Saturday, March 6, 2010

5 walks in 3 days! Part 3 and a half

So I'll finish off the last walk I did on Friday, the Latin Quarter one, and then I'll go through a walk I started my second week here, but finally finished earlier this week between classes. It was cold and the girls and Mike as well didn't want to finish it that time.

So here goes. Latin Quarter, so named because of the many institutions of Higher learning in the area, which were originally taught in Latin, is really quite an interesting place. Very lively, and the prices are very reasonable even though it's really close to Notre Dame and surrounding touristy areas. This is because of the students that need to go there and eat! It has a lot of restaurants, and I can tell the night life is amazing even though we went around 3-5 pm. Here's two pics of the street.

Then we went to L'église Saint-Séverin. I thought this was amazing and one of my favorite Churches so far. Look at the unique type of stained glass they got. What I should've checked, (i just missed reading this on the walk) was to see the unique lights on the Church floor from the sun. I'll be back again! There's also this pillar that was built to look like a palm tree.
Oh and here's just random art in the Latin Quarter. I told you it's a lively place! Even Einstein hangs out there.
Then we walked along the Seine and passed by where the Academie Française meets. They're a group of people in charge of keeping the French language pure and allow new words to enter it. I think it's kind of dumb since I feel that the language belongs to the people who speak it. It is fluid, and will change on it's own. These people tried to create a name for e-mail but nobody uses it (it's in our textbooks but my teacher says they still say e-mail). But yeah, this is where they meet:
There's also a bridge Pont des Arts where couples can put a lock on and with their initials signifying their deep and undying love for each other. Quite romantic. I can't remember if this is Rosalie's or not, but she put one for her mission boyfriend. Well, that's it!
Now for the walk that I finished over 6 weeks. It starts at Notre Dame, and I know this sounds bad but it's so close to the school and I've seen it/walked past it/met up in front if it so many times I kind of take it for granted. It's probably one of my favorites on the outside, but inside I prefer some of the smaller Cathedrals. Here's a pic I took the first day! And the next one is from the back which I took during the walk.

Next, right in front of Notre Dame, there's a little museum called the Crypte du Parvis. It shows how Paris just keeps building on older and older stuff, kind of reminds me of Star Wars, where it talks about Coruscant and how things just keep going higher and higher and then the whole world is covered in buildings. It was pretty cool, and pretty cheap but not a "museum" per say I mean seeing a roman ruin underneath, and then a 18th century ruin only takes a few minutes.
We also found a fun little playground french kids play on!! I think we should add this to everywhere in the world!!!! So Fun!
And finally we went to the Conciergerie and Saint-Chapelle. Conciergerie served as a royal residence, prison at different points in time. Ironically, it is where Marie Antoinette was held before her death. I took a few pictures but then read a sign saying they're not completely sure where she was held as it had undergone many renovations so I feel like I would be lying by posting them and saying this is where she was. But it was still a nice pleasant visit. Then I went to St-Chapelle. Probably my favourite Cathedral indoors. Just look at its gothicness. It is so rich and vibrant and colorful yet somber at the same time. It's even free since I was a student so I'm definitely going to go back. Here's some pics. They're doing renovations so I don't have a pic of the whole main hall, but when I come back next year or so I'll take one!

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