FRANCE – PARIS – An Old Lady with a Backpack

MAY 5-9, 2025

While we were at the airport in Tirana, waiting for the plane to Beauvais, we were wondering if there was a shuttle into Paris. There was a lady behind us in the queue who was speaking French so I told Pierre to ask her. He asked in French, but she replied in English. I am always teasing Pierre about losing his French from living in English speaking Alberta for so long. So he asked her in French, “Do you understand me?” “Of course. I just got used to speaking English in Albania.” He made some smart-ass remark about thinking me teasing him about it. She jokingly replied, “And you have to live with him? Are you safe?” All the ladies around howled in laughter. I had to explain to Pierre later that there are signs in the ladies bathrooms, at all airports, that say “If you are being trafficked or if something looks suspicious, call this number.” Apparently, men’s bathrooms have no such sign.

We caught the shuttle to Paris, then took the metro to our Airbnb location. It was very close to the Metro, which is always convenient.

The apartment was very small and more like a loft. Our bed was squashed into the slanting roof. We whacked our heads a few times, but finally got used to it. There was a huge grocery store a few doors away.

There was a skylight that opened, and the view was quite nice.

NOTE: We thought this apartment was expensive, until we booked a hotel room in Calgary for the night we returned to Canada. An apartment in Paris was cheaper than a hotel room in Calgary. What is wrong with that picture??

The next morning we headed out for a day of exploring. We had both been to Paris before, so some of the sights were not exactly a must-see. However, considering that NOTRE DAME was on the list. It took nearly 200 years to build (1163-1345). It hosted the coronation of Napoleon I, the baptism of the last Bourbon of France, and presidential funerals. It also houses the Holy Crown.

This Paris icon was nearly destroyed in a fire in 2019. Money poured in from the faithful, funding the engineers and craftsmen to restore it in time for the 2024 Olympics. We were curious to sees if there were any changes.

The rose windows are among the largest in Europe.

There were hoards of people. Estimates of 35,000 people every day! The only thing that we noticed different was how sparkling white and bright it now was. Decades of candle soot and grimy windows had been washed away.

In the courtyard, outside of the Cathedral, a large tent set up. A BREAD FESTIVAL was underway. A giant bakery with professional bakers and apprentices were showcasing their skills.

Every aspect of the bread making was on display; right from the different grains used, the mixing, the shaping and, of course, the tasting. Give us this day our daily bread. YUMMY!!

TOUR ST. JACQUES (tower) was once part of a church. The church was first documented in the 12th century. The bell tower was built 1509-1533. During the Revolution, in 1797, the church was sold as a stone quarry, with the stipulation that the bell tower remained untouched. Today it is one of the four starting points of the Way of Saint James (Camino de Santiago).

The CONCIERGERIE is a former courthouse and prison. During the French Revolution, 2,781 prisoners, including Marie Antoinette, were imprisoned, tried and sentenced here. (They were executed at Place de la Concorde.) It was originally part of the former royal palace. It is now a national monument and museum.

PONT NEUF is the oldest standing bridge across the river Seine in Paris. The first stone was laid in 1578. Construction ended in 1607. It is an arch bridge 232 metres (761 ft) long and 22 metres (72 ft) wide.

There are 381 mascarons (stone masks) decorating the sides of the bridge. Each one is different. They represent the heads of forest and field divinities from ancient mythology. They are copies of the originals, which are in various museums.

There were many vendor stalls along the riverbank walkway.

The PONT DES ARTS links the INSTITUT FRANCAIS, on the left side of the Seine, with the PALAIS DU LOUVRE, on the right side.

We did not go into the LOUVRE MUSEUM, as it was closed in preparation for the Victory in Europe Day celebrations.

The LOUVRE PALACE is beautiful, even from the outside.

The ARC de TRIOMPHE CARROUSEL, located in the PLACE du CARROUSEL, is half the size of the Arc de Triomphe at the end of Champs-Elysees. They were both designed in the same year and were both built to commemorate different military victories by Napoleon. Whereas this one was completed between 1806-1808, the big Arc was not completed until 1836.

The monument is 63 feet (19 m) high, 75 feet (23 m) wide, and 24 feet (7.3 m) deep. The 21 feet (6.4 m) high central arch is flanked by two smaller ones, 14 feet (4.3 m) high, and 9 feet (2.7 m) wide.

It has beautiful reliefs under the arches.

TUILERIES GARDEN is a public garden between the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde. It was created as the garden of the Tuileries Palace in 1564. The area used to be occupied by tile making factories, hence the name “Tuileries”, meaning “tile”. It was opened to the public in 1667 and became a public park after the French Revolution.

The giant fountain in the centre

is surrounded by classical sculptures.

PLACE de la CONCORDE is the largest square in Paris. As mentioned earlier, it was the site of many notable public executions, including Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and Maximilien Robespierre during the course of the French Revolution, during which the square was named the Place de la Révolution (‘Revolution Square’). It received its current name in 1795 as a gesture of reconciliation in the later years of the revolution.

The centrepiece of the Place de la Concorde is an ancient EGYPTIAN OBELISK. It is one of two which the Egyptian government gave to the French in the 19th century. The other one stayed in Egypt, too difficult and heavy to move to France with the technology at that time. On 26 September 1981 President Francois Mitterrand formally returned the title of this obelisk to Egypt. But not the obelisk itself.

The GRAND PALAIS was also closed. I’m not sure if it was still under reconstruction or in preparation for the Victory of Europe celebrations. Construction of the building began in 1897 in preparation for the Universal Exposition of 1900. The adjacent Petit Palais and PONT ALEXANDRE III were built at the same time.

Its design was inspired by London’s Crystal Palace, with an iron steel and glass barrel-vaulted roof, which was necessary for large gatherings in the age before electricity. It was intended to showcase France’s fine arts, but it also hosts a variety of events from concerts, automobile shows, and fashion shows to fencing tournaments.

It is a massive building. It is 240 metres (790 ft) long and 45 metres (148 ft) high under the dome. Its main exhibition space has a glass roof that is 240 meters long. The total area covered by the three sections of the Grand Palais is 72,000 square meters (775,000 square feet).

Since the Grand Palais was closed, we went into le PETIT PALAIS across the street.

The first thing to strike me was the impressive gilded gates.

Once inside the mosaic floor blew me away.

The Petit Palais has been said to have the “power to educate the mind while it pleases the senses”. I could not agree more.

Anyone who has seen Les Miserables can identify with this image of Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Victor Baudin. He was a French physician and deputy to the assembly in 1849 famous for having been killed on a barricade during the coup of 1851.

And this picture of Gavroche at the barricade.

Dante in hell, repelling the forces of evil.

This sculpture was inspired by an actual event: a “cat fight” between two naked women. Art is not always stuffy and boring.

Walking along, we saw these two guys with Lamborghini’s for rent. They did not seem too enthusiastic.

Considering Paris has a bylaw regarding the exterior appearance of buildings, to preserve the city’s architectural heritage and character, LOUIS VUITTON must have paid a hefty fee for permission to build this building.

The did have interesting window displays, though.

The ARC de TRIOMPHE is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Elysees at the juncture formed by twelve radiating avenues. It honours those who fought and died for France in the French Revolution and Napoleonic wars. The Tomb of the WWI Unknown Soldier lies beneath it.

As mentioned earlier, it is twice the size of the Carrousel Arc. This one is 50 m (164 ft) high, 45 m (148 ft) wide and 22 m (72 ft) deep, while its large vault is 29.19 m (95.8 ft) high and 14.62 m (48.0 ft) wide. The smaller transverse vaults are 18.68 m (61.3 ft) high and 8.44 m (27.7 ft) wide.

It was also barricaded off for the Victory celebrations. Damn, I really wanted to go up inside this time. There were lots of people trying to take pictures of it from the Champs-Elysees side. We walked around to one of the other streets and got a much better view.

We walked over to the EIFFEL TOWER. I wanted to see it light up and twinkle at sunset. We had hours to kill. It was our last night in Paris. We had dinner at an outdoor cafe, with a view of the tower. It was a fairly warm evening so we laid down on the grass in CHAMPS de MARS across from the tower.

The park filled up quickly, and we were glad we came early for a nice spot. A busker stood a few feet behind us and played relaxing music on his trumpet, while men walked about selling champagne, wine and beer. It was too romantic to even put into words.