FRIDAY, JUNE 29, 2012
PARIS, FRANCE
Our last full day in Paris. Sigh! Who knew we would love Paris so much???
We got up early because we wanted to be at the Louvre when it opened at 9:00. It was cool and overcast so we took an umbrella and headed out. It was an easy walk and I guess it took us about 20 mins. We had tickets already (thank you Sandy!) so we were advised to enter through the "Lion's Gates." We thought we knew where that entrance was but we didn't so we just queued up and waited for it to open. The line was short so we knew we wouldn't have to wait long. Of course it did start raining while we were waiting and it was funny to see how quickly umbrella salesmen showed up! They sold quite a few umbrellas in the few minutes it rained.
We were allowed to bypass most of the people in line because we had our tickets. We received a floor plan of the museum which was extremely helpful. We were advised to head straight to the Mona Lisa to see her before so many people gathered that it would be impossible. We walked straight there and luckily it was not too crowded yet. I was actually able to get right in front of her and spend a few minutes there. It is true that her eyes follow you wherever you go!
The second painting we wanted to see was "The Wedding Feast" by Paolo Veronese. It was very close to Mona -- wasn't that helpful? It is a gigantic, gorgeous oil painting with such incredible detail it's hard to believe. We spent a long time looking at it. Hard to believe it was painted in 1563!
One thing I did not realize is how beautiful the actual museum is!!! It is huge -- many buildings -- and most of the ceilings are painted (works of art!)and the woodwork is gorgeous. It is fantastic!
Another piece that drew a lot of attention was the sculpture of Venus de Milo. She is beautiful and many, many people were taking pictures of her. We also were told to see "The Winged Victory of Samothrace." It is a marble sculpture of the Greek goddess Nike, estimated to have been created in 190 B.C. Amazing!!! She is at the top of a staircase and we were able to spend some time looking at her too. But then the people started pouring in and it got ridiculously busy in a very short period of time. At some point the crowds make it impossible to enjoy the art. We were told that there are so much artwork displayed at the Louvre that if you spent just 3 seconds looking at each piece, it would take you 3 months to see it all. Can you believe that???
Our "Best Friend in Paris," Donna Morris, told us to be sure to see Napoleon (III) Bonaparte's apartment tucked away in the Richelieu wing of the Louvre. It was richly decorated in reds and golds and it was incredible. There were something like 15 crystal chandeliers in it -- some of them so huge I'm amazed they were able to hang them from the ceiling. David got some great photographs of the apartment. Donna also told us there was a nice cafe in the same wing and that we should try to eat there because from the outside seating area there were beautiful views of the Eiffel Tower. We did go there and we had coffee and hot chocolate but the weather did not cooperate and we were not able to go outside even to take a photograph. But David said it was the best hot chocolate ever so it was worth it!
After we left the Louvre, we headed back to our area to have omelets at our favorite cafe, the St. Regis. They were scrumptious! We lingered there for awhile because all of their huge windows were open -- almost like there were no walls -- and we were able to people watch. Then we split up to go shopping. David headed back to the antique store where he found his metal soldiers and I shopped around our area for a keepsake for myself (and a 'prize for my sister because she had back surgery). I had my eye on some leather bags in a store across the street from our hotel so I went back there and bought a royal blue bag for me and a hot pink bag for Jill. Really, really cool!!!!!
David and I met up later in the day and tried to decide where we wanted to go to dinner. After much thought we decided we just wanted to buy sandwiches and cookies and eat in our room. We had to pack and get ready to leave in the morning so it was more relaxing for us. Plus the sandwiches are so good on the baguettes with good cheese. Yum! Turned out to be a delicious dinner!
That was it for our last day in Paris. We wish we would have had a few more days there.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Monday, July 2, 2012
THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012
PARIS, FRANCE
We got up early today because we wanted to have breakfast before we headed out for the day. We had our hearts set on omelets at the corner cafe, Cafe St. Regis, and when we got there we were told they had problems in the kitchen and could not make eggs. We decided to just have coffee/tea and croissants.
I had made arrangements to meet a woman named Donna Morris for a 1/2 day tour of Paris. There was an article about her in the Charlotte newspaper last December and we cut it out because it intrigued us. She is from Blowing Rock, NC, and has lived in Paris since 2006. She has a business called "Best Friend in Paris" and she does personal tours with people. You can book 1/2 day or 2 days or whatever. We decided on the 1/2 day tour just so she could help us get our bearings and get the most out of our short time in Paris.
She met us at our hotel and we instantly hit it off. We didn't want her to take us to the Eiffel Tower or The Lovre or anything like that because we knew we could do those things on our own. Instead she first took us to the Montmartre area of Paris. I had really hoped to see it so that was great. Montmartre is a butte on the North side of Paris and that is why that area has it's name. It's a trendy area with fabulous restaurants, nightclubs, etc. It is called the "San Francisco of Paris." We walked through the entire area and saw great shops and gorgeous buildings, apartments, and churches. Many famous artists had studios or worked in this area -- Salvador DalĂ, Amedeo Modigliani, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh. Montmartre is primarily known for the white-domed Basilica of the SacrĂ© Coeur on its summit. It is beautiful! The other, older, church on the hill is Saint Pierre de Montmartre, which claims to be the location at which the Jesuit order of priests was founded. It is from the third century!!! This church is less famous but to us it was much more interesting. Jill, we lit a candle for you there so your back would heal quickly. I'm sure you are doing backflips tonight!
When we walked out of the second church and started heading down the hill, we saw our first great view of the Eiffel Tower. It is an incredible structure and it really lets you know you are in Paris! We took so many pictures of the Eiffel Tower from so many different locations it is laughable! I should make a photo album just of those.
After we left the churches we walked down the hill through an outdoor market. I thought it would be a fruit/vegetable market but instead it was an art market. Artists painting Paris scenes and also lots of artists painting portraits of tourists and caricatures -- some of them were fabulous!
Continuing down the hill we saw incredible wine and cheese stores, cupcake bakeries, great-smelling patisseries, shops with complete cooked meals ready to pick up, etc. If I lived in Paris, this is the area where I would live. It is in the 18th arrondissement.
From Montmartre we took a bus to the Eiffel Tower area. We had lunch at a cafeteria where we had a great view of the Tower. The food, however, was terrible but at least it was very expensive. Ha! We spent a long time at the cafe talking about her life in Paris and she gave us many tips on how to get around. We bought a book she suggested, Essential Paris, which breaks down Paris by arrondissements and then shows the streets, bus routes and metro routes. I would strongly recommend this book for anyone traveling to Paris.
After lunch we parted ways with Donna and David and I walked down to see the Eiffel Tower close up and walk underneath it and, of course, to take more pictures! It was on our way to the street where we would catch the bus back to our hotel. Donna prefers buses to the Metro and I think she has a good reason -- as you travel by bus you can see more of what's around you and get on and off if you see something you would like to check out.
Based on Noel's recommendation, we planned to get off the bus to see Les Invalides. It contains Napoleon's tomb and is a military museum. But it was blazing hot (buses are not air conditioned) so we decided to save that for our next trip to Paris and we went straight to the hotel to cool off in our air conditioned room.
After a rest we headed back out to tour Notre Dame. No lines and we walked right in. They were holding a Mass but the tourists still wandered through. There really is no way to describe how beautiful Notre Dame is . . . or how huge! We spent a lot of time there and it was nice to hear Mass. Jill, we lit a candle for you again so you have to be all healed by now!
By now it was about 6:30 p.m. and a beautiful evening. Donna had suggested we take a Seine River tour out of Pont Neuf so we decided to do so. We walked to the end of the island and took a Vedettes tour. It was an hour long and really enjoyable! I liked that the guide told us about all of the bridges -- 13 in all. The New Bridge is actually the oldest bridge in Paris and it's lined with faces. All of them are strange and some are sticking out their tongues, etc. There are many theories about why the faces are there -- some say they are there to ward off evil spirits. Our tour guide said Henry IV had them put on the bridge because he was mocking the bridge builders and he didn't think the bridge would stand. Great bridges, great stories.
We got off the boat around 8:00 and we were starving. We wanted plain, old regular food -- nothing fancy and not a 3-hr. dinner like usual. Our hotel desk clerk suggested we go to Cafe Lutetia. We had been there once for tea and coffee so we decided to give it a try. It was perfect! I had a bacon cheeseburger with french fries (delicious) and David had a caesar salad with french fries. Yes, we had to eat french fries with every meal so we could let Sheryl know which restaurant had the best fries!
After dinner we slowly strolled back to our hotel and after watching some TV -- European track meet -- we went to sleep. Our time in Paris is running out too quickly!
PARIS, FRANCE
We got up early today because we wanted to have breakfast before we headed out for the day. We had our hearts set on omelets at the corner cafe, Cafe St. Regis, and when we got there we were told they had problems in the kitchen and could not make eggs. We decided to just have coffee/tea and croissants.
I had made arrangements to meet a woman named Donna Morris for a 1/2 day tour of Paris. There was an article about her in the Charlotte newspaper last December and we cut it out because it intrigued us. She is from Blowing Rock, NC, and has lived in Paris since 2006. She has a business called "Best Friend in Paris" and she does personal tours with people. You can book 1/2 day or 2 days or whatever. We decided on the 1/2 day tour just so she could help us get our bearings and get the most out of our short time in Paris.
She met us at our hotel and we instantly hit it off. We didn't want her to take us to the Eiffel Tower or The Lovre or anything like that because we knew we could do those things on our own. Instead she first took us to the Montmartre area of Paris. I had really hoped to see it so that was great. Montmartre is a butte on the North side of Paris and that is why that area has it's name. It's a trendy area with fabulous restaurants, nightclubs, etc. It is called the "San Francisco of Paris." We walked through the entire area and saw great shops and gorgeous buildings, apartments, and churches. Many famous artists had studios or worked in this area -- Salvador DalĂ, Amedeo Modigliani, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh. Montmartre is primarily known for the white-domed Basilica of the SacrĂ© Coeur on its summit. It is beautiful! The other, older, church on the hill is Saint Pierre de Montmartre, which claims to be the location at which the Jesuit order of priests was founded. It is from the third century!!! This church is less famous but to us it was much more interesting. Jill, we lit a candle for you there so your back would heal quickly. I'm sure you are doing backflips tonight!
When we walked out of the second church and started heading down the hill, we saw our first great view of the Eiffel Tower. It is an incredible structure and it really lets you know you are in Paris! We took so many pictures of the Eiffel Tower from so many different locations it is laughable! I should make a photo album just of those.
After we left the churches we walked down the hill through an outdoor market. I thought it would be a fruit/vegetable market but instead it was an art market. Artists painting Paris scenes and also lots of artists painting portraits of tourists and caricatures -- some of them were fabulous!
Continuing down the hill we saw incredible wine and cheese stores, cupcake bakeries, great-smelling patisseries, shops with complete cooked meals ready to pick up, etc. If I lived in Paris, this is the area where I would live. It is in the 18th arrondissement.
From Montmartre we took a bus to the Eiffel Tower area. We had lunch at a cafeteria where we had a great view of the Tower. The food, however, was terrible but at least it was very expensive. Ha! We spent a long time at the cafe talking about her life in Paris and she gave us many tips on how to get around. We bought a book she suggested, Essential Paris, which breaks down Paris by arrondissements and then shows the streets, bus routes and metro routes. I would strongly recommend this book for anyone traveling to Paris.
After lunch we parted ways with Donna and David and I walked down to see the Eiffel Tower close up and walk underneath it and, of course, to take more pictures! It was on our way to the street where we would catch the bus back to our hotel. Donna prefers buses to the Metro and I think she has a good reason -- as you travel by bus you can see more of what's around you and get on and off if you see something you would like to check out.
Based on Noel's recommendation, we planned to get off the bus to see Les Invalides. It contains Napoleon's tomb and is a military museum. But it was blazing hot (buses are not air conditioned) so we decided to save that for our next trip to Paris and we went straight to the hotel to cool off in our air conditioned room.
After a rest we headed back out to tour Notre Dame. No lines and we walked right in. They were holding a Mass but the tourists still wandered through. There really is no way to describe how beautiful Notre Dame is . . . or how huge! We spent a lot of time there and it was nice to hear Mass. Jill, we lit a candle for you again so you have to be all healed by now!
By now it was about 6:30 p.m. and a beautiful evening. Donna had suggested we take a Seine River tour out of Pont Neuf so we decided to do so. We walked to the end of the island and took a Vedettes tour. It was an hour long and really enjoyable! I liked that the guide told us about all of the bridges -- 13 in all. The New Bridge is actually the oldest bridge in Paris and it's lined with faces. All of them are strange and some are sticking out their tongues, etc. There are many theories about why the faces are there -- some say they are there to ward off evil spirits. Our tour guide said Henry IV had them put on the bridge because he was mocking the bridge builders and he didn't think the bridge would stand. Great bridges, great stories.
We got off the boat around 8:00 and we were starving. We wanted plain, old regular food -- nothing fancy and not a 3-hr. dinner like usual. Our hotel desk clerk suggested we go to Cafe Lutetia. We had been there once for tea and coffee so we decided to give it a try. It was perfect! I had a bacon cheeseburger with french fries (delicious) and David had a caesar salad with french fries. Yes, we had to eat french fries with every meal so we could let Sheryl know which restaurant had the best fries!
After dinner we slowly strolled back to our hotel and after watching some TV -- European track meet -- we went to sleep. Our time in Paris is running out too quickly!
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