Day 59 - Deux Walks (#5 et #3) and Siddharta Ballet

Today was a full day and I even got to sleep in! It was an absolutely gorgeous day outside. I did not even have to wear my coat. Spring is coming! I am so glad I decided to do the Winter semester as opposed to the Fall Semester. The main reason why is because I get to see everything come to life instead of watching everything die. I appreciate the spring weather much more because I just went through a semi-miserable winter :) Also, we got to explore Paris before all the tourists got here (not that there is anything wrong with tourists). Mm I love warm weather!

Hanna and I started off the day with Walk #5: Place de la Concorde Walk. The name is a misnomer. The walk really isn't about the Place de la Concorde. So I am renaming this walk. It is now Beaucoup de Embassies et Jardin des Tuileries. Not much better, but at least it is more fitting with what we spent time with :)

"The Théâtre Marigny was designed in 1853 by Gernier, the future architect of the famous Opéra."

Gilded gates of the Ministry of the Interior.

Embassy of Colombia, I think.

US ambassador's residence.

British embassy. We saw the US embassy, but we are not allowed to take pictures.

Hotel de Crillon, "the most exclusive and expensive hotels in Paris."

I love the sun rings! :) This is the Luxor Obelisk. It "was a gift in 1829 to Charles X from Muhammed Ali, the Egyptian governor, who was courting the favor of the French government. The pink granite column is over three thousand years old and contains a dedication to the god Ammon and the pharaoh Ramses. It comes from the ruins of Luxor, an ancient city along the Nile."

Fountain = Springtime :D

Somewhere in this general area, 1 343 people were guillotined. It is also the entrance to Jardin des Tuleries. "The name of this beautiful park means 'tile works' because of the local clay used to make tuiles (tiles). The gardens have been part of the Palais du Louvre and the Palais des Tuileries since about 1564. In 1792, Louis XVI and his family fled from the Palais des Tuileries (torn down in 1882) and across the gardens to escape the revolutionaries."

A pretty good view of the obelisk, the Arc du Triomphe, and the Grande Arche (you can see it inside the Arc du Triomphe). Also, of a man and his little girl :)

"The Arc du Triomphe du Carrousel was built in 1806 to celebrate Napoleon's victories." And that was the conclusion of that walk. Because it was such a gorgeous day, Hanna and I layed in the grass for a while and enjoyed the sunshine :) Then we continued on to our next walk.

This is the Tour Montparnasse the beginning of Walk #3. In the second picture, it is the one that is almost in the center of the picture. "The massive skyscraper stands out like a sore thumb amid the traditional French architecture but makes a handy landmark that you will see in more than one walk. Constructed from 1969 to 1972, [it] stands 689 feet tall (59 floors), making it a clear sign of space-age enthusiasm for all things futuristic. Inspired by the World Trade Center, the lone Parisian tower was at one time slated to have a twin; however, the growth of the Parisian skyscraper family was stunted - or rather, displaced - by new zoning laws. Consequently, central Paris maintains its nineteenth-century grandeur and the La Défense (coming soon!) area is the Parisian Manhattan."

A random church. They are everywhere.

This would be really cool if my last name started with an M.

These are some of the "former hangouts of famous expatriates, writers, and artists, including Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Picasso, and many others."

Hanna with good old Alfred Dreyfus. Don't know who he is? Well then, let me enlighten you :) He was "a Jewish officer in the french army who was falsely convicted of treson in 1894, stripped of his rank at the École Militaire, exile to Devil's Island, tried, convicted a second time, and finally pardoned by the president of France due to external political pressures. The Dreyfus affair polarized France and cause Emile Zola to write a scathing indictment of the French government: J'accuse. Even today, the affair remains a touchy subject and a reminder of deep-seated anti-Semitism in France. The placement of this statue is emblematic of the need to commemorate Dreyfus on the one hand and the difficulty of doing so on the other.


"Intended to be placed in the courtyard of the military school where Dreyfus was humiliated, instead, it was placed in an obscure corner of the Jardin des Tuileries, facing a wall. Later, the government further displaced the reminder of its shame to this tiny refuge, far from the eyes of tourists... Perhaps one day the statue will make it to the École Militaire."

Then we headed to Jardin du Luxembourg. You may or may not remember, but we came here before with Todd from our ward. However, this time was much better because it was warm and wonderful!

Cute little beehives, the beginning of the checklist we were given for this walk.

I think they will add these to the beehives in the previous picture.

Old men playing pétanque. It is kind of like crochet in that you try to hit the balls of other players. In this game, they throw the balls. I think I've played a game similar to it once.

As we were taking pictures of the game, this weird old man kept talking to us. We finally realized that he wanted us to take a picture of him while he was dancing. So we did. It was funny, but a little creepy.

Mini statue of liberty.

Children riding on donkeys.

There is a couple kissing. It was on our checklist! We also saw Park security men keeping people off the grass and people jogging, but I didn't take pictures of them.

Last item on the checklist: chess players. You can't see them very well, but they are playing chess.

"Former residence of the Duc de Piney-Luxembourg, Marie de Médicis (widow of Henry IV) acquired the site and had it redesigned in the style of the Pitti Palace in Florence, Italy. Due to meddling in her son's (Louis XIII) political affairs, she was exiled before construction of the project had been completed."

Fontaine Médicis.

This is an orangerie, not to be confused with the Orangerie Museum in the Jardin des Tuileries.

And thus ended our walk. We stuck around the park for a little while because, like I said, it was a gorgeous day.

Then we headed to Opera Bastille to attend the Siddharta Ballet. It is based off of the story of the man who becomes Buddha. It was very interesting. I liked it, but I really wish that I knew what was going on. It was very modern and abstract.

Well, that's all for today. As always, more tomorrow :)