Yes yes, I know… the DaVinci Code is soooo 2003! But admit it… you LOVED IT…you could hardly put it down… even if afterwards your ‘official’ position was that it was chock-full of shocking heresy…. or simply rife with editorial liberties!
With the upcoming DaVinci Code movie promising to re-ignite holy grail fervor, I decided it was about time for us to trace the story’s thrill-a-minute path through Paris. We would be in town anyway for yet another French-class reunion, so Soenke agreed to stay an extra day to indulge my fictional fantasy…
I admit I was pretty rusty on the book’s finer details (“uh, what did he say the holy grail was again?”). With my copy of the book on the other side of the ocean, I was relieved to find an English version of the Code at the Hamburg airport, which I then feverishly re-read on the flight to Paris (on the train, in the elevator, in the room…). I jotted notes of must-see spots and scribbled an outline of our proposed adventure. With time constraints and the rainy conditions in mind, I decided not to attempt a chronological tour – nor a trip to the gigantic (and, by night, very dodgy) Bois de Bolougne Park or the 55,000-euro-a-week Chateau Villette – but anything accessible by metro or bus was fair game.
Armed with our indispensable little “Paris Pratique” street map book, our adventure began at an anonymous creperie in the Latin Quarter. We battled over each bite of a shared chocolate banana crepe…immersed ourselves in a spirit of intrigue…then headed to our first DaVinci Code location: the venerable St Sulpice Church, scene of the suspenseful and deadly meeting between the ruthless albino monk and the dedicated nun who helped guard the grail’s secret. We tipped our hats to the spectacular fountain out front, then headed inside in search of the famous Rose Line – the longitude point from which east-west distances were originally marked (before Greenwich took over). I was immediately distracted by the Church’s interior decor: the Delacroix paintings on the right were stunning; each chapel around the perimeter was overflowing with incredible works of art. But wait – AHA! On the right side, between the altar and the confessional, we spotted the Church’s real claim to fame… the simple, brass Rose Line embedded in the cement. It crossed right through the altar then continued to the base of and vertically up the peculiar obelisk set in the shadows on the far left of the church. At the base of this obelisk, our albino monk dug under the tile – secretly observed by the nun in the organ loft above - but found a cruel dead end to his search… a pre-meditated trick of the Priory de Sion guardians to keep outsiders from discovering the grail’s ancient secret. We scanned the inscriptions on the obelisk, which referenced Opus Dei (“the work of God”), noticing an entire section which was scratched out and illegible. Hmmm!!!
Next intriguing stop, la Louvre!
Our bus dropped us off right in front of the huge Louvre façade, the famous glass pyramid, and the street’s rotary from which the inverted pyramid descends underground. Positioning ourselves in front of the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, we stood on the mighty axis which runs through the center of the arches… to the Egyptian obelisk at the Place de la Concorde, further to the Grand Arc de Triomphe, and not quite visible (but there), the distant Arche de La Defense. Directly behind us at the other end of the axis were both the inverted and exterior Pyramids. Beyond the Arc du Carrousel lay the idyllic Tuileries gardens, prominently featured in the book (although I’ve never seen a car race through there myself!)
Glancing up to where the Louvre’s south wing crosses the street in front of the museum, we could imagine Langdon and Sophie tossing the GPS-embedded bar of soap out a window into a truck passing below - assuming they had really good aim…
We entered the Louvre underground complex through the often-missed Porte des Lions, an unobtrusive stairway leading downward just to the left of the Arch. This brought us upon an impressive sight appreciated by Langdon in the final pages of the book: the giant inverted glass pyramid! It was illuminated brightly by the sun; we touched the tiny cement pyramid underneath, which reaches up to the tip of the giant glass inverted pyramid, just as Langdon had himself done.
A stroll to our left, through security, past tempting shops, brought us directly under the main pyramid with the winding staircase that Inspector Bazu Fache had mounted on his first meeting with Langdon. We grabbed a map, fought with the automated ticket machines, and headed to our right up into the Denon wing…where DaVinci paintings abound! Halfway down the hallway, we spotted the small elevator on the right where Langdon enjoyed a few minutes of claustrophobia on the way to the Grande Gallerie. Ascending to the 1st floor, we followed the signs to Salle 6, where the Mona Lisa herself is currently displayed under glass and tight security. Having forgotten my black light, I couldn’t see if any invisible writing was scrawled across the glass, but I did manage to push through the eager throngs and notice that yes, the left background behind her IS painted much lower than the right background – making her left (‘feminine’) side appear more prominent! Huh!
We continued into the long, narrow Grande Gallerie – home of the Italian masters. The gallery itself is awe-inspiring, with the curved roof and optically-challenging parquet floors. There were plenty of places that Jacques Sauniere could have been sprawled dead on the floor, a mimic of the Vitruvian man. We searched out the “Madonna of the Rocks” (no easy task, considering the tiny placecards are in French) where Sophie found the brass Priory of Sion key hidden in the back of the frame. We eventually located it, “La Vierge aux Rochers”. I could sort of see the book’s reference to sinister symbols in the painting, but they weren’t quite as shocking as I expected.
Since we WERE in the Louvre for heaven’s sake, we decided to take some detours. I adjourned to the smaller gallery east to enjoy some early Renaissance paintings (Cimabue being a favorite of mine – yes he’s 2D and all gold leaf, but he’s COOL), then I dragged Soenke on his first whirlwind Louvre introductory tour: over to the headless Winged Victory, into the Apollo Gallery to check out Napolean’s flashy coronation crown, on to the armless Venus de Milo, back to the famous Etruscan sarcophagus, through the French sculpture gallery, and back out the entrance – as tradition dictates – to the Louvre food court for some international fare surrounded by hoards of tourists!
Next DaVinci destination: Gare St-Lazare. I explained to Soenke how Langdon and Sophie had escaped here in her tiny Smart Car – which they then ditched - bought some train tickets to Lille to throw the police off their trail, then escaped through Bois de Bolougne on their way to the fictitious Zurich Depository. We noticed that no trains seem to go to Lille from Gare St-Lazare (I think they leave from Gare du Nord?) but whatever!
A quick metro mosey to L’Opera, and a stroll down to Place Vendome brought us to the posh Hotel Ritz, where Langdon slept at the outset of the book when the French police paid him a midnight visit. We passed such high-end shops as Cartier, where you can buy a watch for 20,000 euros if time is THAT important to you. While Soenke stayed outside and window shopped (or, window licked as they say in French), I waltzed into the Ritz and admired the luxe furnishings and sparkling chandeliers, then exited quickly before I started to rethink our modest 3-star digs!
We headed south down rue Castiglione to the book’s oft-mentioned rue de Rivoli; if you were Inspector Fache you would have continued at high speed in your car into the Tuileries gardens entrance, dead ahead. We, instead, turned our high-speed-feet right and headed for Place de la Concorde, where the gold-tipped obelisk resides, and continued up the Champs Elysees. Nearby supposedly lurked the American Embassy where Sophie and Langdon tried to find asylum, but it’s hard to leave the Champs once you’re in full stroll mode. Soenke diverted my little tour into the Disney store (sigh….), and I threatened with a visit into the gigantic Sephora store. We settled on another crepe break instead, and recounted the day’s intriguing sights.
By now it was raining enthusiastically, and Soenke without a hood or umbrella was soaking wet by the time we made it up to the Arch. I suggested a trip to the top to admire the Grand Boulevards radiating out in all directions, but Soenke (as always) wisely had his eye on the time. So here concluded our DaVinci Code tour; we headed back to our hotel and off to the airport, happy to have found our little Parisian piece of the Holy Grail!
—————-
Photos of our adventure:
A kickoff reunion at Lizard Lounge with the gang - Soenke, me James, then Roland, Mirjam & Dani:
No Paris prowl is possible without good street maps!
First stop, St Sulpice - under restoration of course!
We spot the Rose Line:
It goes right up the Obelisk - but what is an Obelisk doing in a church!?
On to the Louvre and its controversial pyramid:
The pink Arc du Carrousel:
The famous soap-throwing location:
The inverted pyramid is an architectural wonder!:
Under the exterior pyramid:
Off to the Denon wing in search of Mona:
And there she is!:
A borrowed shot of the Grande Gallerie:
Madonna of the Rocks:
Getting my bearings in front of the Winged Victory:
Off to Gare St Lazare:
But where’s the train to Lille?
Soenke wonders how much longer he has to do this…
Place Vendome.. home of high-end jewelers and the Hotel Ritz:
Admiring the Ritz’ chandeliers:
There’s rue de Rivoli:
And finally, we conclude at the Arc du Triomphe:
Soenke is totally beat!:
