Sunday December 19, 2010
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| The view from my hostel dorm window (St Christopher's Paris). Paris received a good dumping of snow over-night. |
To make the most of the day, I woke up early at 8:45 am. It would be a day of sight-seeing and exploring Paris and the Louvre before heading off the next day. I was able to eat my full at breakfast for once, which I've been finding difficult to do at hostels throughout the trip, usually because they don't have enough food.
Then I went to hop on my bike and discovered the front tyre was flat! What a drag! I took the tyre off and discovered that a leaking patch was the culprit, so I pulled the old one off and stuck a new one over it. Then I put the tube back in and the tyre back on and pumped it up and...it went flat again! So I took it off again, discovered it was the new patch I'd just stuck on that was leaking, so I pulled it off, and stuck a second new one on it. Then I put the tyre back on and pumped it up and...it seemed okay. So I hopped on the bike and went to ride to my Melbourne friend Steph's hostel, and the tyre went flat on the way. So I had to walk for several kilometres back to the hostel and was very frustrated!
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| A bike lane in Paris, on the Bd de la Chapelle. |
I took the tyre off and used my spare tube this time, making sure I repaired the tube that went flat so I still had that as a spare. Then I rode to Steph's hostel, some 4 km away but she wasn't there, must have been out and about.
Then I rode to the Louvre.
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| The Louvre, Paris. |
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| The Louvre, Paris. |
I was surprised at how busy it was, and I had to wait in the queue for quite a long time before purchasing a ticket for €9.50. Apparently the museum averages 15,000 visitors per day. It was 2 pm when I got in, later than I'd planned; it closed at 5 pm so I only had 3 hours.
The Louvre was jam-packed full of amazing pieces of artwork, it was incredible. I was mostly looking at each piece for only a short time, but still only saw about a third of the pieces. You could spend days in there, it was quite overwhelming, by the end of the three hours I spent in there I wasn't taking much in anymore, because I'd seen so many pieces already. I photographed just a few of the more notable pieces:
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| Antonio Canova's Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss was commissioned in 1787, donated in 1824. |
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| Dying Slave by Michelangelo. |
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| Inside the Louvre, Paris. |
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| Paolo Veronese The Marriage at Cana, 1562-1563 |
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| The Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci, oil on panel, 1503–19, probably completed while the artist was at the court of Francis I. |
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| The Venus de Milo was added to the Louvre's collection during the reign of Louis XVIII. |
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| Great Sphinx of Tanis |
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| The Seated Scribe from Saqqara, Egypt, limestone and alabaster, circa 2600 and 2350 BC |
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| Grand Dining Room in the Royal Apartments of Napoleon III |
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| Grand Dining Room in the Royal Apartments of Napoleon III |
I rode back to the hostel, much of the snow from the morning had melted. I spotted one of the blokes I'd met the previous day, Peter Ison, and chatted to him and his sister Suzanne. It was generally a much more intellectual conversation than the usual hostel conversation because the two siblings were quite switched on, and at closer to 30 years of age than 20, they had more life experience than your average hostel-goer.
Afterwards I met a Pom called James, and his Australian cousin Kat, then had a quick chat to one of the Perth guys, then to a Turkish bloke.
I cooked and ate cous cous for tea again, chatted to the guy from Delhi in my dorm, and the Turkish bloke and his mate.
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| The corridor in the fourth floor of my hostel (St Christopher's Paris). |
Then I headed downstairs and chatted with James, Kat and their friend Jess. There were also some Americans, more Aussies and some Irish there too. Seems like I just spent the whole night chatting to people.
Here are a few links to his website and an interview:
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| The route for the day in Paris |
Ride stats:
Distance: 21.2 km
Average: 13.2 km/h
Maximum: 29.4 km/h
Time: 1:36:18
Total ascent: 202 m
Total descent: 189 m
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