Museums

Paris is filled with museums and you could probably spend everyday for a month trying to cover all the art housed in Paris. We visited three of the major museums but we are definitely not huge art enthusiasts.  

In the Garden's in front of the Louvre

 Before going to the Louvre we ate lunch and enjoyed a bottle of vino in the Tuileries Gardens. This was one of my favorite things in Paris, just hanging out and relaxing in the gardens. 

 Outside the Louvre 

 Inside the Louvre

 The Mona Lisa
We basically went into the Louvre just to see the Mona Lisa and a few other paintings around it and then left because it was just so overwhelming and crowded. 

Musee d’Orsay housed art that we were much more familiar with. The museum was created from an old rail station making the museum itself a piece of art. We really enjoyed looking at the Impressionists galleries of, Manet, Renoir, and Monet, but my favorite pieces were the series of ballerinas by Degas. There was also a wing devoted to van Gogh.

We also visited the Pompidou Center that houses a large collection of modern art. Modern art is actually entertaining to look at because it is interesting, weird, but most of all humorous.  The Pompidou Center is thought to be the most avant-garde building in the world.

Paris Nights & Food

Paris Nights were filled with delicious meals, amusement from Stephen, and more picturesque sites. The three most memorable nights hanging with Stephen were by Notre Dame, the Arch de Triomph, and the Effile Tower. 

The first night we hung out with Stephen and his business school friend, Pat, we started the night at an Italian restaurant on Ile St-Louis.  Following dinner we kept the party going.  We bought wine and beer and hung with the locals on the left bank of the Seine with the Notre Damn Cathedral in the background.  

The next night we went to the Arc de Triomphe where we had dinner and then strolled down the Champs Elysees in search of the perfect macaroon, more on this later, and finished the night drinking beers in an English pub. 

Our last night with Stephen also began at the Arc de Triomphe.  We tried to eat dinner at a restaurant famous for Steak Frites but didn’t want to wait the 1 -2 hours it would take to get in.  We finally settled at a small French bistro just across the river from the Eiffel Tower.  

Following dinner we made the short walk over to the Eiffel Tower.  The lower elevators were no longer taking people up to the mid-level of the Tower and it was too late to buy tickets to the top.  Stephen and Pat accepted defeat and retreated to the Parc du Champs to wait for us.  We on the other hand, would not take no for an answer.  We purchased he $5 tickets to walk up the stairs for the first level.  After walking up 700+ stairs we reached the first level of the tower.  From here, we got in line for the elevators to the top.  We did not have tickets to take these elevators but were determined to make it to the top.  We showed our “stairs” tickets and somehow were allowed to take the elevators and make it to the top.  We made it to the top just before midnight and were able to greet the new day from the top.  We then waited in the long line to take the elevator to the lower level and walked the remaining way down the stairs.  

 I loved the Eiffel Tower and thought it was so beautiful when it sparkled every hour. It was a bit windy at the top but the view was amazing.

 Stephen being “Iced” at the end of the night. More on this to come and the payback...

Paris Sites

Day 5

Paris is full of beautiful sites.  We started our site seeing at Norte Dame during our first afternoon in Paris.  This cathedral is over 700 years old and has beautiful Gothic architecture. We never got a chance to climb to the top because the line was always so long and it was so hot. But it’s always nice to have a reason to come back.  

The Rose Window 

The outside was more beautiful than the inside 

Perched on the city’s highest point, the Sacre-Coeur basilica was the second church we visited.  It is found in the artsy neighborhood of Montmartre, which was home to many famous artists including Vincent van Gogh. It was a really hazy day but through the haze we could see all of Paris.

 On our walk through Montmartre we came across a lot of cute little spots like a vineyard and old windmills.

 Vincent van Gogh's home

 We ended our tour of Montmartre at the famous Moulin Rouge.

That afternoon we visited the Luxembourg Gardens.  These 60 acre gardens, dotted with statues and fountains are found behind Luxembourg Palace (where the French Senate presides).  We found a nice shaded area to rest and re-cooperate after all of our walking.  We must of gotten too comfortable because the next thing we remember was being asked nicely in French to wake up and not sleep in the grass by a French police officer.

 We walked back to the Right Bank that day across Pont Neuf, Paris’ oldest bridge. I think Pont Neuf is one of the most romantic spots in Europe so naturally we visited this area a few more times for those “French kisses.” This bridge is not Pont Neuf but I realized we didn't have a picture of the actual bridge only the view from it. 

 

Another Church we visited, Sainte-Chapelle, had an abundance of stained glass windows and every inch of the chapel was covered in painted detail. It was built to house relics of the True Cross, including the Crown of Thorns.

 Strolling through the flower market and stopping to smell the roses.