Daily Dialogue - Paris Day #2

Since yesterday’s dialogue seemed to work okay, we thought we’d try this format again today. So, here is our dialogue about our second day in Paris…


Kara: We got moving a little earlier this morning and no real interruptions during the night. Thanks to all who have asked – my headache went away and I feel completely fine now. We at breakfast and grabbed “lunch to go” from the hotel and then headed to the metro station to catch the train into Paris. We had to make a transfer at one of the major transfer spots this morning – Gare de Lyon. We were also going during what I would actually call rush hour today, and it was Friday, which we’re guessing also added to the busy feeling in the metros. Needless to say, it was a bit more hectic today but once again we navigated with no problems.


Gayle: Perhaps I’ll be narrating a little different take on some things today. First thing this morning has presented a big challenge, and it’s called electricity. We’ve struggled the past couple of days to find outlets in our room that work and what combination of converters and adapters to use. We both decided to let our hair go with some natural curl, but every girl needs at least some style control. Yesterday we did get the flat iron working, although not on full power. It got nicknamed “Luke” because it only got lukewarm. Well, this morning bad turned to worse, as Luke is dead. We don’t know if it’s the input or if there’s now a short, but regardless, there was no heated styling tool to be used. As such, you will see no photos of me in today’s post! As for the morning rush hour on the metro? Our airplane seats were more spacious.


Kara: Well Gayle has decided not to advance the story at all so I guess that’s my job today. We arrived at the Louvre via the Palais Royale - Musee de Louvre metro stop which brings you right into the underground entrance of the Louvre. I have to say that while I’ve enjoyed every other museum we went to on the trip, I was completely overwhelmed by the Louvre. As usual, we had pre-determined a plan, and while we did see most of what we wanted to see – it took a lot of turning around and going back and asking for help. Since we were there early – thankfully – we did get to have a nice time in the Salle de Etats where we got to see the Mona Lisa (above) and The Wedding Feast at Cana.






We also spent a great deal of time wandering the Grande Gallerie and the Salon Carre. I have to admit I think our visit was tempered by the fact that neither of us has a good enough background in art to know what we are supposed to appreciate about the paintings and other pieces.


Gayle: Over the past couple of days we’ve also been indecisive on whether or not to go to Versailles. We were very tempted, especially by the recommendations of others (particularly Inga and Manoj on my side). However, after the miles and miles of walking the past two days and countless pieces of art, homes, palaces, museums, etc., we decided we’re too maxed out on any more “fine art”. In a simple attempt to fill that content gap in our trip, we did visit the Apollo Gallery in the Louvre, which contained the Coronation Crown of Louis XV. As you will see from one of the photos, the room was gilded, ornate, and completely over the top. As far as we can tell, this is very similar to Versailles as a whole. (Inga & Manoj: Feel free to shake your head and roll your eyes at this point!)





Kara: We exited the Louvre at the Pyramid and spent some time just relaxing by the fountains and enjoying the view. We took a BUNCH of photos out here. Gayle even grabbed the Nikon from me and took a few shots. She’s disappointed in the hair styling in all the shots today, but I really had a great time playing with the camera in such a picturesque location – even if she doesn’t like the shots I know her mom will! After leaving the Louvre we strolled through Tuileries Garden. This was a beautiful walk – especially since today was warm and sunny. We didn’t take a tremendous amount of pictures in the garden, but did take some at both ends. The gate at the Louvre end was extremely impressive and there were great views of the Eiffel Tower at the other end, where we also took a couple of photos of each other with the tower in the background. Our next stop was Musee de l’Orangerie.


Gayle: Okay. Kara’s forcing me to advance the story…. Musee l’Orangerie was on “The Plan” because it contains Monet’s “Water Lillies”, of which I am a fan. This museum felt much more formal than the others, but was also quite small. There are only two rooms of “Water Lillies”, but you will see from the photos why. I was stunned at the size of these pieces. You typically see prints no larger than 24x36 and expect the piece to actually be that size or smaller, such as the Mona Lisa. But wow. All of the “Water Lillies” were (approximately) no less than 12 ft. long with some likely being twice that size. Not needing an incredible amount of time here, we were next headed to Notre Dame.


Kara: Notre Dame is situated on Ile de la Cite which is the small island in the middle of the Seine. I really enjoyed strolling around this little island. It seemed to capture what I thought about Paris more than anywhere else we had been before. We arrived at Notre Dame right around 1:00. As we were standing in line waiting to get in, a few folks in front of us met some friends who had just come out of the church and said there was a mass going on. At first I thought this might mean we wouldn’t get in, but apparently they just send in the tourists to move right around the church’s outside area while the mass is said in the center of the church. It was kind of cool to hear mass being said as we were traveling around the church. I’m not sure what I expected here, but Notre Dame wasn’t really it. It was beautiful – especially the stained glass – but I guess it just wasn’t as reverent a location as I had expected.


Gayle: I agree. I couldn’t believe they let tourists in during the Mass. It was truly odd to be “sightseeing” during the Mass. The glass was beautiful, and I wish I had a narrative of the stories told with each pane of glass and the sections of the Bible each related to. Alas, in virtually no time at all we were exiting. The next and final stop for the day was to be St. Chappelle. However, when we arrived, a service was in session, and we were not permitted entrance. At this point, Kara decided we should hop on the “Batobus”, a sightseeing boat cruise. This had always been part of the PLAN, but we were never sure when we might have the opportunity to actually do it.


Kara: We strolled along the Seine from St. Chapelle to catch the Batobus. I really enjoyed seeing all the sidewalk vendors with their art, photos and other wares. We got our tickets and got on the Batobus. The Batobus was a nice relaxing way move around the city. We stopped at the Champs Elysees stop and strolled up the street to the Metro station. We boarded our metro, made all the transfers, and headed back to “home” for a fun dinner.


Gayle: It was a relatively early day, but we were also up late the night prior. Simply getting back to the room and resting for a bit was a luxury we’d not had the prior days. We headed to the Disney Village to Annette’s (50’s-inspired diner) for supper. Between the last two night’s suppers at Disney, we’ve come to truly realize THIS Disney is NOT THE Disney, which we kinda knew from previous research. I could go on with a ton of detailed differences (shortcomings) with this park, but I won’t bore those of you who have no idea what I would be referring to. In short, our dining expectations are certainly not being met. Tomorrow we’ll be staying “home” and spending our first (and really only) full day at Disneyland Paris.


Kara: We’re both looking forward to switching into “vacation” mode tomorrow and resting/relaxing in the park while riding rides. While Gayle’s right that there are a lot of differences in the parks, I do think the Paris park does do a much better job of creating beautiful locations for photos so I’m looking forward to more pictures and playing around with the camera. For now though, we’ll both say good night to all of you as we’re headed off to bed shortly.