Thursday, Friday, and Saturday – October 13, 14, 15

Thursday, after a sandwich and a walk in the Luxembourg Gardens, I went to the Pantheon with my class on Paris Monuments and Political Power. Only in France will there be a pagan temple painted with frescos of saints and other spiritual figures containing the burial place of over two dozen of France’s most famous thinkers. Upon our arrival, the first thing I noticed was the architecture that seems to be a mixture of Greek architecture and gothic architecture—it is evident that the building was modeled after St. Peters in Rome. It is also interesting to note that the columns are in the same Corinthian style as the pillars at the Louvre. While the building was built with windows and the rest of the walls were white, the walls are all now frescos (no windows) and the only light source is the dome in the center of the building. The dome was finished with iron that today produces many problems for the building that seems to be undergoing constant renovation. The fresco on the ceiling of the nave is beautiful—having once depicted Napoleon, when Louis 18th came to power, he painted himself in Napoleon’s place. The main words on the exterior of the building, “Aux Grands Hommes La Patrie Reconnaissante,” (To Great Men, The Grateful fatherland), is prominent with a sculptured inscription above containing a man with a notebook (symbolizing a man recording history), a woman depicting virtue with a staff and on top of that, a rooster, symbolizing France. The central sculpture on the building is of the traditional hero who died for his country. The thinkers buried at the Pantheon are not just philosophers like Voltaire and Rousseau, but those people who contributed to the way the world is today. Standing out to me is Victor Hugo and Marie Curie. Curie is the first and only woman to be buried at the Pantheon and Hugo was one of the first people (after Rousseau and Voltaire) to be buried in the Crypt that actually stayed there. It was interesting to hear that when a person’s contributions proved not to be respected by the French and they happened to be buried at the Pantheon, their remains were removed. Mirabeau was the first person to be buried at the Pantheon but he was later ejected! The procession to be buried at the Pantheon is elaborate. When Voltaire’s body was moved there, he was taken on a processional all the way from Place de Bastille, and Rousseau followed a similar route, being taken from Tuileries.

After the Pantheon and some dinner, I went to the Opera Bastille to see La Boheme. It’s the story that the musical Rent was based off of. I always assumed Opera was a bunch of big old ladies in gowns singing bad old music. I have now been to two operas and I can say that my previously held notion is not true.

Friday, my monuments had a make up class (for a class that we’ll be missing due to a French national holiday) and we went to the gardens of Versailles. I was happy to go because when I went to Versailles last time, it was raining and we only got to see the inside and not the gardens. It was interesting to note that the construction of the gardens of Versailles was started before the construction of the palace. This seems fitting because the grounds are so extensive that they even contain a 7/8-size farm (an escape in the style of “controlled chaos” for Marie Antoinette). As goes most historical sites, the gardens today are not the exact way that they were when the gardens were first constructed. The original construction was intense, with the land containing mostly marshes (and no real water supply). Up to 30,000 workers were employed at one time to landscape and construct the gardens. The main gardens were designed in an Italian garden style intended to show the symmetry of the universe (with the conic trees for example). The Italian gardens have French influences, however, because the gardens contain meanings (in this case, the life and glory of Louis the XIV) rather than leaving the message to personal interpretation, as is the case in Italian gardens. The site of the Grand Canal from the top of the stairs was overwhelming. The perfect alignment below and the idea that the sun sets in the center of the Canal is awe-inspiring. The Orangery, the building constructed to hold the 3,000 trees, and the manmade lake (dug by off-duty Swiss guards) are other good examples of organized, Italian-style gardening. The outdoor “ballroom” is another sight to behold, with rare shells (people usually had very few of them) constructing the stairs—illustrating the luxury of Louis. The ponds containing statues representing the four seasons contains allegories of time, anarchy, life, and nature. Mythology is prominent in the statues and the entire construction of the gardens—representing intellectual fun and games as well as illustrating the common knowledge of educated peoples.

After Versailles, I went to check email (I will be getting DSL in my apartment soon so I won’t have to go sit at the McDonalds or the Quick every day for the free internet) and downloaded the latest episodes of Lost, Desperate Housewives, and Alias, thanks to itunes new service allowing you to download shows for $1.99 the day after they’re aired in the USA—this way I won’t be behind when I get home.

Friday night, I had Greek food with my friend Katherine and then went to some bars (and drank a ton of ice water…bars are the only place where I can find ice in this city) with her and Katie before going home and going to bed.

Saturday morning, I woke up early and headed to the Louvre (for the first and maybe only time). I beat the crowds and saw the Mona Lisa, it was like seeing a celebrity that you have always seen in the magazines and heard talked about and then you finally see it. It was overwhelming and underwhelming at the same time. 2 layers of shatterproof glass, and two levels of wooden fences and at least two guards protected it. I walked through all three halls: Richelieu, Sully, and Denon and stopped to look at the pieces that seemed interesting to me. I saw Michelangelo sculptures and plenty of French paintings. The Louvre is HUGE but I managed to get around the entire thing because I only stopped to enjoy the pieces that I wanted to see—that is why I love going to museums alone, although I have to say, that I am pretty art-ed out at the moment, and I think I need to take a week off and explore other aspects of Paris.

The last few days have been unseasonably hot, but I’m not complaining—I can still wear flip-flops.