Paris-the city of Love and Lights

Over the past day and a half since I posted last...I have seen a lot! So hopefully I can explain everything briefly here. My friends and I went to see the Eiffel Tower from this place called Trocadero, which is basically a big platform/park thing in which you get the best view of the tower. We arrived there at about 7:30 at night, and let me tell you, the pictures everyone has seen of the Eiffel Tower give it no justice. I could have stayed there all night and just stared at it. We literally had the best view in Paris! We waited until the sun went down to see the tower lit up. That was definitely worth the wait. There are huge fountains in front of the tower which enhanced your overall experience for sure! I could go on and on about the Eiffel Tower but I have so much more to tell! Later on I hope to go all the way to the top of it! Anyways, after our awesome adventure out there, we had a Paris walking tour the next day...for class. My life is so hard ;) We met at Notre Dame again that morning, and walked to the Louvre. We arrived at the very back of the Louvre, which was still very stunning. We walked over the old moat to go inside the 'backyard' as my teacher called it of the Louvre palace. It was basically a giant courtyard surrounded by one of the most ornate facades I have ever seen with sculptures and columns everywhere. After hearing a little about the history of the palace here, we proceeded to the 'front yard' of the palace. In the distance I saw my beloved pyramids designed by I.M. Pei which now is a sort of symbol of the Louvre museum and palace. It was such a cool experience to see the giant pyramid with the Jardin des Tuileries in the background. We next then moved on to walk through the Jardin des Tuileries or the Tuileries garden...aka the King's garden. The Louvre was built during the Baroque period which is why the garden is so perfectly designed without a blade of grass or a leaf out of place. The Baroque period was basically a response from the Monarchy to the Reformation. So in every detail of the palace and the streets beyond, the King wanted to remind you that you were under his control. The pyramid lines up with the main path down the garden, which again lines up with the Champs Elysees (a very wide boulevard) which again lines up all the way down to the Arc de Triomphe. The Baroque period was basically orderly and ornate. The gardens were beautiful even on the scorcher of a day when we went there. We next traveled outside of the castle grounds finally to see the giant obelisk (that was perfectly in-line with the gardens as well). This obelisk was carved out of a single piece of granite that was transported all the way from Egypt. It marked the spot where the Rebels during the French Revolution executed around 2,000 members of the aristocracy...by guillotine including King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. We moved on to walk down the boulevard for a mile or so along another beautiful park. The trees are definitely starting to change colors here and even fall a lot too! I'm just hoping the weather cools down! Anyways after this mile and a half or so of the park we finally reach the Champs Elysees. The Chaps Elysees is a wide boulevard filled with expensive shopping and eating places. Napoleon was the original creator of the boulevard, widening it enough so the French citizens wouldn't be able to barricade it at some point. The Champs Elysees leads right to the Arc de Triomphe. The Arc de Triomphe was a lot bigger than I had ever imagined it would be! The cooler part of it was that it also acted as a traffic circle, with about 12 or so streets radiating all around it. After class ended here, my friends and I continued along the straight path down to La Defense, which is the downtown area of Paris...yes Paris does have skyscrapers. I especially loved La Grande Arch, which is a 20th century 'Arc de Triomphe.' And of course, La Grande Arch lines up perfectly with the Arc de Triomphe without a single building blocking its path! I was very impressed with La Defense and the downtown area. Every skyscraper had an interesting architectural detail. It isn't like New York where most skyscrapers have flat tops. What was most neat was that you didn't feel overwhelmed by the skyscrapers like you do in bigger cities. We had a pretty good view of the buildings from La Grande Arch. I really enjoyed sitting and enjoying the view from the steps of the Arch. After this jam-packed day, I was ready to take it easy...especially since we didn't have any class the next day! So this morning we went to church at St. Sulpice, which is second in size only to Notre Dame in Paris. I was surprised at how big it was inside, and how dirty everything seemed to be. But it wasn't dirty in a bad way. Dirty in a this-has-been-here-forever way. The stones in some places were covered in a film, and in others they were perfectly white. The church also had one of the most impressive organs in France, accompanied by world-renown organists! I just sat and took it all in during the service, considering I don't speak French and I'm not Catholic. I'm definitely glad we took time to go there. Tomorrow for class we are going to the Louvre Museum! I am beyond excited for this...a dream come true for me to finally see the Mona Lisa! I am a huge Art History fan, so I'm trying to rest up today for our big outing tomorrow. We also will be seeing Opera Garnier later in the day...along with some homework I am sure :/ Still feeling a bit sick from all the traveling, so hopefully another good night sleep will get me ready to see the masterworks tomorrow! Aur Revoir!