Paris- part III
Tuesday, the 30th of August 2005
On this day we woke up a little later than usual and before starting our last day in Paris, we went to the supermarket to buy some food supplies for the looong trip back home!
Then we went to catch the metro and got out at the Champs-Élysées station where we walked up through the avenues until we reached the Arc de Triomphe (which is one of the biggest French symbols). After Napoleon’s great victory in the battle of Austerliz in 1805, he promised his soldiers to be received under triumphal arches so the next year the first stone was cast in order to build l’Arc de Triomphe. However, due to some problems with the architect’s project and the decline of Napoleon’s power postponed the conclusion of the arch until 1836. In the 1920’s, the body of an unknown soldier was put under the arch in memory of the dead of the 1st world war and the light of the eternal flame is lighted every night. I really liked visiting the place, especially because it had lots of benches and I spent lots of time just sitting there and resting. It’s also amazing that soooo many streets lead to the same arch (I read it was a way to requalify the urban streets of Paris that were extremely narrow and dirty - the same thing happened in Lisbon in the Marquês de Pombal area due to the 1755’s earthquake).
Afterwards, we walked down the Avenue of the Champs- Élysées (again) and decided to visit the Petit and Grand Palais. The Petit Palais was built for the Universal Exhibition in 1900 with the aim of installing a huuuge french art show. The Grand Palais was built during the same time as Petit Palais and is located right in front of it. It’s basicaly a huge palace with a glass roof...very magestic.
Afterwards we decided to visit Les Invalides. It’s a beautiful and imponent palace (with a beautiful and big garden in front of it) built by Louis XIV in 1670 to receive veteran soldiers that had been wounded during the war (most of them were homeless and beggars). It used to have 600 people in it but in the present it only has around 100 (and indeed we did see some old men in wheelchairs inside it). Later on, it was built the Dôme des Invalides (inside it lies the mortal remainings of Napoleon) with a magnificent golden top that was meant to be the private chappel of Louis XIV while the St. Louis des Invalides was aimed to be the soldier’s chappels. Both chappels were really beautiful but the first one was just overwhelming...
Lastly, and since we still had some free time we decided to see one last thing before we left Paris: Sacre Coeur. My mother and my grandfather had already been there before and they advised me and Ricardo not to miss it so, although we were feeling pretty tired already we decided to take the subway and visit this impressive church. To get there we had to use a funicular (which is basicaly a kind of an elevator - since the church is located on top of a hill). Obviously we could have taken the stairs but as I mentioned earlier, we were already extremely tired. The sacre coeur (the history of the church’s construction had to do with the promise of two businessmen in 1870 that declared they’d financiate the construction of a church dedicated to the sacred heart of Jesus Christ if France would escape the massacre of the prussian troops. Although the war became a reality, Paris wasn’t invaded and the construction began in 1875, according to Paul Abadie’s project. But the thing that most impressed me in Sacre Coeur was the incredibly beautiful view it had of the city. Some friends of mine saw the photos and said it kinda liked look “Bom Jesus” in Braga but I’ve never visited it (or if I did, I was too small to remember) so I have no idea. So, we just sat on the stairs for a long time observing the view and watching this mime that was on the road performing some tricks (that were quite funny). After a while, we climbed down the stairs and head to the subway. We were now going to the Austerlitz station in Paris where at 23:40 we’d take the train to Hendaye and initiate our trip back home.
The Arch of Triumph
Petit Palais
Grand Palais
Les Invalides
Dôme des Invalides
Sacre Coeur
On this day we woke up a little later than usual and before starting our last day in Paris, we went to the supermarket to buy some food supplies for the looong trip back home!
Then we went to catch the metro and got out at the Champs-Élysées station where we walked up through the avenues until we reached the Arc de Triomphe (which is one of the biggest French symbols). After Napoleon’s great victory in the battle of Austerliz in 1805, he promised his soldiers to be received under triumphal arches so the next year the first stone was cast in order to build l’Arc de Triomphe. However, due to some problems with the architect’s project and the decline of Napoleon’s power postponed the conclusion of the arch until 1836. In the 1920’s, the body of an unknown soldier was put under the arch in memory of the dead of the 1st world war and the light of the eternal flame is lighted every night. I really liked visiting the place, especially because it had lots of benches and I spent lots of time just sitting there and resting. It’s also amazing that soooo many streets lead to the same arch (I read it was a way to requalify the urban streets of Paris that were extremely narrow and dirty - the same thing happened in Lisbon in the Marquês de Pombal area due to the 1755’s earthquake).
Afterwards, we walked down the Avenue of the Champs- Élysées (again) and decided to visit the Petit and Grand Palais. The Petit Palais was built for the Universal Exhibition in 1900 with the aim of installing a huuuge french art show. The Grand Palais was built during the same time as Petit Palais and is located right in front of it. It’s basicaly a huge palace with a glass roof...very magestic.
Afterwards we decided to visit Les Invalides. It’s a beautiful and imponent palace (with a beautiful and big garden in front of it) built by Louis XIV in 1670 to receive veteran soldiers that had been wounded during the war (most of them were homeless and beggars). It used to have 600 people in it but in the present it only has around 100 (and indeed we did see some old men in wheelchairs inside it). Later on, it was built the Dôme des Invalides (inside it lies the mortal remainings of Napoleon) with a magnificent golden top that was meant to be the private chappel of Louis XIV while the St. Louis des Invalides was aimed to be the soldier’s chappels. Both chappels were really beautiful but the first one was just overwhelming...
Lastly, and since we still had some free time we decided to see one last thing before we left Paris: Sacre Coeur. My mother and my grandfather had already been there before and they advised me and Ricardo not to miss it so, although we were feeling pretty tired already we decided to take the subway and visit this impressive church. To get there we had to use a funicular (which is basicaly a kind of an elevator - since the church is located on top of a hill). Obviously we could have taken the stairs but as I mentioned earlier, we were already extremely tired. The sacre coeur (the history of the church’s construction had to do with the promise of two businessmen in 1870 that declared they’d financiate the construction of a church dedicated to the sacred heart of Jesus Christ if France would escape the massacre of the prussian troops. Although the war became a reality, Paris wasn’t invaded and the construction began in 1875, according to Paul Abadie’s project. But the thing that most impressed me in Sacre Coeur was the incredibly beautiful view it had of the city. Some friends of mine saw the photos and said it kinda liked look “Bom Jesus” in Braga but I’ve never visited it (or if I did, I was too small to remember) so I have no idea. So, we just sat on the stairs for a long time observing the view and watching this mime that was on the road performing some tricks (that were quite funny). After a while, we climbed down the stairs and head to the subway. We were now going to the Austerlitz station in Paris where at 23:40 we’d take the train to Hendaye and initiate our trip back home.
The Arch of Triumph
Petit Palais
Grand Palais
Les Invalides
Dôme des Invalides
Sacre Coeur