Day 40 - Walk #18 and a movie

So I thought I was doing pretty good with the Walks. We started out with 21 and I was down to 11 (but really 10 because #21 is basically just walking aimlessly). Then I looked at the calender and realized that I only have 3 full weekends left because I have Normandy, Loire Valley, England, and then Finals week (which is when the walks are due). I figured out that I would have to do a walk every free weekend-day for the rest of the time here, including today! So even though I needed to study for religion, I went on a walk today because I needed to do that too.
I went with Hanna and did Walk #18: Grands Boulevards Walk (yes, grands is supposed to be plural). It wasn't bad. Here's a bit of an intro: "Baron Haussmann, under the direction of Napoleon III, directed the transformation of Paris into a modern city from 1852 to 1870. 'Under no government was the city so drastically restructured as under Napoleon III and Haussmann. A new network of streets tore into the old structures and opened up the medieval core; 20,000 buildings [many of them old slums] were torn down and 40,000 new ones erected. . . . More than 30,000 buildings were equipped with direct water connections, and the most modern sewer system in the world was created. . . . Haussmann always tried to have his new streets end in dramatic focal points-straight axes, uniform facades, star-shaped squares, and a deliberate sense of proportion between the width of a street and the height of the structures along it. . . . Haussmann's main achievement on the Right Bank was the design of the large Place de l'Etoile surrounding the Arc de Triomphe [that boasts] 12 radiating [streets].' (Bussmann, K. Dumont Guide to Paris and the Ile de France, 1984, pp. 89-91.) Another name you will surely get to know is that of Charles Garnier, a contemporary of Baron Haussmann. Garnier designed the architectural masterpiece we currently call the Opera Garnier."

This is Printemps, a huge department store. We didn't go in because chances are everything would be too expensive anyway. And it was super crowded.

Printemps is made up of multiple buildings so they have these covered skywalks.

C&A. The logo looks like C&H Sugar, don't you think? Anyway, we went in there for a little bit to browse. It is an inexpensive department store, but it is still good quality. After that, we went into H&M, another inexpensive, but nice department store. There wasn't a whole lot to interest me (except for gold sequined hot pants :) JK), but I did find an awesome purse.

I have been on the lookout for one for a while. The reason why is that my other purse is falling apart. It has a lining on the inside that is cracking and getting flecks of stuff over everything! It was highly annoying. This purse has a polyester lining, so there shouldn't be any issues with that happening again :) I was very happy to find this purse because it will fit my camera bag along with my school items and other things. Yay!

Then we went to Galéries Lafayette. It is another very large department store. We went in for just a little bit (it was so hot and crowded in there!) to see this...

Wow. I wish our department stores looked like that! It looks like an opera house!

Back of the Opera Garnier.

Side entrance.

Statues on the front of the opera. I have been wondering where that last statue was and then, boom, there it was right in front of me. That's how things tend to go here in Paris. There is something cool to see everywhere.

And here is the front. "The sumptuous Opera Garnier is one of the most beautiful attractions of Paris, both inside and out. Wile Gernier designed the building for opera, today it is used mostly for ballet. The relatively new opera house at the Place de la Bastille is the current venue for opera. Gastons Leroux's novel the Phantom of the Opera (1909) and the many adaptations of the story, including Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, have added to the fame of this wonderful building. (Yes, there is a lake under the opera house - a very small one!)"

We wanted to go inside, but the main part (which is the coolest part) was temporarily closed. So we'll just have to come back on some other day. This is just the entry hall and it has a pretty cool floor.

A sculpture above a door on the inside of Opera Garnier.

Then we went to Place Vendome. It is lined with expensive shops and other things. "In 1699, Place Vendome was turned into a royal square and called Place Louis-le-Grand, referring to Louis XIV. Note the matching facades around the square with Corinthian pilasters. Eventually, weathly speculators purchased the plots behind the facades primarily for private residences."

"During the French Revolution, the statue of Louis XIV on the square was melted down and the square was renamed Place des Piques (spikes). Under Napoleon, the square was once again called Place Vendome, on of its original names. The 140 foot column in the middle of the square was erected in 1806 to celebrate Napoleon's victory at Austerlitz - over 1200 Austrian cannons were melted down to create the column. That's Napoleon in a Roman costume on the top." Oh Napoleon... This column is very much like another column that was built during the Roman times. I believe it is called the Column of Trajan.

Close up for your viewing pleasure.

Princess Diana died just a few minutes after leaving this hotel.

L'eglise Saint-Roch. The foundation was started in 1653 for this church. "Further down the street, Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc) was wounded while leading an attack on the English in 1429."

"Joan of Arc is the most celebrated heroine of France. In 1429, at age 16, she went to Orleans to help save Charles VII from the English by rallying the troops loyal to the king and encouraging Charles VII himself. In 1430, she fell into the hands of enemies of the kind who turned her over to the English. She was burned at the stake as a heretic in 1431 (age 18!). The inspiration resulting from her actions helped bring about the end of the Hundred Years War when the English were finally chased from France."

Overall, it wasn't such a bad walk. We saw a couple of pretty interesting things. After I got home, Rosalie and Marine (the intern living here) invited me to a movie. We went and saw Invictus. Amazing! I love Morgan Freeman. He actually looks a lot like Nelson Mandela. It was a bit about sports (Rugby looks awesome!), but mostly about healing the wounds of the apartheid. I recommend it highly.

All for now. I've got to get studying!