On the Trail of the Da Vinci Code

The story · 3 days

As every year, for some years now, we decide to visit a European capital. This winter we decide to go to Paris. 7 women, me (Ilenia), Sabrina, Giusy, Paola, Marianna, Daniela and Milena, discovering the most "romantic" city par excellence. We set off from Naples with Easyjet; the arrival airport is Orly. With a shuttle bus and a metro we reach the hotel. The hotel, "Austerlitz**" (it faces Austerlitz station. Not a very central area but easily reachable. Ask to be shown the room, some of them are truly tiny, where it's impossible even to move! The others are new, clean and some truly spacious... breakfast is plentiful, but the staff aren't the height of friendliness. We'll only realise later that this is the standard; the French don't seem very sociable! We have 5 days available, and it's already settled that on the last one we'll go to EuroDisney.

We have to make the most of the little time we have to see everything we're interested in. Together we decide on the "battle plan". Each day we'll visit the neighbourhood that interests us and the monuments in that area. I've just finished reading the Da Vinci Code, and I'm curious to see the church of Saint-Sulpice and all the places in the book. Like so many other readers, I was bewitched by the novel and would like to relive its main moments..

Day 117 Mar 2005

1st day

Usually we prefer to walk rather than cram ourselves into the metro, but for the long stretches we'll use the metro anyway. We bought a carnet of 10 tickets from the machines (about €10). We reach St. Germain by metro and then from there on foot, taking our time (keeping an eye on the little shops too), toward the Notre Dame cathedral. We visit its interior, try to photograph the altar and the magnificent rose windows.. without flash though the photos don't come out well. We climb the tiring staircase that takes us all the way up.. I don't even remember anymore how many steps we climbed, but the effort is repaid by the beautiful panorama you enjoy from up here. Almost 360 degrees around. Even with a bit of haze you can see the Sacre Coeur, and the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre gardens, the gargoyles...

We're also lucky, there's sun and it's extremely hot!! From there, we head to the heart of the Latin Quarter, where we ate a (two..) really good crepe. A quick stop at the church of Saint Sulpice, where, strangely enough, I'm not the only one walking with my head turned downward looking for the spot described in the novel. Outside the church they've hung a sign to say loud and clear that «contrary to the fanciful theories of a recent bestseller», the church has nothing to do with a pagan temple. For today the tour ends here, we decide to go back to the hotel, we're tired, but after a short nap we're ready to set off again. We want to find out what Parisian nightlife is like!!

Marble sculpture of Cupid and Psyche at the Louvre, natural light

Day 218 Mar 2005

2nd day

The following day is dedicated to museums, our goal is the Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay. We buy the "carte musée et monuments". One day costs €18, it gives us the chance to visit a ton of museums, but above all to have priority access (we won't have to wait in line!). This is extremely important for those who have little time, the line at the Louvre is impressive. Just for this alone it would be worth buying! Getting 7 heads to agree on what to visit and in what order is impossible. The group splits up, we set a meeting time and, off we go! The "virtual" race with others begins. We have to see way more things than them!!!! I, my sister Sabrina and Paola start from the mezzanine, Richelieu entrance. I want to see the French sculptures, the Marly Horses, the Milo of Croton. From there we access the ground floor of the room of the same name.

The most important things are the Code of Hammurabi and the winged bull. The map the museum gives us is good but I have the Louvre guide that my dear friend Ciro lent me. Sully room, with the Venus de Milo and then the Denon room with Greek and Etruscan antiquities, and then the stunning "Amor and Psyche" by Canova. Continuing through the Denon room we reach the 1st floor. There she is! The Mona Lisa and the exact scene of the crime!! I look for Saunière and the Caravaggio painting, but... as we imagined the room is packed, we have a bit of trouble getting in front of it. Just enough time to take a photo and people, politely, sweep you away. And no, I have to grant myself at least 2 min. to admire it! I get back in line! The room where the Mona Lisa is kept is the last one, you have to walk down a very long corridor containing Italian paintings from the 16th-17th century.

Then Cimabue and the crown room. Diamonds and jewels set in every accessory, clearly all well guarded! We move to the Sully room, Paola and I to see the Crouching Scribe, Sabrina to see ancient Egypt (we've been to the Cairo museum!!!). In the Richelieu room we visit Napoleon III's apartments who invites us to have tea with him, we decline the invitation because we're in a hurry. I still have to see Mary Magdalene. The second floor is practically all French paintings, which we find a bit boring. The Lacemaker is closed.. we go back down, while I look for the Mary Magdalene, Sabry and Paola visit the moats. The meeting point is outside, near the pyramid, the others are already out. Cameras in hand, who took the best photos???..better not say.. We have one hour left to visit the Musée d'Orsay. Daniela, Milena and Marianna give up. The rest of us don't! More than a visit it's a race.

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful... all while running, until we reach Gauguin and Van Gogh. In the evening we're wrecks, it feels like someone whacked us on the back. Parisian nightlife doesn't interest us much tonight. For tonight we'll skip it!

Group of smiling young women on yellow wooden porch with white railing

Day 319 Mar 2005

3rd-4th-5th day

The other days pass between the Eiffel Tower, Trocadéro, Champs-Élysées, Sainte-Chapelle, Montmartre and the Sacré-Cœur, the Arc de Triomphe, the Moulin Rouge, and to return to the Da Vinci Code, we visit Place Vendôme and the Hôtel Ritz (clearly from the outside!!!).. in short, we didn't miss a thing! Paris is beautiful, rich in culture and at the same time modern. An absolutely cosmopolitan city. The only downside were 2 episodes that really frightened us. One evening a madman, inside a McDonald's, wanted to slit our throats because we were Italian (luckily the gendarmerie took him away), the other madman instead followed us from the Bastille (where we had gone to have a drink _what a great nightlife there is there!_) for about 1km. There wasn't a living soul around and clearly we were alone..

In all the trips I've taken something like this has never happened to me!!! Apart from that, the vacation was tiring, a real tour de force, but wonderful... and we couldn't have ended it in a better way, with a visit to Eurodisney.