Love Padlocks

I was intrigued by the literally, thousands of padlocks affixed to the bridges and gates all over Paris.  Many of them were inscribed with names and dates, and although I tried to find out what they meant ... no luck.  So many thanks to Wikipedia .. mystery solved.

 
These locks of love are fastened as a public display of everlasting love.  The practice is attributed to the novel  I Want You by Italian author Federico Moccia.

For a period of time, local authorities thought this to be a public nuisance and attempted to remove the padlocks.  The public outcry dissuaded any further attempts to remove the locks, and the impassioned were asked to merely refrain from throwing their keys into the public waterways.

Here is one of the locks that I found particularly noteworthy.  I love the idea of some hopeless romantic knitting this lock securely to the bridge.

Saturday, May 5, Paris ... The Sequel

After a very full morning of sightseeing, we decided to stop for lunch.  And where else would one slow down while in Paris, but Avenue de Champs Elysees, of course  :)

We decided to have lunch under a sidewalk canopy.  As we sat down, I put my camera on the table.  Immediately, the hostess cautioned me against leaving my camera or any other valuables sitting on the table as pickpockets would take advantage of just this situation. 

I ordered a piece of steak .. and I was served the rarest piece of meat I have ever eaten in my entire life.  Lesson learned .. never order your meal at medium rare doneness, because in Paris, that means still twitching!

Mom had escargot.  They were pretty good.

We also had the opportunity to hook up with a high school friend of Pa's.  Rich has been living in Paris for 35 years.

After lunch, Pa, Jeff and Rich stayed at the cafe, whilst Mom and I participated in our favorite sport ...  Shopping!  We poked our heads in Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Cartier, but what I found to be so unusual were the many other shops .. Gap, Aeropostale, and Adidas.  I never expected the shops on the Champs Elysees to be the same ones available at our own Gateway Mall.

Something else we didn't expect to see was the homeless man who decided to catch up on his sleep .. right there on the Champs Elysee'

What you won't find at the very end of your local shopping center .. is the Arc de Triomphe.  The Arc memorializes and honors those who fought and died in the Napoleonic Wars and the French Revolution.

After collecting a few souvenirs, Mom and I headed back to Place Clémenceau to meet up with Jeff and Pa.  At Place Clémenceau, we found statues commemorating Charles de Gaulle and Winston Churchill.

Our final stop of the day was the Grand Palais.  This picture is taken looking north from the Pont Alexandre.

Saturday, May 5, Paris

Our first full day in France, we will take on the city of Paris.

On the advice of the desk clerk at our hotel, we purchased mobilis tickets and catch the train into Paris.  We exited on the Right Bank at the Chatelet' train station at the Fontaine du Palmier so as to to pick up our Batobus excursion. The Batobus is a hop on-hop off tour boat that stops at all of the major sightseeing destinations.

In Paris, even the streetlights are fancy.

As we leave the train station we encounter the Fontaine du Palmier.  This fountain was designed to provide fresh drinking water to the population of the neighborhood and to commemorate the victories of Napoleon; it is the largest of the fountains built during Napoleon's reign that is still in existence today.

Here is Mom in front of Saint-Jacques Tower.  This is is all that remains of the 16th century Church of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie (Saint James of the butchery) which was leveled shortly after the French Revolution.

As we cross the Pont au Change bridge enroute to the Batobus pick up location, we encountered a Busker .. this one is a sarcophagus.

The domed building over Mom's shoulder is the Institut de France.

The Batobus is going to take us up and down the Seine River.  Our pick up location is on the Left Bank.  Here's Jeff standing next to the River Seine on the Left Bank

We thought we should ride the Batobus for a full circuit and then decide where to hop off.  There were lots of tourists on the Batobus .. and according to Mom, Gérard Depardieu was along for the ride.  Somehow, I'm not sure about this last part.

One of the first landmarks we pass is Notre Dame.  We are standing on the back deck of the Batobus as we pass the cathedral.

And here we are in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral .. Formally known as Notre Dame de Paris, which translates to Our Lady of Paris.  Construction of the cathedral begin in 1163.  Yep, that's right ... 1163.  The cathedral treasury purportedly houses the Crown of Thorns. 

This statue depicting Charlemagne sits in the courtyard of Notre Dame.

The Paris Fire Department (Sapeurs-pompiers) has a presence on the Seine River. 

Along our Batobus route we passed the Jardin des Plantes, this botanical garden part of the the Natural History Museum and is situated on the left bank.

Built in 1889 and standing more than 1,000 feet tall (think ... 80 story building), the Eiffel Tower is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the world.   The Forth Bridge (see the April 30, Stirling Castle post) is built of similar construction.

Here is the Pont Alexandre, with the Eiffel Tower in the background and a Batobus in the foreground.  You have never seen more impressive bridges than Parisian bridges. 

You can't really travel to Paris and not take a picture of a kiss.  So here's a gratuitous smooch!

We stopped at the Louvre, the most visited art museum in the world.  The treasures housed here include The Mona Lisa.   The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace which began as a fortress built in the late 12th century.

The Saint Germain L'Auxerrois, more commonly known as the Church of the Louvre

We have seen all this .. and all before lunch !!

Construction Update

I thought I'd post a short pictoral update on the construction of our new digs.

We sold the family abode.  Mom claims to have a picture of Pops, circa 1996, standing in the front yard with the 'original' sold sign.  Chances are it's in one of the 10,000 boxes that are currently housing most of their possessions. 

We took a field trip on May 25 to our new place ... the lot has been cleared, the basement dug, and the footings poured.

On May 31, we found the forms are in place for the basement walls.

Mom and Dad are super excited !!  Every few days, we'll get in the car and take a short drive to Nashway to check on the progress. 

Friday, May 4, Paris

Our flight to Paris is scheduled to depart from the Inverness airport at 6:40 am.  We are up bright and early in order to make the flight .. alas ... the plane is delayed by an hour.  At this point in time, luck is with the travelers and we are able to make our connection in Manchester and arrive in Paris on time.

Slight hiccup on arrival, one of our bags fails to make it to Paris.  While Pa heads to Air France to find out about the lost luggage, Mom and I make our way to the Paris tourist office to see about booking a hotel. 

We strike out on the hotel but secure tickets for the next day on a Batobus that will help us navigate around Paris.  And in a stroke of genius, the guys decide we should rent a car.  Now ... if only we had a place to stay ...

Let me state this very succinctly .. the traffic in and around Paris is, in a word, HORRIFIC!  With Pa behind the wheel and me with a map, it took us three hours to make our way to Cergy .. and rising like a Phoenix from the ashes, the Hotel Mercure'.  While the Hotel Mercure' totally lacked the charm of the B&B's where we have been staying, it will meet our needs for the next couple of days.  We scored rooms for three nights and assistance from the desk clerk in tracking down the (still!) missing luggage.

Needless to say ... no pictures this day. 

But an interesting piece of trivia.  Whilst we were wending our way through the suburbs of Paris, we passed though St Denis.  At one time, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund, former French Presidential candidate, and accused pervert, was the mayor of St Denis.

Thursday, May 3, Inverness

After departing Newtonmore, we boarded the train en route to Inverness. 

After a beautiful train ride north; the beauty of the highlands is absolutely indescribable ... The rolling green hills, the pastures full of sheep and Spring lambs .. Mom and I were discussing how much we love Scotland.  It's difficult to describe, how can I feel so 'at home' in someplace I have never been before.  Makes the heart of this Scots lass sing.

On the way to Inverness, we knew that we would have a few hours between arrival and check in at our B&B, so we decided that we should seek out the tourist office and arrange for a tour to Loch Ness. 

Once we de-trained (it's a word, I looked it up ...), we went looking for the Visit Scotland Tourist Office.  Turns out, the tourist office in Inverness is located in the city square.  After we navigated a crowd that assembled in the square, we found the tourist office and booked a tour that would take us to Loch Ness .. but we were on the clock.  We had 30 minutes to stow our luggage and catch our tour, scheduled to depart from the bus station, which, as luck would have it is adjacent to the train station, the location of the storage locker for our luggage.

After trekking back to the train station and storing our stuff ... we attempted to find our tour bus.  I can only imagine what this comedy of errors would have looked like had I only had a birds eye view on the chaos that ensued. 

The directions that we received from the agent at Visit Scotland indicated the tour left from the bus station .. when we arrived at the bus station .. we were directed to Bank Street.  According to the conflicting directions we received to find Bank Street .. it's either North or South .. or maybe East.  Note to future Inverness travelers .. Bank Street runs adjacent to the River Ness ... the great, big River Ness.  Upon arrival (finally!) at Bank Street .. we were re-directed to the bus station. 

GAH!!

Long story short .. after participating in the Inverness Fun Run .. we ran out of time and missed our tour.  So it's back to the tourist office for us as we now need to get our money back on the tour.  When we talk to the (other...) agent, we learn that we were given poor directions by the first agent for the pick up location.   

The moral of the story ... we are the only Americans to visit Inverness Scotland who DIDN'T see Loch Ness. 

Inverness, wasn't a total loss.  We did get to see Inverness Castle.

Thursday, May 3, Newtonmore

We started the day at the McPherson Museum. 

The Clan Macpherson  (or better yet .. McPherson) Museum is dedicated to the story of Clan McPherson, a clan which since the 1100s has had strong roots in the Badenoch district of the Highlands.  You have to visit the museum to appreciate the richness of the artifacts housed here.

My favorite story describes a house to house search conducted to flush our Cluny McPherson.  This story was re-told in the form of this candelabra/statue/candy dish ...

Sir Hector Munro, the officer in command of the party in search of Cluny, the fugitive chief, is mounted on his steed. He is questioning Cluny, who is disguised as a servant and who had been holding the bridle of Sir Hector's horse during the search. Cluny is asked if he knows where his master is. The reply given is "I do not know, and if I did, I would not tell you."

Sir Hector rewards the supposed servant for his fidelity with a silver shilling

These next photos aren't great .. but I was having difficulty regulating flash and the low lighting in the museum.

Mom and me .. in the Heraldry Hall.  The frame behind us describes the McPherson Coat of Arms.

The Standard of McPherson of Cluny.

The Banner of McPherson of Cluny.

Portrait of Cluny McPherson.

After touring the McPherson museum, it was time to board the train and head for Inverness.