Anyway, the friend I was travelling with is a Jim Morrison fan, and she wanted to see his grave. I have absolutely no idea why he is buried in Paris, but whatever. I didn't really feel like going to try to find his grave, so I wandered about the cemetery and took some great photos. It wasn't like your everyday cemetery. It was really big, and there were a lot of the mausoleums, and a few famous people (Eugène Delacroix) are buried there, and clearly a bunch of wealthy families.
Anyway, our second hostel was in Montmartre, up near the Basilidue du Sacré-Cœur. We walked through Sacré-Cœur and climbed up it. Lots of stairs but excellent view. The only problem was Iceland. The volcanic ash made it a little hazy.
We went to the Louvre; you can't go to Paris without going to the Louvre. We got to see some great Italian Renaissance paintings and Greco-Roman sculpture. Some people say that the Mona Lisa is not as impressive as you'd think, especially because of the size of the painting. This really annoys me. I guess if you don't know about the history of the piece or the complexity of the what it accomplishes, you just shouldn't say anything. Sorry for the slight rant, but honestly.
The next two things have to be seen while in Paris, but really they aren't that impressive: the Champs-Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe. Unfortunately for my two friends who had never been to Paris, the Arc de Triomphe was getting cleaned so it was covered with scaffolding, but I did get some good pictures of it the first time I was in Paris.
Colleen,
ReplyDeleteYour adventures never end. Did your friend ever locate Jim Morrison's grave. The Mona Lisa - WOW - just being able to say you actually saw it in person is fantastic! Stop "picking" on Iceland - the need to be famous for something. Now they have their 15 minutes of fame - more like 15 days .... smile! The E Tower looks like it stands pretty much alone - is that true? Could you see any of the Arc de Triomphe? Seems as though you really enjoyed Paris / France. You sure are "packing alot" into your travels. That is great. Keep the posts coming.
Love - Dad
She did. I wasn't too interested in his grave, but I took a lot of cool pictures because the sun was out and there were lots of trees and stuff.
ReplyDeleteYeah. A lot of people kept taking pictures of the Mona Lisa, which is kinda dumb, but that's a rant for another day.
Iceland: all they're famous for is an economic collapse and a volcanic eruption.
The Eiffel Tower is the tallest building in Paris, by law. So, yeah, it pretty much looks like it stands alone, but there are super-busy streets that run next to it/around it.