Bienvenue à Paris!
As usual, we kicked off our time in Paris with a FANTASTIC walking tour!!! Our guide’s name was Harry, who introduced himself as “not a popstar nor a wizard.” But he was a gifted storyteller and historian, giving us a perfect crash course on the French Revolution and WWII in France in the most entertaining way!
Harry asked us some thought-provoking questions throughout our tour, one of which was at a serene park with fantastic views of Notre Dame. Many times throughout history, when something tragic happens to buildings and monuments, they would NOT be rebuilt to look exactly the same. In many cases, they would be constructed and updated with the latest style. After the fire that destroyed part of Notre Dame in 2019, Parisians debated if they should rebuild the church exactly how it was, or build something new and different. He asked all of us on the tour this question, and I answered that they should update it. The previous Notre Dame was beautiful, but I think that Paris would be even more of an amazing city with a new update to an older building. Parisians, however, decide to rebuild it exactly how it was, and it’s scheduled to be finished next year for the Summer Olympics in Paris. It doesn’t look close to being finished, so we’ll see!!
As we passed by the Louvre, he told the story about how the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci became famous, and I found it hysterical. In 1911, an Italian janitor who worked at the Louvre decided that the painting did not belong in France but in Italy because Leonardo da Vinci was Italian and he believed that France stole the painting. But really, da Vinci made the painting for France! And guess how the janitor stole it!!?? He walked up to the painting, took it off the wall, tucked it under her jacket, and just walked out the door IN BROAD DAYLIGHT! How crazy! For almost three years, he had it in his possession. The best part of the story is that he was caught in the most idiotic way possible! One day, he decided that he would try to sell it to an art gallery in Italy. When he approached the art gallery, they answered, “No! It is a stolen piece of artwork! We’re going to give it back to the Louvre and arrest you!” And so, the thief was arrested. This is how Harry told the story – maybe the quotes are not exactly historically accurate, but they’re funny!!
That episode was written about in newspapers around the world! Soon everyone wanted to see the stolen painting, and the number of people visiting the Louvre skyrocketed. Now the Mona Lisa is the most famous piece of artwork in the world, thanks to the Italian janitor-turned-thief!!
We ended our tour in the gardens adjacent to the Louvre. This is where Harry told us a story about the man who saved Paris. As the war was ending, Hitler knew he lost. So he wanted everything to be destroyed because, if he couldn't have something, nobody should. He told us a story about Officer Dietrich von Choltitz, who was stationed in Paris at the time. He was instructed by Hitler to bomb the entire city and destroy everything on his way out. But Officer von Choltitz refused. Even though he was a terrible person who did so many awful things during WWII to so many people, he did one good thing in the end. If that man didn’t choose to defy Hitler’s orders, there would be no Paris as we know it today. Harry told us that one person making one right choice can truly change the world – and I think that is a super important lesson. I’m glad I learned it that day.
