Paris

The first noticeable thing about Paris is its organised chaos of cars, busses, cyclists and motor scooters, some of which the rider must have a death wish, blazing down Parisian laneways, the rider sounding his horn prior to every intersection, in some sort of insane belief that that will offer some safety from the equally crazy riders approaching around each corner. The traffic situation is far different from the orderly and distinguished flow of London and the traffic jams of New York.

Anyone coming to Paris believing that you will be in for a dining experience take note, the food is terrific and the service is very different to what we Aussies are used to. Parisian waiters are energetic and brash and at first come across rude and that they don’t really want you in their restaurant. Cutlery, glasses, wine and breads are literally thrown on the table in no order and main meals later thumped down in front of you, it’s quite amusing actually, and part of the Parisian experience I guess, it will be interesting to see if the table service is the same out in the French country side. Gemma and Katie, prepare yourselves for this rather quirky Parisian dining experience. Eating out in Paris is rather expensive, moreso than London and the other centres we visited in the UK, on average a dinner with entrée, main and bottle of French wine will cost around 60 euro dollars which is approximately $80.00 AUD. You can buy the most amazing pastries and tarts at the multitude of patisseries that are located on most Parisian streets.

Typically, like all the cities we have visited so far the buildings are magnificent, grand and constructed hundreds of years ago. We visited the Musee Du Louvre today, I cannot find any words to describe the grandness of the building that was once a palace, the grandness is breathtaking and upon viewing something like it for the first time was truly an emotional experience. Inside the Louvre is equally awe inspiring. Once again, you are presented with art that is of unimaginable beauty, and from seeing some of these paintings in art books previously, having the opportunity to view these paintings, some completed over 600 years ago, hanging centimetres in front of you is a truly special experience. My favourite parts of the Louvre were the sculptures of marble and granite, the figures depicting the fluidity of human form and expression, frozen and inanimate in stone, each in their own unique way portraying power, energy and struggle, others serenity, sorrow, pain and intimacy. Many of the paintings have an effect of drawing from within you emotion from the positions and expression of the figures on the canvas and the richness of the colours bring to life, an image, suspended in time for hundreds of years. Many of these paintings were created in a time where artists had to be cautious to what they put on canvas as some of their works and creations could have been interpreted by the church as unorthodox or even heretic, it is interesting to observe that some of the paintings, although of an ecclesiastical nature, have figures of the female and male form succinctly depicting sensuality and desire, cleverly disguised, and most likely hung from the halls of some of the most sacred sites in Europe.

The Louvre is visited by thousands of people daily and 95 percent of them are all heading in one direction and that is to view the Mona Lisa, the good thing about this is that you can then generally pass through all the other parts of Louvre relatively easily. The Museum cannot be all covered in one day, I think anyone who wanted to see the complete museum would have to allow at least three days. Another very special part of the Musee is the Napoleon Apartments.