else — doubled in price a
few days before the games.
But while I might not like everything about Paris, I still adore the
city. Despite staying for 10 days, I feel that my Paris experience was
still too short. There were still so many places to see, so many things
to do.
They can, however, be set aside for the next visit. And just maybe,
the next time I am in Paris, I will look out from one of those white
French windows to see a tourist observing the city as it awakens. |
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