Tags
art, eiffel tower, light show, louvre, mona lisa, night photography, notre dame, paris, spring, tourists
We started our day at a decently early hour of the morning so we could enjoy it to the fullest. I was dreading the predicted rain, but we were delighted to find an almost cloudless sky when we walked out the door, and in the end, the rain only came in the afternoon while we were indoors anyway. I always approve of well behaved weather.
We started, of course, with the long awaited croissants for breakfast.
We then decided to climb the Eiffel Tower. And by climb, I mean,climb. We took the stairs. Hey, it was cheaper!
Last time I was in Paris, my cheap, AA battery operated camera ran out of juice right when I reached the top of this tower. Now, I return bearing my super powered DSLR and I even had a spare battery in case I ran out. Which I didn’t. Ha!
Artsy shot makes it look like the tower is tipping over. Luckily, it didn’t, and we made it down safely.
We decided to see the sights by using a fairly cheap hop on, hope off boat system on the Seine. It was a great way to see the city and get to our destinations.
Also, pain au chocolat!
At one of our stops, we found this statue of dear T Jefferson. Kim and I were overwhelmed with nostalgia for our dear home country at the sight of our third president.
I love Notre Dame. And on a sunny spring day, it was ridiculously beautiful.
At this point, it did start to sprinkle from a stray, dismal cloud, so we ducked into a cafe for some lunch to wait out the rain. By the time we finished our food, it was sunny again and we were ready for our next stop.
My last visit to Paris was very brief since we were whizzing through in order to see a whole lot of country in just one week. We skipped the Louvre. I know. Shocking. But since this museum could easily take days to investigate thoroughly, it’s fair, I think, to give it a miss when you have half a day to take in a few of the sights before moving on.
Since we had an entire day to do as we pleased, I wanted to complete this unfulfilled bit of touring and go see the Louvre.
Trying to navigate this place was ridiculous, despite color coding, numbers, letters, and some big, helpful circles where the major artifacts were to be found. We were well and truly lost more than once, but we found our way around, and everything was pretty.
I admit, I kind of liked the pretty walls and ceilings of the rooms as much as the precious art they showed off.
We saw the famed (and headless) Winged Victory sculpture. That was the first of our successes, which I suppose is fitting.
And we did eventually find our way to the Mona Lisa. I’m sure you’ll be thrilled to know that it looks exactly like every replica or picture you’ve seen of it in a book. But, you know, it’s famous and now I’ve seen it.
I actually rather enjoyed this one more: The Wedding Feast at Cana. It was massive, taking up almost an entire wall.
In one corner, you can see them pouring the recently converted water from the jars.
The Louvre was fascinating overall and worth a few hours out of our afternoon. It closed and we did have to leave eventually.
Our last stop was (surprise!) the Eiffel Tower for a farewell light show before heading back to the hotel. We saw a lovely horse-drawn carriage at the base, waiting to take people on rides around the city.
We waited to see the lights come on so I could say goodbye to the tower properly. Kim and Sarianna are staying a few more days. I’m off to Spain.
Until next time, Paris. Until next time. Now, let’s see if I can find my way to Madrid.