Saturday June 8th to Saturday June 15th, 2019 - A Week in Paris: Touristy Stuff

Apart from just walking around and singing, I did visit some of the hot tourist spots while in Paris, so to close out this series of postings, I'll share some of that here.

Of course, the most recognizable is the Eiffel Tower. Although it was intended to be a temporary structure when built for the 1889 World's Fair, it has proved to be very enduring indeed! According to Wikipedia, The Eiffel Tower is one of the most recognizable structures and is the most-visited paid monument in the world. It seemed every tourist in Paris must have been there the day we visited! It was very crowded. 

The little cars that take you to the first platform are quite small when seen nestled in all the ironwork.

They are powered by these huge pistons that hiss and move as the cars go up and down. 

You can also see the big red wheel at the top that acts like a pulley to move the cars up and down.

In case you feel nervous about relying on mechanical devices, there are steps, too. It's only 600 steps to the second level!

I liked this girl's choice of dress for the event! (Even tough it's a bad photo, I thought it share-worthy.)

It's a lot of metal!

We were fortunate to have such a beautiful clear day.

We stopped first at the second level and began to see why the grass below had such a 'burnt' look to it.

Perhaps this lawn painting should have been included in my street art post. According to Google it is called 'Beyond Walls' and depicts a chain of intertwined hands, inspired by rescuers and volunteers at an organization called SOS Mediterranean.

As you can see, it is very extensive - 1.5 km, which is just under a mile. It is biodegradable and will eventually disappear on its own. It had only recently been unveiled, so I was glad to see it fresh.

You can see the new Louis Vuitton Foundation art museum and cultural center in the midst of the Bois de Boulogne. The modern city structures behind, look as if they are itching to get into the old historic Paris, with its four to five story height limitations. I learned that this height was chosen  because that's all the fire hoses could reach. I thought that was good thinking!

Notre Dame is still there. Apart from all the construction buildings surrounding her, she looks almost normal from the front, although glass from the windows has been removed.

From across the Seine, the fire damage is very evident.

It is hard to imagine how a fire gets going in a place that seems so very rocky and metallic. Estimates on the time it will take to repair vary from the five years Macron (their President) wants so that it's finished for the Olympics in 2024, to never in our lifetime!

Not far from Notre Dame is the lovely Saint Chapelle, which was consecrated in 1248. Its beautiful blue and gold ceiling appears to float on top of a sea of stained glass. We had been told by another traveler that it is the most beautiful church in Europe and I found it hard to disagree with him.

One enters into a lower chapel, which seemed sufficient unto itself in my mind.

I could feel the age of this place dripping off the walls. Constant restoration is required.

The rich colors and lines of the ceiling here were breathtaking.

This structure was commissioned by King Louis IX to house Christian relics. This is a statue to commemorate him. I liked the way the light fell on it. He was sanctified by the Catholic Church in 1297. He is the only French king to be declared a saint. 

It was difficult to photograph the outside of Saint Chapelle. There was construction and it was surrounded by other buildings, so one could not step back to get a perspective. As with all other locations in Paris, the crush of people everywhere caused me to lift my lens high. Then with the interminable cell-phones being raised above heads.........., not to mention the selfies. Often I thought their phones were doing a better job than my camera!

While wandering around near Isle de la Cité, Robin and I walked the Left Bank. It was not a day when most of the vendors were open, but we got the flavor.

We did circle L' Arc de Triomphe in a bus tour - and as you see, so did many others!

One of the final stops in wandering with Robin Lashley was the splendid Galeries Lafayette.

I understand now why it has 'Galeries' in its name, This stunning, high end department store felt almost like being in an opera house with it's tiers and domed roof.

The shaping in this view reminded me of the organic pods we had seen at the very beginning of our trip in the Pierre Boulet Hall at the Philharmonie.

On our last evening, the entire choral group took a dinner cruise on the Seine. The angle of the sun was beautiful.

The way the setting sun caught some of the modern buildings was fabulous.

L-R: Craig Moore, Jane and Bob Lindberg

We had a lot of fun eating and drinking. Jane is the Director of the Island Chamber Singers, and provided us the opportunity to enjoy this trip, and her husband, Bob, did much of the hard work organizing it. I thank them both frim the bottim of my heart.

I discovered there were many others along the banks of the Seine having a good time.

Others were enjoying some solitude in the late evening sun.

There were all sorts of venues for parties.......and weddings?

It was a perfectly wonderful way to end the evening............

...........and say goodbye to this popular city.

Thursday June 13th and Friday June 14th, 2019 - Ghent, Belgium

While visiting Laos two years ago, I met three young people from Ghent. They were Veerle, Ellen and Pieter. When I discovered that Ghent was a mere 2.25 hours train ride from Paris, it seemed like a really excellent idea to meet up with them for dinner!

L-R: Veerle, Ellen & Pieter

How glad I was that I did. At first I was chastising myself for giving up time in Paris, but the instant I arrived, I rejoiced in the lack of traffic, the much smaller number of tourists and the totally different architecture which exists 

The first thing I discovered, to great relief, was that the old city center has eliminated private cars, so it is free from congestion. One sees pedestrians, bike riders, trams and commercial/utility vehicles.

There is also a little 'hop on - hop off' bus. My friends said this is provided to allow people with limited mobility issues to still get around. It is free and can be used by anyone.

Of course, there were lots of bike racks. It seems that even in lovely Ghent, securing one's bike is pretty important. If it doesn't end up stolen, it will be 'pranked' to the bottom of the river, as this is a university town..........possibly student drinking contributes?

Before I go on to actually show you more of Ghent, here is another reason for rejoicing. They had clearly marked and clean public toilets! Paris needs to pick up on this idea!

Ghent developed at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Leie in the late Middle Ages and by 1300 AD was home to 50,000 people. It is still a port and now a university city. Tourism is becoming consequential, but happily it must be visited on foot - I saw no big tourist buses blocking the lovely sights. In spite of flowers and vegetation, there was a northern European feeling of severity in the architecture - perhaps that was related to the grey skies.

There were a number of consequential cathedrals, along with some lovely city buildings. Clearly it had been very successful in its day. (And still is.)

A glimpse of sunshine helped brighten things up!

Although I was only 185 miles north of Paris, I was in an entirely different place. There is no clear demarcation geographically that separates France and Belgium, yet the culture, language and architecture are very different. When I mentioned my surprise at this to my friends, they responded that the lack of geographical boundaries must be why the French invaded so often! Invasion and occupation has a long history here - going back to the Vikings! It must get tiresome! As a result, most people here speak three languages - Flemish (Dutch), French and English. Communication for me was quite easy here, for which I was grateful.

At one time this area was renowned for its lace-making, so I enjoyed seeing lace at the windows. I understand that much of it, along with textiles in general, was outsourced to Turkey, so middle-eastern immigrants here are mostly from Turkey.

One 'sweet treat' I knew I must try were Ghent noses or 'cuberdons'. This is a candy that has an odd waxy coating around it, with a syrupy jelly inside. It was a happy accidental discovery made by a local pharmacist in 1873. He incorporated his medicines into syrups to help them last longer on the shelf and to improve their palatability. One of the batches went 'wrong' and days later he noticed the waxy coating. They are now a specialty of the area. These are the traditional cherry flavored ones. Because their shelf-life is pretty short - they crystallize after three days - they are not found much outside this area.

They are now made in many different flavors. After recovering from the sugar rush of the cherry ones, I decided not to try the others! However, selling these to tourists is serious business. I was told of a 'nose war' that has taken place between two vendors. They actually got into fisticuffs with each other, were suspended from trading for a time and now have to maintain a set distance from each other! In case you are really hurting for entertainment, here's a link to the story https://theculturetrip.com/europe/belgium/articles/a-tale-of-two-cuberdon-vendors-the-story-behind-ghents-little-nose-war/

Noses were not the only candy of note. These smurfs were made from marzipan.

The castle - Gravensteen Castle - had the appropriate greyness and severity! In the short time I was here, an exploration was not possible. Instead I took a brief walking tour of the city.

We started at the old fish market.

One of the stops was the old meat market, which is now a tourist venue. However, the hams hanging from the ceiling are real, but covered in wax to stop them dripping on people!

I liked some of the modern touches, like the metal decoration over the door here.

There was a simplicity and clean-ness of style which was refreshing.

And here's a decor idea if you don't want to spend money!

My friends and I had a delicious meal and a delightful visit.

It had been well worth the few hours on a train. Very nice.