Paris 4: New Year's Eve

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Day 3: Trocadero, Tour Eiffel, Jardin de Mars, Musee D’Orsay, Pantheon, St. Sulspice, New year’s at Arc du Triomph

Ok, so we kinda shuffled our plans around to fit whatever time we had and whatever was open. We did get to see a lot, but there were still a few things that were closed due to the holidays (like the Pantheon), or because most museums close on Tuesdays (like the Picasso Museum).

Anyways, Part of the plan for today was to start the day at Trocadero, which honestly I am not really sure what it is. Its like a plaza with nice buildings, a big fountain with some missiles pointing to the Eiffel Tower. We got there and the view of the tower was great. From there we walked to the base of the tower thinking we would go up the the observation deck (only to the 2nd floor, because its cheaper because you climb the stairs). The lines were looong, to both the lifts and the stairs, so we quickly ditched that plan, said “Au Revoir” to Tour Eiffel and walked a bit in the gardens next to the tower: Jardin de Mars. I bet this is where people have their “picnic by the Eiffel Tower” moment. It doesn’t really look like much this time of the year.

Next we went to the Musee d’Orsay. And the line here too was looong. We were saved from it by the fabulous museum pass (highly recommend it!). We stood in line only about 5 minutes before getting in, and this was just because of the security check. We had an audiotour for this museum, and started following it at the beginning, but after we were done with the 1st floor, we were starving, so to move more quickly we just went with the book guide we had and the audioguide from the museum. We saw lots of paintings by Monet and Manet (the ones I get confused…), and Degas, Lautrec, and many others. It’s a very nice collection, some people like it more that the Louvre. It took us about 3 or 4 hours to quickly glance through the collection (at this point, I’ve lost track of time…).

The pantheon was next on our list and off we were. Sadly, it was already closed. It had closed early because it was Dec. 31, and it wouldn’t open again until Jan. 2. But since we had a veru flexible schedule, we quickly recovered and planned to go to St. Sulpice.

I am a bit embarrassed to admit thet the only reason we went there is because it was featured on “The DaVinci Code”. There’s a brass line that runs through the middle of the church that marks what was the Paris meridian (moved to Greenwich now), and it is used to determine global time zones. Anyways, the church itself has more to offer than that, like frescoes by Delacroix and an interesting architectural history. But time was scarce, and we needed to rest a bit before going out to our New Year’s Eve celebration.

Back at the hotel (around 6pm), the hotel staff had left a little box of chocolates for us with a card signed by the staff. That was a nice touch! We ate the chocolates, drank champagne, took a nap and woke up ready to party. (as ready as we were going to be at least). We headed out for a walk on Champs Elysees, and the crowd was beginning to gather up. We walked for a bit and then settled in on a spot where the Arc Du Triomph and Champs Elysees meet. There were a surprising number of police men, all dressed in what looked like anti-riot gear, with thick vests and helmets and shields. We waited there for the midnight firework show that never came. Well, at least not the official one that the city sponsors. Turns out (we later found out), this was the 1st year Paris did not have any official New Year’s celebrations, because of problems in the past (with fireworks and crazy people, I believe). That explained the police. Anyways, the Eiffel did light up, and there were some fireworks here and there, so we got to have our special kiss on the first few seconds of 2007 in Paris! (one less thing on my “things-to-do-in-my-lifetime list).

At around 1:30 am, the police started to disperse the crowd, so we headed back to the hotel (which was just a few blocks away, strategically chosen for this very moment). We were hungry (midnight munchies!), and the only thing open on the way to the hotel was a Kebab stand. So there you have it, our first meal of 2007: Pitas stuffed with lamb and a huge side of French fries (very appropriate). I did not eat the kebab, but I did eat all the fries. Yummy, soggy and greasy, just how I like them.