So we heard of a free walking tour that leaves everyday at 11:00AM in front of the fountain at Place Saint-Michel. We went there just to check, as we had no other plans for the day, but not too confident if that was a good idea as it was raining and we had already walked all over town on the last couple of days. It turned out to be a great surprise, the tour was very interesting and I highly recommend it for a first or second day in town. Halley was our guide. Highly motivated and spirited, he mixed jokes with historical information and current news putting Paris’ main sightseeing into perspective.
I feel tempted to described the tour in more details and share most of the stories but I am not sure if it is fair to our guide or you as it would be way more exciting for you to hear about it there – and as I know many of you have been, will come back or plan to visit Paris at some point, I will refrain myself from writing too much. From the medieval days (the smell still persists) to the Nazi occupation, to its heydays and current times, I will just mention three of the things I learned in the tour.
- The padlocks on the passerelle Léopold-Sédar-Senghor are placed there by couples in order to represent the locking of their hearts. The idea is that you close the link and throw the keys in the river. The idea seems to have started in China and then it got exported to the world. Every couple of years the government removes the padlocks so you may want to keep the key to remove it yourself just before they do it so you can later place it there again (or that may be a good excuse to keep the key and recycle the padlock in case you have more than one sweetheart – padlocks with combinations are good for that too 😉
- As one might know, the Arc de Triomphe was erected in honor of Napoleon and on its ground level the eternal flame burns in honor of the unnamed soldier, in honor of those that fought and died at the WWI. The flame was extinguished in 1998 after the final of the World Cup by an outraged Mexican soccer fan that upset by the defeat of Brazil by the French team, went to the site, unzipped his pants and urinated at the flame – my heart goes with him.
- Hitler and his horror tales. Sensing that the war would soon be over to his defeat, Hitler deployed the General von Choltitz to Paris – the mission: burn it to the ground. The idea of turning so many historical buildings, monuments and pieces of art to dust seemed too crazy even to von Choltitz who allowed the message to circulate that if Paris was not going to be rescued by the allies quickly it would get destroyed. As a wicked kid can scream “if I cannot have it, neither can you” throwing candies through the window or breaking toys, Hitler demanded that Paris be immediately brought to the ground – Is Paris Burning?? – he would call, the answer is no. To learn more about the episode, check the book with the title highlighted above.
Dreaming 