Sunday, March 31, 2013

10 DAYS IN EUROPE- PARIS

We flew to Paris on the 27th. Once again, my luggage was not lost (phew), unlike my poor colleague who had his baggage lost on the way to Rome and went for the whole trip without anything but a camera bag. He would wash his clothes in the sink every night and hang them up to dry while he slept. I am so thankful that wasn't me!
My first Parisian crepe- ham and cheese.
We walked to Notre Dame after we dropped our baggage at the hotel. It was quite a ways, but after being on a plane, it was was nice to walk through Paris and check out the new place. Paris is such an elegant city. The architecture on all the buildings is beautiful, but it is disappointingly trashy. It was also very cold, but I was expecting that because I was warned by a friend that I needed layers.

Notre Dame in the evening.
 Notre Dame was beautiful and popular. It was Holy Week for the Catholics and there were crowds of people going to Mass, so we didn't go in. We ate (crepe) and then found the Eiffel Tower eventually and took some fantastic photos.
La Tour Eiffel
I was very struck by the Eiffel Tower, more than I thought I would be. Maybe it was because it was night, but it was a very beautiful, impressive sight! It even did it's flash mode for us while we were there. I was just excited to be in Paris!
Me and a Leonardo da Vinci painting!! (Madonna of the Rocks)
The Louvre was overwhelming, but in a fantastic way! We got art overload, but kept on going. I saw paintings and other works I never dreamed I would see in real life. Just the building is amazing, but to see Leonardos, Michelangelos, Caravaggios, Davids (love), etc... the list is just unbelievable. It was like stepping into an art history book.
One of the gorgeous stair cases.
We also went to the Musee d'Orsay the next day, but they wouldn't let us take photos there. I am so glad the Louvre let us. I have some great photo memories now. I took over 600 photographs- thank heavens for digital. I'm not sure who will ever see them except for me, but I will love them all my life!
A boat ride on the Seine River.
P and I took a boat ride the next day too, but I'm not sure it was worth the money. I kept falling asleep, I was so exhausted from our trip. We also went back to the Louvre and I successfully navigated the Paris metro to get us back to our hotel. We had to be checked out the next morning by 6 am to fly out. I got to fly on one of the new Airbus planes. It was huge! 10 people across one row and about 50 movies to choose from. It was a cushy ride home for 10 and a half hours and I was so glad to be going. I love to travel, but coming home is the best. 

1 comment:

Julie Hillman said...

Such a beautiful city! So glad you got to experience it. I kept thinking how amazing it must have been for you because of your art background.