It was a sad but glorious day for me. I was leaving a city that I have grown fond of over the few days we have been there. The sites, the history, the people... it will all be missed. Though with disappointment of departure comes excitement for the next adventure, South Africa (where I am currently writing from). Don't worry their will be more pictures and blog posts for that, but I will finish the French Saga first. Mary and I ate breakfast for the last time at our hostel which was rather short. I had Coco Krispies, so my day was off to a great start. First stop was the Palace of Versailles, much of it would be closed because it was winter but we were hoping to see some of the inside but for Mondays the entire place was closed. We did not know this until we were halfway there. So one of the greatest historical places in the world was closed for our last day. I was at first rather upset but then I realized that this gives me a reason to come back to France. So our first destination of the day was St. Chapelle, where I did not see the Crown of Thorns because the relic was moved to a more secure place at Notre Dame. Yet as you can see this is an outstanding church that turned out to be my favorite, because of the delicate painting on the walls, supports and ceiling; and the stain-glass windows which from left to right, bottom to top tell the stories of the Bible. Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Joshua, Judges, Isaiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Judith, Job, Esther and Kings are the books told through the stain-glass. The passion, Saint John the Evangelist and the Baptist, and the Apocalypse are also shown on the windows. After this we took a long two hour break at a cafe. We ate, talked and enjoyed a few coffees and tea before our next excursion.
The Eiffel Tower was great for the second time; though the first time we went, there was a beautiful light show that we were privileged to see. This big metal structure stands at over 300 meters and is only 40 meters taller than the bungee jump I was considering to do in South Africa. So looking down that was pretty frightening. We took an elevator up to the third tier and took some foggy pictures up there. Surprisingly, there were a lot of things to do on different tiers. There was a restaurant, a bar, and an ice skating rink. I wish we could have stayed but it was very cold outside especially from up that high. At this point, the last of our trip was taken to the National Modern Art Museum which included works from Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, etc.
This was located in a building called Le Centre Georges Pompidou, a modern art and science building which was established to bring history and culture to a different part of Paris. Pompidou was a French Prime Minister who brought France into an era of modernization and he wanted to prove that through this center Paris was not a city of a once-great, old Republic, Empire and Monarchy. It has now stepped into the present and is leading the world to the future.The ground was slanted inward toward the building. On the right, you entered the building and would take a tunneled escalator to the floor of which you desired. We were at the top looking at the many odd videos and somewhat random sculptures. Modern art isn't really my thing, I am much more of a renaissance man, full of fanciful and classical paintings and sculptures. However, Mary did very much enjoy Le Centre Georges Pompidou.
After a good, last dinner at our first café, we hiked it to Le Gare du Nord and rode our way to the Charles De Gaulle Airport. I had so much fun at the Paris Airport though Mary was not amused by the security check but I was loving the people there. Mainly because our walks through Paris included myself speaking French at a restaurant or asking a person for directions and I thought my pronunciation and speed was rather horrible. I wish I could have been better at speaking or I could have practiced a tad more before I went on the trip. However, at the airport in Paris I forgot to take out my computer from my backpack. This would be a nightmare for most people because then you would have to take everything out of your bag for them to physically check and then put it all back. This would later require running toward your gate to make your flight. But instead she mentioned that I had my computer still in my bag. "Ton ordinateur est dans le sac."
Your computer is still in your bag. "Oh, j'ai oublie mon ordinateur. Je suis désolé! Puis-je le récupérer?"
Oh, I forgot my computer. I am so sorry, can I go get it? And she allowed me to go unpack it and run my things through again. After what I thought was going to be a fiasco, she told me in English that my French was really good but she could tell I was American. It made me smile that I received a compliment from a French person about my French speaking abilities considering they were lacking most of the trip. From that point, I was about to go from freezing rain and snow to sunshine and beaches.
It was a sad but glorious day for me. I was leaving a city that I have grown fond of over the few days we have been there. The sites, the history, the people... it will all be missed. Though with disappointment of departure comes excitement for the next adventure, South Africa (where I am currently writing from). Don't worry their will be more pictures and blog posts for that, but I will finish the French Saga first. Mary and I ate breakfast for the last time at our hostel which was rather short. I had Coco Krispies, so my day was off to a great start. First stop was the Palace of Versailles, much of it would be closed because it was winter but we were hoping to see some of the inside but for Mondays the entire place was closed. We did not know this until we were halfway there. So one of the greatest historical places in the world was closed for our last day. I was at first rather upset but then I realized that this gives me a reason to come back to France. So our first destination of the day was St. Chapelle, where I did not see the Crown of Thorns because the relic was moved to a more secure place at Notre Dame. Yet as you can see this is an outstanding church that turned out to be my favorite, because of the delicate painting on the walls, supports and ceiling; and the stain-glass windows which from left to right, bottom to top tell the stories of the Bible. Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Joshua, Judges, Isaiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Judith, Job, Esther and Kings are the books told through the stain-glass. The passion, Saint John the Evangelist and the Baptist, and the Apocalypse are also shown on the windows. After this we took a long two hour break at a cafe. We ate, talked and enjoyed a few coffees and tea before our next excursion.
The Eiffel Tower was great for the second time; though the first time we went, there was a beautiful light show that we were privileged to see. This big metal structure stands at over 300 meters and is only 40 meters taller than the bungee jump I was considering to do in South Africa. So looking down that was pretty frightening. We took an elevator up to the third tier and took some foggy pictures up there. Surprisingly, there were a lot of things to do on different tiers. There was a restaurant, a bar, and an ice skating rink. I wish we could have stayed but it was very cold outside especially from up that high. At this point, the last of our trip was taken to the National Modern Art Museum which included works from Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, etc. 
This was located in a building called Le Centre Georges Pompidou, a modern art and science building which was established to bring history and culture to a different part of Paris. Pompidou was a French Prime Minister who brought France into an era of modernization and he wanted to prove that through this center Paris was not a city of a once-great, old Republic, Empire and Monarchy. It has now stepped into the present and is leading the world to the future.The ground was slanted inward toward the building. On the right, you entered the building and would take a tunneled escalator to the floor of which you desired. We were at the top looking at the many odd videos and somewhat random sculptures. Modern art isn't really my thing, I am much more of a renaissance man, full of fanciful and classical paintings and sculptures. However, Mary did very much enjoy Le Centre Georges Pompidou. 
After a good, last dinner at our first café, we hiked it to Le Gare du Nord and rode our way to the Charles De Gaulle Airport. I had so much fun at the Paris Airport though Mary was not amused by the security check but I was loving the people there. Mainly because our walks through Paris included myself speaking French at a restaurant or asking a person for directions and I thought my pronunciation and speed was rather horrible. I wish I could have been better at speaking or I could have practiced a tad more before I went on the trip. However, at the airport in Paris I forgot to take out my computer from my backpack. This would be a nightmare for most people because then you would have to take everything out of your bag for them to physically check and then put it all back. This would later require running toward your gate to make your flight. But instead she mentioned that I had my computer still in my bag. "Ton ordinateur est dans le sac." Your computer is still in your bag. "Oh, j'ai oublie mon ordinateur. Je suis désolé! Puis-je le récupérer?" Oh, I forgot my computer. I am so sorry, can I go get it? And she allowed me to go unpack it and run my things through again. After what I thought was going to be a fiasco, she told me in English that my French was really good but she could tell I was American. It made me smile that I received a compliment from a French person about my French speaking abilities considering they were lacking most of the trip. From that point, I was about to go from freezing rain and snow to sunshine and beaches. 
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