Day 4: Through the Eyes of Gargoyles

Posted on July 4, 2011 by mreece85

This day was interesting.  We went to Versailles planning on being able to bypass the line because of the Museum Pass, but this did not happen.  So we waited in line, and waited, and waited.  I thought Versailles was okay, but not exactly what I prefer to see.  I didn’t even want to see it last time I was in Paris.  It is difficult for me to see beauty in greed.  But I am also ashamed to admit that I like to be able to cross things off my to-do list.  I was thinking that day that a three week trip (what I am thinking about for next year) may be challenging.  I wear myself down because I want to see and do it all.  I am realizing now how much I would like to visit the countryside of Europe like Tuscany and Provence.  I think these locations would offer a balance between relaxation and visiting sites.
After moving our way through the masses, we decided to eat lunch.  We went to a restaurant in the Chateau called Angelina’s.  I accidentally said “muy bien” to the hostess when trying to say thank you.  I hit Carolyn and was like dope, I just spoke Spanish.  We ordered a rose wine and Croque Monsier.  The sandwich was a piece of art with all of its glorious cheese.
Rather than seeing the gardens, we decided to go back to catch the Rodin Museum and Notre Dame Tower.  The flowers in the Rodin were not as nice as the previous time that I attended.  I had some fun playing with the angles of some of his sculptures like “The Kiss” when trying to photograph.  I really like that museum because of the balance of art and nature.
Next we went to Notre Dame to climb the 400 steps to get to the top.  We had to wait for about 45 minutes, but it wasn’t that bad.  We had glace (tiramisu), which was a great idea that Carolyn had.  There was also some entertainment with a guy in a mask who would surprise others on the street.  It was funny at the time, but I suppose if I was one of those people I would have probably gotten a little physical if I thought someone was messing with me.  I enjoyed the tower at Notre Dame and I think it may be one of the best views of the city, I would argue better than the view from the Eiffel Tower.  We could see so much and we weren’t too high up where you could barely see the well-known structures.  At the time there was a Spanish manifest going on and police were taking people to jail by the bus loads.
The gargoyles were neat with different expressions.  My favorite one was a gargoyle resting his head on his hands.  He seemed overwhelmed with the task of watching over the city.  Or perhaps he was disappointed that he was stuck up there while the rest of the city was lively below.  My calves hurt so much from climbing the stairs.  There was an older lady in front of us who would take little breaks and I was so thankful for that.  Going down was dizzying in the spiral staircase.

For dinner we fixed steaks and went out to do a little shopping and sit at the quai.  I wore my blue scarf that I bought the previous day.  I felt Parisian for a moment in my attire and relaxed for a moment on the Seine.