Monday, 15 August 2016

Day Two


Les Invalides


 The Les Invalides was the first stop on our second day in Europe. Our main reason for going was the World War I gallery, however before that we were able to visited the tomb of Napoleon.

Originally designed by Libéral Bruant and ordered by Louis XIV, it was designed to be a hospital and residence for aged and unwell soldiers. In 1840, Louis Philippe I ordered the remains of Napoleon to be reburied in the Chapelle Saint-Jérôme, in Les Invalides. Today, the hospital also serves as a war museum and is open to the public.

Napoleon's tomb was designed like a cathedral; it was large, with a high ceiling with sculptures and domes. The hundreds of tourists around chatting and excited changed the original intention of the place; it didn't feel like a place of solace. Which makes me think about our tombs and graves for our soldiers of World War I, will tourists in another one hundred years act at our places of remembrance like this? I hope our war graves and memorials will still be treated with respect.

I was curious about whether the French museum would be accommodating to non-French speakers but it was, which in hindsight I should of known. With English and French descriptions and with the help of our tour historian the museum was educational and helped me understand the changes which occurred during the war. The museum showed the early uniforms and later contrasted them with the uniforms of the later conflict, it showed the artillery pieces and weapons the war was fought with and in this respect allowed us to better understand Brad (the tour historian) when we reached the battlefields.

Palace of Versailles


The Palace of Versailles was a short drive from Paris, I remember it being a hot day, not what I was expecting of European climate. Walking up to the Palace I saw thousands of people something that we left behind once we left Paris. The palace can be considered into two parts; the palace itself, and the gardens.

Once the centre of the French kings, the Palace started out as a hunting lodge for King Louis XIII. This was expanded massively by Louis XIV, who was able to make it the centre of government in 1682. The hall of mirrors was the largest room in the palace; in 1919 the hall was where the treaty of Versailles was signed, officially ending World War I.

The palace itself was massive in scale; the outside featured golden fences which looked impressive. We were assigned a tour guide who guided us through the palace, educating us on each room and its historical significance. I didn't find it as beautiful as I have heard people describe it as; yes, it was impressive but also ostentatious, and to my viewpoint tastelessly so. What I saw of the garden was nice, the fountains were huge and it was all well managed.

Notre Dame de Paris and closing time at the artist's markets







Before we went to dinner we were given about an hour to explore, and I had two options; to wait in line to enter the Notre Dame or to explore the artists markets on the opposite bank; I chose the latter. The markets were varied; posters, hand painted and hand drawn works and trinkets of all sorts. It was near closing time and there wasn't many buyers around, this was the Paris I was expecting, and it was beautiful.
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