4th day in Paris

We have decided the best way to start everyday is to eat a pastry. This mornings pastries may have been the best yet! We jumped on the Metro with our breakfast and headed to Les Catacombes de Paris.






This was such an interesting place to visit. It's purpose was practical, but sad. I thought it might feel dark or morbid to walk through this burial ground, but it didn't. Actually, I'm not sure how I felt. Look it up to learn more about it, it truly is interesting.












After taking the Metro to see Gary's old mission apartment. We walked to buy lunch from the markets on Rue Mouffetard. Then went to eat lunch at the Arene de Lutece ancient Roman ruins.



This was discovered when they were building the subway. It's pretty impressive to find history under history. We visited more of that theme later in the day. Just a couple stops first.



We took the Metro to Place des la Bastille and the Opera House. Then walked to see Victor Hugo's apartment at Place des Vosges.









This is a common sight, people in the park. No blankets, no official picnic, often nothing more than a bag to lean on. It is nice to see people slow down and relax because once we are out in the city it is "Go, go, go".

We walked to a boulangerie for our afternoon pastry hit. Jenn and I both got treats that were not as good as they looked. :(. So we took out the emergency pastry that we purchased with breakfast from our backpack - an almond croissant - and we were once again happy. We now highly recommend carrying an emergency pastry whenever possible.

Next we walked through the crypt archaeologic at Notre Dame. This is another history upon history place in Paris. This Roman community existed long before Notre Dame was built and Notre Dame was built above it. Again look it up for an interesting read.







Next we took the Metro to the Musee D'Orsay. We thoroughly enjoyed this museum! However, no photography was allowed inside, so we have nothing to show you. Sorry, I wish we did, because there were so many great works of art to share. With our legs growing more tired we took the Metro back to Rue Mouffetard for a pre-dinner crepe, shopping, and dinner. The man making our crepe never evenlooked up to see what he was doing. He just sent texts, as you can see in the pic above, and heckled woman passing by. :)









Gary ordered snails. (The French name would leave you to believe they were something tasty, but they are just snails!). Gary ate them, Dave and Jenn tried one, and I hid my eyes from the whole icky scene. I do not eat bugs! :)







Finally, we took a long metro ride to the Eiffel tower, where the line was too long for our tired legs so we walked back to the apartment for a restful evening of journaling and laundry. Please excuse poor writing and typos as I am way too tired to fix them. I've just finished talking via FaceTime with our kiddos - it is a highlight every night - and now I need to go melt into bed. :)

Bon Nuit

-Bloggin' on the go. Bonjour!

Thumbnails

You have probably already figured this out, but I thought I'd mention it for good measure. The app we are using to update the blog only applies thumbnail pictures to our blog. To see a bigger version of the picture you have to click on each pic. A little hassle, but better than bringing the laptop to France. :). Have a happy day!


-Bloggin' on the go. Bonjour!

Walk

Today we walked a lot. Yesterday, we walked a lot, but somehow we walked more today. (or maybe we are just tired from walking all day yesterday?). The point is, our feet and legs are tired!

Here is where our walk took us today:

To the Pastry shop for breakfast. We thought my apricot pastry looked like a mask. My breakfast was the healthiest because it included fruit. Jenn held fast to her "I'm not going to eat anything chocolate today." vow clear until she picked out the "pain au chocolat" for breakfast. We know, she's a rock!












Next to the Arc de Triomphe. We climbed to the top to enjoy another great view of Paris.






We walked all the way down Les Champs Élysées. Doing some window licking along the way. (Gary said that is the French way of saying window shopping.). :) After much walking, we took a break and had lunch in the park before heading to the Place de la Concorde. This is where the guillotine was located during the French Revolution.





We found this interesting. When they are remodeling/restoring a building the cover the facade with panels that look like the finished product. We passed this building just before entering the Jardin de Tuileries.












This is the Arc de Caroussel that Napoleon built. It is located just before the Louvre. You can see the pyramid just behind us.

The Louvre.






So much to see. So many people to share with.





The crowd at the Mona Lisa. I got Jenn and I clear to the front. We were packed in like sardines and everyone was moving so much it was hard to take a picture without getting bumped.





I did ok. My close up is even better. ;)





Jenn appreciated any chance of getting up close to a painting - to really see it.













At the Venus de Milo. Had another tricky time getting a photo without other people standing right next to us. See the guy in the green shirt in the picture of Dave and I? He and his wife were very pushy - literally! And she made him take her picture over and over again. They would even walk away from the exhibit, then return push people out of their way and try again. He either finally got it right or she gave up. All we know is they left to go push others around and we were happy. Venus is truly beautiful.






This is a furnished "apartment" of Napoleon III in the North wing of the Louvre. It has it's original furnishings...impressive, over the top, gaudy, ornate...furnishings. This table was probably 9' across and who knows how much in length.






Our last photo of the day, with more naked statues. We may need to see our Bishops after visiting the Louvre today. ;).

After leaving our full day tour of the Louvre we walked, and walked some more looking for a tasty crepe and a place to rest. Both were appreciated! The walk to the metro, to the apartment, to dinner, and then back to the apartment did us in! We are all now resting our feet and grateful to have made another day full of Paris Memories. :)


Bloggin on the go. Bon Soir!

Bon dimanche

Woke up totally refreshed. No Jet Lag - yeah!! After eating fruit and pastries for la petit dejeuner (a.k.a breakfast) we headed out for our Sunday tour of Paris. We took the metro to and from our destination today and then walked, and walked. I have many pictures I'd love to share, but I will stick with the highlights. Here was today's tour:






I know this picture is a little blurry, but I had to take it quickly and there was no time for repeats. As Dave, Jenn, and I raced after Gary down the metro stairways I noticed how cute our shadows looked so I told Mr. D and Mrs. J to pause for just a second so that I could capture the moment. I don't know why, but I think it's cute.












First stop, and probably our favorite of the day, Notre Dame. Fantastic! Amazing!







We climbed a lot of stairs to reach the top of the tower at Notre Dame. Such a fun experience. Most of the gargoyles are creepy, but this one kind of makes me laugh he is "The Bored Gargoyle".






The view from here was fantastic.






The bell of Notre Dame. (This is where Kwazimoto would have lived.) ;)





Jenn and Gary outside the Church Visitor Center. The Church was located just down the street and through a small alley. There was an English and French meeting going on at the same time. We went into the French meeting. It was a unique experience.







Our first cafe lunch.






Dave and I chose Croque Monsieur. Can't go wrong with a traditional French sandwich. We had crepes for dessert, mine was caramel and let me just say, I'm still thinking about it. :)






Hotel de Sens. A Medieval house built in 1292.







Ice cream stop. Oh so good! Wish they had American portion sizes here.
































After a quick stop at the Memorial for the French Jews killed during WWII (no cameras allowed) we visited the beautiful Sainte-Chapell. My pictures do not do justice to the beauty of the stain glass and the illumination of the Chapel.







Walked across the courtyard to the Concieregerie where Marie Antointette's prison cell is located. Sad history.







Interior of Notre Dame with Mass going on. This is a statue of Joan of Arc.







The Rose Window in Notre Dame. BE-autiful!

After a quick trip home on the metro, we rested for a bit then headed out for dinner. Dinner was delicious and took nearly two hours to enjoy. (They are not in a hurry in Paris restaurants.) We walked to the Eiffel tower which was all aglow.







(Taken with Gary's iPhone).

And now we are home, updating the blog and preparing to eat the last pastries of the day. I wish every day started and ended with a delicious pastry. :)


-Bloggin' on the go. Bonjour!

First Day in Paris

To say, "We are tired." Would be a gross understatement! We are exhausted, but have had such a fun first day. We have returned to our apartment to eat the dinner we bought at the market and then we will collapse for the night.

Here are a few highlights of our day:



Shopping at the market just around the corner from our apartment.



Les Hotel National Des Invalides. A complex of museums that were originally a retirement home and hospital for veteran soldiers. So cool!



The Dome Church where Napoleons tomb and other generals tombs are located. Napoleon had a size complex in my opinion because his tomb is grossly over sized. (Though a very impressive structure.) :)




Stopped for a baguette sandwich from the outdoor market. YUM! We follow that with a light dessert....


Oh so delicious!



Hopped on the metro and headed over to the Rodin museum to admire many of his works. "The Thinker" is probably his most recognized sculpture.



Falling asleep in the park. Did I mention the weather was perfect for taking a nap in the park? Well, It was.



Walked past the Eiffel tower on our way to the apartment - decided to take a quick picture. If you could see our eyes, you see how very tired we were.

Now we are eating, resting and talking about what we experienced just today. Looking forward to tomorrow....after a good nights sleep. Bon Soir!

-Bloggin' on the go.

May 20th blog entry

Woke early and tired. Can never sleep well the night before a trip.
Tearful goodbye's with our sweet children, especially Miss Ry.
Grateful Grandma is with them.
Quick trips: to the airport, through security, waiting for our first flight, the flight to Chicago, waiting for flight to Paris.
Long trip:the flight to Paris. (sore bums and Jimmy legs long!)
No success sleeping on the plane. Will run on fumes (and a lot of pastries) our first day in Paris.
Currently less than an hour of flight time left.
Technically already May 21st in Paris. Will post when we hit a wi-fi area.



Waiting at the airport.



The boys playing with their toys. :)

-Bloggin' on the go. Bonjour!

Rylee girl

Last nights test was a success, so now we want to test the photo and video upload on the new app. Miss. Rylee played with the iPad today providing the perfect test shots. :). Let's see if this works.