Europe--Day 5

Brrrrr...we set out early on Thursday with no sun and cold temperatures. The Arc de Triomphe was our first stop, the 165-foot arch that was started in 1809 by Napoleon, celebrating his title as emperor of a "New Rome." ("This guy thinks highly of himself," commented Brady a few times as we walked around this monument.)



Basically, the Arc is intended to celebrate French armies, and inscribed on the Arc are lists of generals and battle victories. It is the location for military parades to pass through and a swastika flew here in the 1940s.



This is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The flame (yeah, good luck trying to see it in this pic) has been continuous since WWI.



This makes us sound uncultured, but this view was our favorite part of visiting this site. Looking down on traffic, it seems CRAZY how the laws work. Thankfully, good ol' Rick Steves (the book I'm holding in practically every picture on our blog) cleared this mystery up for us. Anyone in the roundabout around the Arc must yield to all incoming traffic coming from any of the 12 boulevards. It is hilarious to watch cars work through the mess. All accidents here are split 50/50, so it doesn't really matter who was "right." Yikes.



We walked down the Champs-Elysees--the home of elegence, big-name shopping, and dozens of cafes. We cruised through quickly, stopping only briefly to check it out. At the end of the boulevard is the Place de la Concorde, where 2,780 people were beheaded during the Reign of Terror (including Robespierre, the man in charge at this time period). The guillotine--thought of as more humane and advanced than previous forms of torture and capital punishment--was located here, and ended the lives of famous individuals like Marie Antoinette and King Louis the XIV. On the site, there is now an obelisk that came all the way from Egypt in the 1830s to remember the executed.



This is Tuileries Garden. I'm sure it is more beautiful when there are leaves on the trees, and the sun is shining. In our rush to get to the Mona Lisa, we forgot to take pics of the outside of the Louvre the day before. We walked all the way down just to capture these famous views.





We planned it right so we could see Monet's famous water lilies in the Orangerie. Whew! He painted these 6-foot panels when he was 80 years old and nearly blind. The museum contains many Impressionist works, and reminded me that I really love Impressionism! The interplay of light and realism is gorgeous (although if you stand close to these works, they just look like fuzzy blobs).



Next stop, Orsay Museum. This used to be an old railway, as you can tell from this view. This museum contains works starting in the 1800s, and works through Conservative/Classical art (very repetitive), Realism (makes you feel it), Impressionism (yay!), Post Impressionism (van Gogh), and Primitives (ick). This was our favorite museum.



Another Monet with brilliant colors.



Finally, we hit the Rodin museum, the best sculpter since Michelangelo. This sculpture is The Hand of God, and shows Adam and Eve as they are created.



We had a spare hour, but Brady shot down the idea of hitting the Pompidou Center (modern art). In all fairness, we did a TON of walking this day. Instead, we grabbed a bit at our favorite pastry shop right next to our hotel.




We closed out the day with a dinner cruise down the Seine River. It poured on us all the way to the boat, and of course stopped the minute we stepped on board. The food gave us a great taste of French delights--several appetizer bites and desserts.



In France, it seems that you can't find any potable water. On board, you also could not get tap water. As a result, we ordered the cheapest drinks on the menu, and you are looking at our $5.20 Diet Cokes (no refills).



After dinner, we headed up to the roof for the ride back. Very romantic!