Paris, Day 2 and Florence, Day 1

My second day in Paris has far fewer pictures than the first. I attempted to begin at the Musee d'Orsay, but after waiting in line to get in for over an hour and only being about halfway through the line, I gave up. Perhaps on another visit. For the most part, I simply wandered around where I had already been, simply enjoying the city.

I had a fantastic croque madame in a cafe along one of the avenues. At around 3 o'clock, fearful I wouldn't be able to get down to the Paris-Bercy station in time to catch my night train to Florence, I packed up my things and headed for the nearest metro station.

Fortunately, I DID catch my train, and the following morning I awoke to a very different view from the one I have grown accustomed to in the Netherlands, one with lots and lots of hills. Tuscany. Is. GORGEOUS.

My hostel was a fantastic little place within sight of the Duomo. I learned over the course of the day that Florence doesn't look like a terribly big city...until you walk the length and breadth of it, out and back again! By the end of the day, I was pleased but exhausted. For someone as fond of artwork as I am (not in the least such historical artwork), Florence was amazing.

First, I went for lunch. I had some absolutely amazing spinach and ricotta ravioli in butter and sage sauce. YUM! I then spent some time wandering around, acquainting myself with the exterior of the Duomo and the surrounding streets, before I headed Michelangelo's David. It was breathtaking. Frankly, much of the rest of the museum he was in was a bit...lackluster. Even as avid a historian and art-lover as I got bored. But then I was standing before the David. And he was just...wow. He almost doesn't look like he is carved from stone. I have an even greater appreciation of Michelangelo's work. Sadly, the museum security was unhappy with anyone who even LOOKED like they might be CONSIDERING using their cellphone's camera capabilities, so I am afraid I have nothing to show you.

After the museum, I went and got myself gelato! Mmmmmmmm! I then headed south, crossing the Ponte Vecchio and looking at all the very silly gold-sellers shops. From there, I walked along the road and climbed the long paths to the Piazza le Michelangelo. What a view!

THEN, I turned around and went all the way back down and set my sights on the Santa Croce church. I visited the graves of Galileo, Machiavelli, and Dante, and then walked north again to the great domed synagogue. Finally, after a couple of wrong turns, I made it back to the Piazza del Duomo to find that the great big crowd in front of the famous Baptistry doors had disappeared, and I was able to take some decent photographs. Granted, they're the replicas, but they're still amazing.

I then finished off my evening with some lasagna and some tiramisu. And I was then exhausted and went to bed!

Enjoy they pictures. I'll post the last batch when I have the chance.

The Musee d'Orsay is a lovely building, but after an hour in line, this was still my view of it...

In Florence, my view of the Duomo from the front doorstep of my hostel. Not a bad location, huh?

I just love this church. It doesn't have a very exciting interior (as you'll see soon enough), but the exterior is just magnificent. All white and green marble.

A view of Tuscany down a random street.

Mmmmmmmmm! Strawberry gelato!

One of the major market centers.

Headed south across the river.

Still headed south. I loved the little street and the sign off to the right.

Well, this is Florence! The view from the Piazza le Michelangelo.

And back down we go...

The Santa Croce church.

Galileo. I apologize for the terrible photo quality. The lighting inside the church was, as usual, terrible.

Dante.

Machiavelli.

The synagogue.

Ghiberti's doors. Michelangelo called them the Gates of Paradise.

Paris, Day 1

(Theme music for the following two posts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsMIuuV05uc)

Well, now that blogger has let me back in, I can finally start posting stuff from my trip! Hooray!

Again, I am posting this in chunks because I have TONS AND TONS of pictures. I don't want to overwhelm you all :). I apologize particularly for the number of Egyptian artifacts and such in this entry. The part of me that still sort of wants to be an Egyptologist just couldn't help itself! Also, it was overcast most of the day. This means some of my picture quality isn't great. Not to mention the nice people in the Louvre were very unhappy if you used your camera flash. I did the best I could.

First of all, let me say Paris was FANTASTIC. I'm pretty sure the Louvre is my favorite museum in the world, and considering I used to drag my family to the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History in DC once a year on my birthday, that's saying quite a bit. I mean the entire BUILDING is a work of art, not to mention all the incredible artifacts inside it. The beauty of being a historian, is that you get to study everything, because everything is relevant to history, and this museum is not just an art museum, it also represents the history of the human race.

Anyway, I arrived in Paris the night before, at about 10pm, having decided I didn't want to buy one of the high-speed tickets, and therefore having spent about 12 hours on trains. Fortunately, I had booked a room 4 blocks from the train station, 2 blocks from Sacre Coeur, and it had a private bathroom. I was a happy camper.

My first day in Paris, I was incredibly productive. In the morning, I walked down the the Place de Concorde to look around a bit. From there, I strolled down to the Grand Palace, the American Church and the Eiffel Tower, and then met my uncle and aunt, Sean and Lori, for an absolutely spectacular lunch. It was really nice to be able to sit down with people I knew. And need I say, the lunch was DELICIOUS!

After that, I went to the Louvre, where I discovered that, because I am a resident of the EU between the ages of 18 and 24, I could get in FREE. Works for me! I spent most of my time in the Egypt and Greece wing, though I of course swung by La Giaconda, to say hello, waved to Napoleon, visited the Winged Victory, and saw the awesome fort they've unearthed beneath the museum.

From there, I went back to my hostel, relaxed for a bit, then walked to a nearby bakery to pick up dinner (a baguette), and walked up the many flights of stairs to Sacre Coeur. Dinner was a simple affair, but it worked well enough for me!

Not sure what church this is, but I liked the paintings. Celebrating the saint-ing of Pope John Paul II.

L'Academie National de Musique!

The Place de Concorde + the Eiffel Tower. Obviously.

I just can't get over the fact that this obelisk is 3,300 years old. THREE THOUSAND. THREE HUNDRED. YEARS OLD. I just can't get over that!

The Champs-Elysee.

The entrance to the Tuileries.

CREPES! Nom nom nom.

The Grand Palace.

Doors to the building right across the street. No idea what building this is.

Mr...Churchill?

The inscription at his feet. I just...I can't get past the irony...I'll say no more....

A shot of the Grand Place from across the river.

The American church in Paris.

The Eiffel Tower!

Joan of Arc

The Louvre!

Poor quality, poor lighting, but you can see how high these walls were. UNDER THE MUSEUM!

Egyptian treasures!

The Winged Victory, of course.

Gee...Have I ever seen this in any textbooks before? Ever? I was very sad, by the way, I couldn't get close enough for a picture of the Mona Lisa.

Apollo after he has slain Python. Very St. George.

Dinner!

My "seat" - the stairs in front of Sacre Coeur.

My view!