We cannot wait to go back to Paris one day! It was the second city of our trip, and we had a lot to see and do in a short amount of time. We arrived on a high speed train from London, and took the metro to our hotel. Our hotel was perfect, exactly what we wanted. The room was surprisingly large for Europe, and I was excited to open the window to see if we had a view. At first I was disappointed to be starring at a building in front of me until I turned my head and realized we had an amazing view of the Eiffel Tower! I was elated! After we checked in we headed to the Rue Cler to grab some lunch. The Rue Cler is a street in a quaint little neighborhood filled with cafe's and markets. I specifically wanted to stay in this neighborhood after reading about it in a Rick Steve's travel guide, it was close to the Eiffel Tower and had a really charming feel. Our small hotel was the only hotel on the block, and was surrounded by apartments and condos. There was even a grocery store around the corner that we visited regularly to pick up the essentials! The first cafe we ate at gave us a truly Parisian experience. The water was warm (they don't serve ice), the wine was delicious, and the service was lacking. It was very busy as we sat on the patio and just as we settled down, a couple squeezed by to ask if they could sit by us. They were obviously American, and even had their Rick Steve's guide book in tow. (Same as mine) Now for those of you who know Kirk, he is a people person. He loves talking to people.... all people. So he jumped on the chance to speak to our new dining neighbors. He asked them where they were from and we were surprised to learn they were also from Austin, Texas!!! What are the odds? We had an amazing lunch with them, and were interested in their trip since they were at the end of their stay in Paris and we were at the beginning. They even had the same guide book we did only theirs was tattered and worn, and ours was crisp and new! We enjoyed most of the classic Paris tourist sights, at least the ones important to us, and even took a day trip to Versilles. We had an amazing time, but it flew by too quickly. There was just too much to see in the time we had, and by the time we left Paris we were already planning what we would do on our next trip back.
Our Eurostar "high speed" train from London to Paris.
Only 2hour 22 minutes, traveling at 100+ miles per hour!
Our new "Austin" friends Gina and
The nighttime view from our hotel room,
it was even better in person!
We went on a nighttime river cruise to get
acclimated with the layout of Paris, it was perfect!
We climbed as far as allowed up the Eiffel Tower,
and rode the rest of the way to the top. This park
facing the Tower is called Champ de Mars, and at night is
filled with friends and family visiting, eating, and drinking wine.
The breezy top of the Eiffel Tower
The architecture was amazing.
"The Thinker"'s behind!
Gorgeous Church, not sure the name of it.
Sacre Coeur was beautiful, but sure was a hike to the top!
My version of "Where's Waldo", can you find Rachel?
Taken from the top of the dome in Sacre Couer
Le Louvre
Notre Dame with its famous rose stained glass.
There are quite a few stories built into the door's arch
Inside Notre Dame
The original chandelier, quite a bit dusty!
The oldest gargoyle, he even has a name... but I forgot it!
The backside of Notre Dame. This side doesn't get
enough attention, and it has a great park!
Well, we cut the top off, but its the best we could do
considering the park was pretty empty and we didn't want
to disrupt the people making out! We were in Paris!
The side is great too! This faces the River Seine.
The police station has a beautiful gate.
We ran out of battery after a long day, so I took these with my phone.
This is inside the Orsay Museum.... our FAVORITE!
It was originally a train station.
Van Gough
Monet's Cathedral series
Monet's Waterlily's
Renoir
I loved this statue!
Le Louvre
We only went in the Denali wing, we loved the huge paintings.
We were a bit overwhelmed with the Louvre, luckily I had downloaded
Rick Steve's free podcasts, and he walked us through the "highlights" of the Louvre!
The Mona Lisa, much smaller than you would think. I look gross
in this picture, but we went to the Louvre at night after a long HOT day
in Paris. A few Museums are open late certain nights, and are half price.
This helped us utilize every hour we had in Paris, and there are were no crowds!
A famous "last supper" variation. Its sits opposite the Mona Lisa.
We were tired and feeling a bit silly, plus we pretty much
had the place to ourselves!
Venus de Milo
We couldn't get our camera to cooperate with the lighting.
The Statue of.... Kirk
Kirk loved how everyone carried around baguettes, so he decided
to bring this along all day! We were walking to the train from our hotel,
you can see how charming the neighborhood was we felt like locals!
Our day trip to Versilles, the "hunting lodge" of King Louis 14 and
Marie Antoinette. Kirk posing with his baguette.
Kirk trying to direct us in the right direction through one
of the garden's labryniths, we were kind of lost.... and looking
for the bathroom!!! Ahhhh! Look at all the pathways.
The pink marble chateau of Marie Antoinette's (she had this
built to get away from the main house)
The chateau was still decorated beautifully
In every castle, chateau, etc. we visited I wished we could see the kitchen.
In this chateau, we got to!
Look how comfy these look, I was dying to sit on them. Too bad they were
"behind the ropes" :-(
This room had "false" walls. It had secret passageways
around the chateau, and secret rooms!
Sitting around the lake King Louis the 14th had built, listening to our
Rick Steve's audio guide. We decided to munch on the baguette, and share
with the ducks!
He had this fountain made to represent the sunrise. He would only have it on
when he took his morning ride along the water. It looks like the horses are coming
up out of the water, when on its said to look like they are galloping.
Kirk found the only snack bar that served beer! Everyone was jealous and kept
asking us where he got it. This is what happens when I'm not paying attention
to him when taking a "self portrait"!
This door was to the chapel inside the main house
He could have easily fit inside this fireplace
I loved that each room had a theme or color scheme!
One of Marie Antoinette's beds
In the grand ballroom, there were over 100 chandeliers
Inside one of the courtyards, the tile floors were amazing!
Back in Paris,
A terrible self-portrait of ourselves in Sainte Chappelle
The gorgeous stained glass chapel was breath-taking!
The back doors
The Arc de Triomphe
We didn't have enough time to ask someone to take it
for us, the sun was setting and we had to get to the top!
Taken from the top of the Arc de Triomphe
Giving my new Chanel necklace some love!
Everyone loves Chanel
One of my favorite "cheesy" poses!
Taken from the Garden of Tullieries
Still carrying and now eating the baguette!
Taken on our way out of town, I wish the sun was out
and that we would have had more time to perfect this one!
Wish I would have raised my leg higher... or lower,
man.... I'm critical!
