Paris & London Highlights
In addition to getting engaged in Paris and eating very well in both cities (see separate posts), the rest of the trip to Paris and London was filled with great memories. We had incredible weather for the trip, especially for February – mostly sunny, with highs near 60F during the day lows in the 40Fs, with no rain at all. Overall, we tried not to pack too much into each day’s schedule and take it at a more leisurely pace.
(Most of this post was written before the tragic fire at Notre Dame. We are glad to have seen the cathedral, but obviously saddened by the destruction.)
The trip, however, got off to a bit of an unfortunate start. The first night in Paris, my relatively new iPhone Xr was pickpocketed in the Paris Metro, between walking in the station and getting to the platform. I had been aware of the risks and had kept items securely zipped up in internal coat pockets, but a momentary lapse resulted in the loss of the phone (and more importantly for the trip, the superior camera). This story is one that is relatable to many who’ve visited Paris - their pickpockets are definitely world class. At least it wasn’t my wallet, passport or engagement ring. I immediately locked the phone, so I don’t think any information is compromised, and the main loss was the replacement value and some photos taken earlier that day. While I had thought about getting a new phone or camera for the trip, I ended up using my iPad as the camera. This did a decent job in good light, but is nowhere near as clear in low light or taking selfies with the front camera. Thus, the pictures aren’t as nice as they could have been. In the past, I had always wondered why tourists would use their iPads to take pictures, but now I was in their ranks and my previous mocking turned to sympathy, as perhaps they had also gotten their phones recently stolen.
Not a look I’m hoping to repeat…
With this being Aiday’s first trip to either city, we tried to hit some of the key attractions and didn’t veer too far off the beaten path. Our visit featured a mix of art museums, churches, historic and architecturally interesting buildings, and walking around the neighborhoods (in addition to the eating). The leisurely pace also included some jet lag adjustments, so we did not wake up at the crack of dawn to embark on our daily adventures. In Paris, our friends recommended a hotel in St. Germain (6th arr), which was fantastic – centrally located, clean, friendly. The only drawback was that our room faced the lively street, which had people drinking and carousing until 3-4am on the weekends.
After landing, checking in to the hotel, and grabbing a quick bite, we made our way to the Eiffel Tower. To me, the effect of seeing it in person is similar to seeing the Taj Mahal. No matter how many pictures I’ve seen of the place, the real thing is even more impressive and worthy of its fame. We had pre-bought tickets take the elevator to the summit, which allowed us to bypass the lines. Even though Valentine’s Day is not as big a holiday in Europe, there were big crowds, especially since it was a clear day. We went straight to the top and took in views the 360 degree views of the city. I liked how the shadow of the tower sits on the city below. We took in views of the tower at various times across multiple days, including at night from the Trocadero. It’s more romantic at night.
For art museums, we spent quite a bit of time at the Louvre and the Musee d’Orsay. There is a vast amount on display at both places, and we did not try to see everything. At the Louvre, we did take in some of the most famous works, including the Mona Lisa (da Vinci), Venus de Milo, Winged Victory of Samothrace, Liberty Leading the People (Delacroix). We also spent a bit of time in the Galerie d’Apollon, which houses the French Crown Jewels. Of course, we also spent a bit of time outside around the I.M. Pei Pyramid, both during the day and at night. When we left, we had hoped to come back to see more galleries, but we didn’t have time to return.
The Musee d’Orsay is one of my favorite museums, both for its art collection as well as the building itself. In addition to see Van Goghs and Degas’s ballerina sculpture, we also saw the Gilet Jaunes (Yellow Vest) protesters marching from the clock window.
The three churches we visited are all rightfully famous and renowned. The first one we saw was Sacre Couer Basilica in Montmarte on Saturday afternoon. The image of this church was Aiday’s computer screen background for several years, so she was excited to see it in person. We walked up the hill to get to the basilica and when we got there, the crowds were out in full force. We, like many others, were there to catch the sunset, with the light making the church look pink. In addition, the view from the hill looking down towards Paris was great.
On Monday, we visited both Sainte-Chapelle and Notre-Dame. Sainte-Chapelle is rather unassuming from the outside, particularly since there are buildings around it. However, the upper level of the interior is the home of the stained glass windows, dating back to the 13th century. We were there around noon on a sunny day, so the windows looked spectacular. This was my first time seeing these windows and I’m glad we went.
A short walk away is Notre-Dame, another fine example of Gothic architecture. The building was started in 1163 and completed in the 14th century. While its exterior hasn’t change and is familiar to most, they are continuing to innovate. This was the first time I’ve seen a church allow you to make donations using your phone and credit card (instead of just cash and loose change). The stained glass inside is also impressive, though not as voluminous as Sainte-Chapelle.
Monday was our busiest sightseeing day. After Notre-Dame, we went to the Palais Garnier, the opera house. This is quite an ornate and opulent structure for both the exterior and interior. We had originally wanted to see a show in the main auditorium, but the ticket purchase did not go through, so we just did a self-guided tour of the building. We especially liked going to the outside balconies just off the Grand Foyer. That day there was a good street musician performing just below and we (especially Aiday) got the enjoy that performance from her own box. As would become custom, we would stay until the building was closing, taking our time to depart. By doing so, we were able to get some nice pictures of the Grand Staircase and the Auditorium without many other people.
Right across the street from the Palais Garnier is the terrace of Galeries Lafayette, the big department store. We went back there (had eaten lunch there earlier that afternoon), which turned out to be a great place to catch the sunset. The blue and orange sky provided a dramatic backdrop to the back of the Palais Garnier in the foreground and the Eiffel Tower in the background. That was the last of the sightseeing we did in Paris and it was a fitting end to all the beauty we saw in the city.
Sunset from the terrace at Galeries Lafayette, with views of Palais Garnier and Eiffel Tower
The London portion of the trip had a similar itinerary - leisurely visits to historical sites along with revisiting some of my favorite places. As a broad categorization, there was more of a historical feel to London vs. a more artistic feel in Paris. Paris had a bit more beauty whereas the weight of history is hard to escape in London.
On our first day in London, we met up with Tim & Caroline and their family. After lunch, we took the Tube to St. Paul’s and walked across the Millennium Bridge to the Tate Modern, a walk I’ve done many times before. One highlight was returning to the Rothko room with the Seagram Murals. This contains nine black and maroon paintings, displayed in reduced light. Like his other paintings, these are quite meditative. Once again, Aiday got the room all to herself. The first time, we were at the National Gallery in Washington DC. Not sure how we get so lucky - perhaps we need are in need of more meditation?!
The other museums we visited in London were more history-related - The British Museum and Churchill War Rooms. The British Museum is dedicated to human history, with a collection of art and artifacts from all over the world. It was nice to see exhibits dedicated to Africa, Asia as well as the Silk Road. I’m not sure if the exhibits mentioned the Kyrgyz Republic by name, but the traditional and cultural importance were noted. We didn’t have time to fully appreciate the Ancient Greek (besides the Rosetta Stone) or the controversial Parthenon rooms. We did take a few photos in the Great Room, which looked especially nice with a clear blue sky and interesting light and shadows.
The Churchill War Rooms offers a way to step back in time, as the rooms are preserved as they were during the war. We’ve seen movies (at least the parts when I was awake) and video of how Churchill and his cabinet managed the war from this bunker, so seeing it in person brought it to life. The audio recordings of Churchill’s speeches are stirring. The pictures of the rooms aren’t that exciting, though we were amused by some of the signs and war-time motivational posters, beyond the famous “Keep Calm & Carry On” mantra.
We visited a few royal and historical sites in addition to the museums. Our hotel in London was in Westminster, walking distance away from Westminster Abbey, Parliament, and Buckingham Palace. We also made a trip to the Tower of London. Unfortunately, Big Ben is undergoing restoration work, so it was completely covered up. We only saw the outside of the Parliament Buildings. While there were some Brexit protesters, it was relatively tame (only a handful of protestors) when we went.
Westminster Abbey offered a different type of experience than the beauty of the Parisian churches and chapels. For whatever reason, we remember the architecture and grand stained glass windows of the French churches and the gravesite of the Westminster Abbey, as it seems to highlight the important English writers/poets, scientists, and leaders buried there. It felt a little strange literally walking on top of the graves, but it can’t be avoided.
We visited the Tower of London on another sunny day in London. The site is a former palace, prison, and fortress, so it provides an interesting and wide ranging mix of things to see and do. The Yeoman Warder tour was well worth it, as the guide brings the history to life, even if much of it (at least on our tour) was about executions and beheadings. There was also a line to see the Torture Tower, which houses exhibits about manacles, the rack and the scavenger’s daughter. Sort of an odd choice for a family day out, but there were a lot of kids at the Tower.
On a brighter note, the Tower of London is also the home to the Crown Jewels. As with other places in London, they did not allow pictures, so I can’t post any here. The British Crown Jewels were more impressive than the French ones that we had seen at the Louvre. For the most celebrated jewels, e.g. the royal crowns and the scepters, there is a moving walkway to make sure everyone can see them clearly and no one stands in front of them. Given as much time as we’ve spent with diamonds, we took several passes on the walkway to see them. After hearing that “no diamond is too big,” Aiday did relent and say that the Cullinan I (“Great Star of Africa,” 530ct, in the Sovereign Sceptre) and the Cullinan II (317ct, part of the Imperial State Crown) were indeed “big enough.”
As was our tradition, we stayed until closing at the Tower of London, and then took some nice pictures of the Tower Bridge. The contrast between those places and the newer parts of the skyline, i.e. The Shard and Gerkhin, is stark.
We didn’t spend too much time at the other royal palaces this trip. We took some pictures in front of Buckingham Palace but didn’t see the changing of the guard. On a different day, we walked a bit through Hyde Park and to Kensington Palace. I used to live close to there, so we spent a little bit of time walking around my old neighborhood and visiting spots like the Churchill Arms.
Panoramic view of the Tower of London
More so than in Paris, we spent time walking around the neighborhoods and doing a bit more eating than in Paris (somewhat ironic, I know). There is so much to do, so we’ll have to return for some activities like an Arsenal game, art galleries, shopping (Selfridges, Harrods, etc.), and visiting other parts outside of Central London. After wanting to take in some culture and see some sort of show, we ended up seeing a West End play. It was “True West”, written by Sam Shepard and starring Johnny Flynn and Kit Harrington, aka Jon Snow from Game of Thrones. Both gave great performances. We saw some street performance in Leicester Square that night, but they weren’t quite as good.
The 5 days that we spend in each city was enough to appreciate them, but certainly not enough to explore them more fully. We’re very fortunate that we were able to see Notre-Dame Cathedral when we did.