An aching lower back, sore feet, and fatigue is the sign of true adventure and that surely described the day I had today. As the group and I walked from La Galarie Vivienne to Notre Dame and Le Sienne to Le Tour Eiffel, I was overwhelmed by the expansiveness and architecture of Paris.
We began our voyage at the Galarie Vivienne, in the 2nd Arrondissement of Paris, and was amazed by not only the architecture, but the functionality of the remains of what used to be the covered pathways of Paris. The small shopping center filled with Independently owned boutiques, was inspired by the architecture of the first industrial revolution (with the invention of railroads, iron casted building structure, and credit!) also includes architectural elements, such as the mosaic floors, that pay homage to the Byzantine empire. The Usage of what in the Period of Haussmannisation called "Fantasmagoria" used spiral designs and thus effected architecture all over Paris from the floor in the galaries to the design of Paris itself (un escargot!)
Afterwards we wondered through the Palais Cardinal, a gorgeous and expansive structure with an elegant garden used to house the guest of the Royal family. It was also interesting to see both the classical french garden on one side of the centre of the Palais and then to see modernist-contemporian art on the other side (Les Colonnes du Buren): all to say that these spaces created in as early as the 1200s are still functional today even if there function has changed.
Speaking of a change in function, we next visited Le Louvre, one of the most iconic and vast estates of both gardens and buildings structures in Paris. Le Louvre served as a residence for many kings of France starting with Charles V, but now almost the whole structure is occupied by, what we now know as Le Musee Louvre and art museum encompassing works from all around the world and over vast periods of time. I was in awe standing between L'Arc Carrousel et the central Pyramid, marveling at the architecture, size, and elegance of the Louvre.
We finished out the day with a walk down the infamous Champs-Elysee ending at the L'arc de Triumph and standing underneath the Jewel of Paris that is Le Tour Eiffel.
What is most interesting about the many iconic parts of Paris, was that during their time of construction, a lot of structures were not well like by the Parisiens. For example, Le Tour Eiffel (construit par Gustav Eiffel) was an eye-sore during it's time of reconstruction and now stands as the most iconic structure in Paris. Another example, is the whole idea of Haussmanisation. It was anything, but what people wanted to have happen to Medieval Paris, but now the spiral design and similarity of most of Paris's buildings are a recognizable characteristics
of Paris. I guess, the big lesson is something that still remains true to this day: People have a hard time with change.
"Rester, c'est exister. Mais voyager, c'est vivre" -Gustav Nadaud. There is truly no way to live without voyages and exploration of the new, and boy...did we do a lot of that today. So I guess you could say, I really lived it up today!
