Paris with my Amour

Our day began with an early visit to the Lauvre.

 

 

. . .  notice that loooonnng line behind us?  Well, thanks to the wonderful Paris Museum Pass, we were able to skip the entire line and walk right in.  Winning.

 

 

 

This may sound crazy to some, but knowing it was such a HUGE museum we made a "must-see" list and set off to check each off the list.

 

...with our good friend Rick leading the way!

 

 

First stop, Winged Victory.

 

 

Pushing through the crowds (there may have been some elbows thrown), we made our way to the Egyptian Artifacts.

 

 

Then, on to the postage stamp Mona Lisa. And yes, I did maneuver my way ALL the way to the front of the line to get up close and personal.

 

 

 

Final stop, Venus de Milo. This ancient Greek statue is believed to have been created sometime between 130 and 100 B.C., it is believed to depict the Greek goddess of love and beauty.

    

 

Believe it or not, it was time to leave.  We took a stroll over to Sainte Chapelle, also known as the Holy Chapel.  Known to me now as the church in Paris was the most beautiful stained glass windows.

 

 

 

 

The pictures don't do it justice.  We spent quite a while just staring up at the beautiful glass. The chapel is tiny, like seriously so small, but every wall is covered, floor to ceiling with these beautiful windows.

 

Just outside the chapel was the Palace of Justice.

 

 

 

 

Heading towards our next stop we passed a long row of street artists. I feel in love with more than one painting, but decided on just one for my travel wall.  Which, I might say is coming along quite nicely!  :)

 

After shopping, I needed a snack.  When in Paris . . .  Crepes!

 

 

 

along the walk . . .

 

 

 

With a full belly, we made our way a few blocks down to the famous Notre-Dame Cathedral. The line was long, but worth the wait since it wasn't included in our Paris Pass.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The line was even longer to climb the bell tower, but this was something I had been looking forward to the entire trip.  Not necessarily the climb itself, but seeing the bells of Notre-Dame and the gargoyles and something I had to do.  Sadly, we didn't run into Quasimodo or Esmeralda, but the views were still worth the wait and the climb.

 

   

 

 

A few blocks away we found the famous Shakespeare and Company bookstore.

  

Purchased a book for my classroom and got a stamp!

More Parisian snacks!

 

Our evening was spent enjoying a night boat cruise on the Seine River.  

 

 

 

The last part of our trip included a whirlwind trip to the Palace of Versailles. After getting on the wrong train, walking the wrong direction and arriving at the wrong location, we finally made it to Versilles . . .  and that, is the shortened, no tear version.  Last thing I'll say, don't bother going to Versailles on a Monday.  That's all.  You piece it together.

 

 

After some lunch and ice cream, we concluded our disappointing tour of Versailles and headed back to the train station . . .  now that we knew where it was. We boarded our ICE train and headed home.

Bonjour!

Back in August, before the craziness of school, Daniel and I booked an ICE train and took the 2 and 1/2 hour speed train to Paris.  I understand why people fall in love with, AND in this city.  So magical & romantic.  We had a wonderful weekend sightseeing and indulging in French cuisine.

 

Our hotel was just two blocks off the Arc De Triomphe, making it a great starting point for our adventures.  We passed through the underground tunnel (built so that padestrians wouldn't have to cross the craziest traffic circle I've ever seen.) and climbed to the top (entrance fee included in the Paris museum pass!).

My first real glance at this beauty.

View of Champs Elysees Avenue from the top of the Arc.

Checking out the gallery of various uniforms through the years inside one of the floors of the Arc.

 

Leaving the Arc, we headed all the way down Champs Elysees Avenue to the Tuileries Gardens.

 

 

 

...and right to the Orangerie Museum.

 

 

Home of Monet's Water Lilies. 

 

 

 

Room after room.

 

 

One museum to another . . .  on to the Orsay Museum.  The Orsay Museum is an old turn-of-the-century railway station situated on the bank of the Seine river.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After spending a decent amount of time exploring the vast collections and getting lost between floors, it was time to move on.  He headed across town to the Army Museum. Being a little short on time and wanting to fit in so much, we opted to skip the museum and headed straight to the Grave of Napoleon Bonaparte. 

 

and when I said we were "skipping" the museum of course that meant stopping to admire all of the shiny objects along the way.  Boys will be boys.  

Napoleon's Tomb

 

To be honest, we didn't spend a lot of time inside.  Walked the loop, went downstairs, snapped some pictures and moved on.

And now, finally the moment I'd been waiting for ... the walk down Cahmp de Mar toward the Eiffel Tower...

 

 

We climbed 669 stairs . . .  as high as we could do without advanced entrance to the apartment all the way at the tippy top.

 

Viewing Paris from the top of the Eiffel Tower ... something I've always dreamed of doing!!

 

We conveniently "had" to walk across Love Lock Bridge on our way back to our hotel. 

 

 

After crossing Love Lock Bridge, we hopped a train back to our hotel to freshened up for dinner.   After relaxing in a quant little French hotel for a spell, we hit the streets for some French cuisine.

 

Stay posted for our second FULL day in Paris!