SATURDAY, AUGUST 16, 2008

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We’re on our own again today, so we headed off early for the Louvre. The Louvre was first built as a riverside fortress around 1200 AD. Charles V was the first French king to make the castle his residence, but it has been a public museum since 1793. It now is known as the largest museum in the world - home of the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and nearly half a million other works of art.

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We admired the buildings, the main courtyard, and the pyramid – and decided to continue our walk, to save the art for later.

We walked through the pink marble Arc du Carrousel into the Tuileries Gardens.

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These gardens were first laid out as part of the old Tuileries Palace, which was built for Catherine de Medici in 1564. They were redesigned into formal French gardens in 1664.

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The gardens end at the Place de la Concorde, a huge and historic octagonal square, with an ancient Egyptian obelisk in the Center. It was built between 1755 and 1775 as the setting for a statue of Louis XV, but by 1792, it had become a focal point of the French Revolution. Its central monument was the guillotine; over 1,000 people, including King Louis XIV and Queen Marie Antoinette, were beheaded here.

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The obelisk, which was made in about 18 B.C., is covered in hieroglyphics; it came from a 3,300-year-old Luxor temple. It was a gift from the government of Egypt to Napoleon III, to show thanks for France’s help in a conflict with Turkey.

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From the Place de la Concorde, we entered the Champs Elysses, said to be one of the widest and most beautiful avenues in the world. Part of it is like a garden, and part of it is a gathering of the most expensive and exclusive shops imaginable. It is THE place to see and be seen.

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Along the way, it was hard to miss the gigantic Grand Palais with its grandiose exteriors, glass roofs, and flying statuary rising above the greenery. This building, along with the smaller Petit Palais, was created for the 1900 Exposition Universelle.

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We took a break at a sidewalk café, named Georges V, for coffee (or tea) and pastries.

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From there, we finished our walk at the Arc de Triomphe, a triumphal arch celebrating Napoleon’s military victories. Underneath the arch burns an eternal flame at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

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As we headed toward our next stop, we checked out an interesting Paris feature – the free public toilet. Margaret refused to pose!

Just by dumb luck, we wandered into a delightful area for walking, people watching, checking out the architecture, etc.

At the Place Saint Augustin, we got a look at a nice church, with a statue of Joan of Arc out front.

Finally reached our target: the Musee Jacquesmart-Andre, a delightful spot recommended by some new friends from Savannah. This museum is housed in a mansion built in the 1800’s by Edouard André and his wife Nélie Jacquemart, both avid art collectors.

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Their home is now a museum housing their art, collected over a lifetime and decorating the entire home - its state rooms, monumental staircase, winter garden, private apartments, reception areas and courtyard.

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We had lunch at the museum’s café, which is located in the former dining room of the mansion. There are grand tapestries on the walls, as well as paintings on the ceiling. We sat outside on the terrace overlooking the formal courtyard.

After the museum, we jumped back on the Metro for the relatively short ride to Montmartre, a hilly area overlooking the city. The story goes that the name comes from the “Mount of Martyrs,” commemorating the first bishop of Paris, St. Denis, who was decapitated here by the Romans in AD 250.

We got off the Metro at the Place des Abbesses. Just getting out of the Metro station was a cardiovascular challenge – 115 stair steps! The Metro entrance itself is noteworthy – it is one of the very few left with an art nouveau canopy of smoked glass and metal.

Behind the metro entrance is a tiny park that features a blue tile wall with “I love you” written in more than a hundred languages.

We headed up the hill to Sacre Coeur (the Church of the Sacred Heart). The basilica was built as a memorial to the 58,000 French soldiers killed during the Franco-Prussian War. Its neo-Byzantine architecture is dramatic as it gradually comes into view; equally dramatic were the huge crowds of people.

On the way up the many steps to the church, a little local color … a living statue?

From the church, we walked over to the much older Church of St. Pierre de Montmartre, built in 1134. This is all that remains of a Benedictine convent that stood in this area from the 12th century onwards. Its quiet, understated elegance is quite a contrast to Sacre Coeur.

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The highest point in Paris is the Place du Tertre, where artists and assorted sketchers were working and displaying their work. It was incredibly crowded, but fun to watch the artists at work.

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We got a glimpse of one of the windmills for which Montmartre was famous in the 19th century. We also walked past the famous Consulat Restaurant, and the previously unknown Autour du Moulin, which sure has a great view of the city of Paris.

By now, the day was getting long and we were getting tired, but Montmartre is just a great place to wander around.

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Finally, we headed back to our hotel to attend the briefing for the river cruise part of the tour. And then it was time to pack our bags and get ready for a serious boat ride.