Paris: Day 4

The Louvre and Notre Dame was on the agenda for day 4 in Paris


Under the famous glass pyramid:

These kids were about Kaden's age.   On a school field trip.  

Wow, lucky kids.

Venus de Milo, an ancient Greek statue and one of the most famous works of ancient Greek sculpture.  Created at some time between 130 and 100 BC, it is believed to depict Aphrodite (Venus to the Romans) the Greek goddess of love and beauty.

The line outside to get in the museum.  We were really glad we bought the museum pass and skipped that line.  

At the end of this room holds the crown jewels.  

The crowns

The one I was really looking forward to seeing:

The mob surrounding Mona:

(and you'll see how annoyed my husband looks with all the people!)

Coronation of Napoleon painted by Jacques-Louis David in 1807:

The Slaves by Michelangelo (1513):

Museum nerds:

Inside of the famous glass pyramid:

By about hour three, we had quite enough art culture for awhile.  So, we got out of there and walked to the famous Notre Dame.  I don't know what was more impressive, the outside or the inside.  And knowing the construction of it was started in 1163.  It was completed in 1345.

I remember sitting in one of the chairs and telling Jeremy I could fall asleep there.  It was so quiet, peaceful and dark.  Oh, and I was exhausted!  He had no sympathy and said, "get up!  we have things to see!"  He was channeling Clark Griswold on European Vacation there for awhile, I was a little nervous!

They claim this is the oldest organ in Europe:

The altar:

After this spectacular day, we decided to take one of Rebecca's suggestions and went to Cafe Charlot.  We both had absolutely fantastic food and the atmosphere was just the best.  I met this really neat guy there:

He kept coming up to me (I was eating steak) and putting his head or his paw on my leg.  He had won me over!  I never gave him any food though.  Jeremy threw him a french fry and he wouldn't eat it.  That should have been our first clue because the minute I was done with my steak, he had NOTHING to do with me!  

Paris Day 3

We slept until 10!  I guess it was the combo of jet-lag and the light-blocking curtains...

We headed to our fave pastry shop for some "breakfast" of chocolate croissants and coffee.  We sat outside the shop and ate our breakfast street-side.  It was fabulous.    

I got yelled at (in French) by one of the pastry shop workers for taking this shot.  I wish I would have sneaked it better, because this pastry shop was just a thing of beauty!  I would have loved to get more pics of all of the goodies.  Jeremy said, "babe, it's time to put the camera away".  They take their food seriously in Paris!  

We decided to take the 30 minute train ride outside of town to the "suburbs" to see where the kings and queens lived so many years ago in Versaille.  Jeremy figured out the RER train, which is the train to the 'burbs.

Walking up the street, this was our first glimpse of Versailles:

It was huge and quite breathtaking. 

I think Jeremy may have learned a thing or two during my photo tour the day before.  He took this while waiting for me as I stood in a bathroom line for 30 minutes:

This was taken behind the mansion.  We went to the gardens first, not really knowing where to start.  The fountains, gardens, statues, & lake were all just so beautiful. 

 This makes the White House look tiny:  

Even the tree bark was pretty.  

 Rowboats

I loved these docks & the people relaxing on a beautiful fall day

 The true definition of "lucky ducks":

The swans were actually quite entertaining:

 A lot of the property is open to the locals to bike around, play and relax in the grassy areas.  There were a lot of families with young kids riding their bikes, playing soccer, & having picnics by the lake of Versailles.  

From the lake, we took the long walk to Marie Antoinette's home (only because we couldn't figure out how the little train ran back and forth!!)  It was such a beautiful day for a walk, looking back, I'm glad we walked.  This place is so huge, it was crazy how much we walked that day.  

Once again, we really didn't know where to go or where to start, so we kind of just followed the group of people.  This was part of the entry into the home:

Marie Antoinette:

Her rose garden:

The outside of the mansion (very small compared to the main buildings):

After we left here, we decided to walk back to the main building to do an audio tour of the place.  This was the room of mirrors:

The king's bedroom: 

I liked this sign on our walk back to the train station:

   Once at the train station, it was major chaos with everyone trying to get back to the center of the city.  Pair that with train tickets that wouldn't work, it wasn't a pretty sight.  Eventually a RER worker just opened the gate and we got on board. We were so exhausted on the way back I don't think we said two words to each other!  We got back to the hotel and CRASHED.  

This vacation stuff is hard work.

Paris: Day 2

Day two in Paris.  We got up at 6:30 to get ready for my photo tour.  We had to go to Starbucks since the pastry shop Julien was closed.  Notice how Starbucks looks the same in Paris!

We decided to figure out how the Paris Metro works 

(a.k.a. the "Subway" in the U.S.)

We got ourselves successfully to the Hotel du Louvre where we were scheduled to meet Rebecca, our photo tour guide.  We got there early, so we decided to walk around the outside of the Louvre.  When we got there, we saw this cafe overlooking the famous glass pyramid of the Louvre:

Behind the scenes shots and small videos courtesy of my hubby!

I saw this car coming from up ahead and had to take it's picture! It was quite a contrast in the world of Rolls Royces and Audis!

Met up with Rebecca at 9:30 all ready for our 3 hour tour!  She was great, a native Austrailan who had been living in Paris for awhile.  She got her degree in Art and Photography.  I was in very good hands!  We headed back to the Louvre to take some shots:

After this, we walked across the Pont des Arts Bridge It is a pedestrian bridge which crosses the Seine River.  This bridge is so cool because it has padlocks attached to the railings. Lovers often throw the key into the river as a sign of undying love, or keep it and open the padlock when they next return to Paris.

This bridge was a photographer's dream the day we were there!  I saw this man painting a picture of the city:

And this guitar player playing a romantic tune:

Next up, we walked back across the bridge to an old cathedral.  I believe Rebecca called it St. Germain Cathedral.  To call it a church was kind of an understatement!  It was fabulous!

 

Once inside, we couldn't use any flash, so it was a little tough to get great shots in this dark place.

The stained glass was beautiful!

This angel watches over the outside of the cathedral and she is quite beautiful!

When we were done inside, we walked outside and what do we see?  A wedding party about to walk inside the neighboring church!  

 The bride notices me clicking away at her!

This little boy was just the cutest!  He seemed to be such a clown joking around with some of the men.  

The getaway car:

Outside of the cathedral:

Around the corner, I noticed this cafe. I loved the colors.

And the tables and chairs of course:

We left that area and headed towards Tuileries Gardens.  Along the way I spotted a photo shoot in action:

Approaching the gardens.  It seems like everything is so perfect in Paris.  Rebecca had noticed that about the city also and mentioned how the artist in her really wants to just go and mess things up and not be so orderly! 

A typical-looking French woman enjoying her Saturday morning in the park:

I liked this hotel along our walk:

Finally reaching our destination:

We all loved these chairs:

Pony rides in the park anyone?

Here is where those great chairs get to live (with the Eiffel Tower overlooking them!):

Just one of MANY statues in this area:

A fountain:

Yet another bride and groom!  It must be wedding season in Paris!

This is where we had to end the photo tour.  We were exhausted but  decided to go get a quick bite to eat at a nice little brasserie where we had a great steak and some chicken and a 5 dollar Diet Coke! Then it was time for a NAP!  Here is a shot I took from across the street from where we ate.  

After we took naps, we were ready to hit the city again!  We started walking up Franklin D. Roosevelt Ave., a great little pastry shop called Paul and had a couple of chocolate éclairs.  Yum!  We then walked across Champs-Elysee Ave. to Montaigne Ave.  This was a really fascinating street!  This was an amazing 5 star hotel all decked out with flowers at every window:

We made it to the Eiffel Tower to get some pictures before it got too dark.  Also bought the boys some cheap tower statues.  

I loved this neighborhood right before we reached the tower.  

A neat little pathway behind some of the apartment buildings in this neighborhood:

We went under the tower, beside the tower, sat on the grass below it and every which way!  It was SO fabulous and bigger than I ever imagined!  Stunning!

Two very old carousels sit right below the tower.   

  

There was so much activity and just great overall atmosphere.  Everyone was happy!  We walked up to the Palais de Chaillot and sat and had (the best!) hot dog in a french baguette and a Nutella crepe while watching the Eiffel tower sparkle. It was really romantic and such a great memory we both will have of that night.  

It was getting late and we were getting tired, so we started for "home".  We walked up Kleber Ave., stopped at the Frog XVI Microbrewery, which my husband felt quite at home at!  We had a white wine and a stout beer and had a really nice, English-speaking waiter (which isn't easy to come by!). 
Saw this really cool fruit and veggie stand still open late:

We "stumbled" upon the Arc de Triumph (which is kind of hard to do as it is so huge!) as we were walking back:

Then down Champ-Elysees, did some window shopping (or as the French like to call it "window licking") and then back to the hotel for bed. 

What a wonderful, memorable day.  Whew, that might have been the longest post ever!