We’re home now

We’re going to tidy this up and tighten it up some in the next few days.

Day Ten : Closed Gardens & Arc de Triomphe.

More coming here.

Lily outside our apartment courtyard entrance.

Mike on the RER.

Sacre Ceur viewed from the Arc de Triomphe.

Mike on the Arc de Triomphe.

La Défense viewed from the Arc de Triomphe.

Eiffel Tower from the Arc de Triomphe.

Lily & Paris from the Arc de Triomphe.

Avenue des Champs Elysées from Arc de Triomphe.

Paris from the Arc de Triomphe.

Paris from the Arc de Triomphe.

Paris from the Arc de Triomphe.

Paris from the Arc de Triomphe.

The Louvre from Arc de Triomphe.

Lily pretending to look at Paris from the Arc de Triomphe.

Lily & Mike above Paris.

Eiffel Tower.

La Défense with lights from Arc de Triomphe.

Lily trying not to laugh.

The stairs down to the bottom of the Arc de Triomphe.

Mike on the stairs.

Puegot concept car.

One more glimpse of the Arc de Triomphe from the middle of Avenue des Champs Elysées.

Day Nine : More Monuments & Museums

We went to see Napoleon’s Tomb at Les Invalides and there was state funeral also happening.  Ten French soldiers were killed in Afghanistan and were being brought home today.  There was amazing police presence and we even saw a couple snipers on a rooftop.  President Zarkosy was soon to be arriving and many people lined the streets.   We eventually walked around and got into Napoleon’s Tomb (thanks Museum Pass!)

Next we went to Musée Rodin where a lot of the scultures were outside in a garden and aswell indoors.   Rodin had even owned some Van Gogh and Renoir paintings which were all in the museum.  It looked like most if not all of the works were donated by him a year before his death in 1917.

Lastly we headed towards La Cinémathèque Française in the 12th district.   During transit we realized there were a few metro stations that were under construction and we decided to hop onto the replacement bus route.  The transit company was well prepared as 2-4 buses were always in line ready.   When we reached Bercy we saw that the Cinémathèque was closed.  Luckily it was right beside a park where we found many small surprises such as a fountain, some international sculptures, a skateboard park and a little garden with a vineyard.

We headed home and bought some baguettes for dinner.  Everyone here buys baguettes and many of them eat them as-is while they’re walking…

Outside Invalides waiting for Sarkozy to arrive.

Outside Invalides waiting for Sarkozy to arrive.

The dome of Napoleons tomb.

Inside Napoleons tomb.

Inside Napoleons tomb.

Napoleons tomb.

Napoleons tomb.

Inside Napoleons tomb.

Inside Napoleons tomb.

Napoleon’s cloak.

Inside Napoleons tomb.

Lily and a door.

Le Penseur.

In the Gardens of the Rodin Museum.

In the Gardens of the Rodin Museum.

Gardens at Rodin museum.

Inside the Rodin Museum.

Inside the Rodin Museum.

Inside the Rodin Museum.

Lily inside the Rodin Museum.

Inside the Rodin Museum.

Inside the Rodin Museum.

Lily inside the Rodin Museum.

Inside the Rodin Museum.

Inside the Rodin Museum.

Inside the Rodin Museum.

Lily outside Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy.

Waterfall in Parc de Bercy.

Lily by the Waterfall in Parc de Bercy.

Waterfall in Parc de Bercy.

Waterfall in Parc de Bercy.

Inside Parc de Bercy.

Inside Parc de Bercy.

Figures Inside Parc de Bercy.

Lily with a Figure Inside Parc de Bercy.

Lily with a Figure Inside Parc de Bercy.

Lily with a figure in Parc de Bercy.

Lily with a figure in Parc de Bercy.

Skate park by Parc de Bercy.

Inside Parc de Bercy.

Inside Parc de Bercy.

Inside Parc de Bercy.

Building inside Parc de Bercy.

In the Parc de Bercy vineyard.

In the Parc de Bercy vineyard.

In the Parc de Bercy vineyard.

In the Parc de Bercy vineyard.

Garden inspide Parc de Bercy.

The garden inside Parc de Bercy.

Sunflower in the garden in Parc de Bercy.

In the garden in Parc de Bercy.

Lily and a sunflower.

No blog for now. Too tired

We’ll be back at it some time tomorrow.

Day Eight : Museums

We got our 4 day museum passes today. These are passes that allow us to get into most of the monuments and museums quickly and easily for four consecutive days. We purchased it at the Pantheon, which is just up the street from us, early this morning.

This is a large building used to be a church, but is now a place where France’s great are entombed. The dome has been added upon over the years and actually contains 3 domes beneath the outer dome. Hanging from the centre of the dome is a pendulum which, in 1851, was used to demonstrate the rotation of the earth (and also can tell the time). In the crypt below the main level we saw Victor Hugo’s tomb as well as Alexandre Dumas.

Next we moved on the the Louvre. We had no intention of trying to see all of this in one day so we kind of paced ourselves. I won’t bore you with all of the tiny details of moving around in here (it’s better to let the gallery below show you what we saw). Suffice to say at some points in the museum it was like being in a church. Other times it felt more like being at a rock concert.

Across the Seine is the Musee d’Orsay.  Pictures can be found below.   You can get pretty close to the paintings where you can see the brush strokes and the amount of paint layered on.  It was a more enjoyable experience than the Louvre, smaller crowds and more intimate.

We returned home after that. Rested our feet for a small bit and then went over to the grocery store for a few things for the next few days.

No plans as of yet for tomorrrow.

The Pantheon from the outside.

Inside the Pantheon.

Inside the Pantheon.

Inside the Pantheon.

Smaller cutaway model of the Pantheon.

Heading towards the tombs below the Pantheon.

Having a stare off.

An empty tomb.

Marker for Victor Hugo & Alexandre Dumas’ tomb.

Victor Hugo’s tomb.

The Foucault pendulum that hangs from the centre of the dome of the Pantheon.

In the Louvre

In the Louvre

In the Louvre

In the Louvre

In the Louvre

Remnants of wall sculptures in the Louvre

In the Louvre

Venus de Milo

Venus de Milo in the Louvre

Lily in the Louvre

Egyptian antiquity in the Louvre

Mike in front of Egyptian antiquity

Medieval moats in the Louvre

In the Louvre

In the Louvre

Monkeys (?) in the Louvre

Lily looking at an Egyption wall

Sacophage in the Louvre

In the Louvre

In the Louvre

In the Louvre

Top of a Middle Eastern pillar

In the Louvre

In the Louvre

In the Louvre

In the Louvre

The Dying Slave by Michelangelo

Winged Victory of Samothrace

Winged Victory of Samothrace

The Mona Lisa from afar

The Mona Lisa

Everyone taking pictures of the Mona Lisa

Lily & Mike in front of the Louvre

Le Dejeuner sur l’Herbe in Musee d’Orsay

In the Musee d’Orsay

Whistler

Mike looking at a Van Gogh

Van Gogh

Van Gogh

Lily looking at Van Gogh

Mike out on the terrance at the Musee d’Orsay

in the Musee d’Orsay

Paul Cézanne

In the Musee d’Orsay

The Gates of Hell

The Gates of Hell

Lily posing along the hall in Musee d’Orsay

Albert Bartholomé “Petite fille pleurant”

La jeune fille et la Mort by Marianne Stokes

Nuit d’été by Winslow Homer

Léon Frédéric – Les âges de l’ouvrier (The Ages of the Worker)

In the Musee d’Orsay

Front and back shot of our 4 day museum passes.

Enjoying a yogurt.

Day Seven : The Hill, The Church, The Cemetery and High End Fashion

Time to put our Metro passes to use.   Today’s plan was head to Montmartre,  to reach a church and walk over to the cemetery nearby.  We traveled over three Metro lines easily — directions and signs were easy to follow and even better since we wrote down exactly which way to go.

When we got off at Pigalle station we walked down some streets that although the district was supposed to be more upscale was full of small “Honest Ed” discount type stores and down another section many strip joints.

We walked up many flights of stairs to the top of one of the only two big hills in Paris.  Once reaching the top we went into the Sacre-Coeur church and was in awe of the architecture.   It was tempting to take pictures but inside photo/video-taking was not allowed.  Since it was on a hill we had a great view of the city — new header picture for our blog!

We found an easier way down and headed towards the main section of Montmartre.  We made a side track looking for a patteserie for Lily but it was closed as some things are during the holiday month.  Instead we happened upon the restaurant used in Amelie that you’ll see in the photo gallery below; it was called Cafe des 2 Moulins (“The Two Windmills”).  Also in that picture you can see a man in a green uniform, one of the many city custodians who noticed us taking the photos smiled at us and came over.  He explained to us other locations in the area used for the film and we tried to understand him.  All we really made out was “droite” (right) …. “gauche” (left) … “magasin” (store).  Needless to say we didn’t see any more Amelie locations but the area was picturesque.

Cimetiere de Montmartre  was our next destination.  We picked up a map and headed in.  The cemetery was ginormous.  Our picture cannot stress how big it is and we didn’t even see half of it. The next thing Mike noticed was cats love cemeteries.  Some of the graves we saw were film directors François Truffaut and Henri-Georges Clouzot.  Some of the sites were big, some of them you could step into and pay your respects and some were well-kept and some were marked as being unsafe.  The one thing that makes French cementeries unique is that they are non-secular.

We headed back into the main section of Montmartre and got some pictures of the Moulin Rouge – it was disappointing.

Back into the Metro and down to Parc Monceau known for being un-French like, not being symmetrical, using elements from varied cultures for it’s design (Roman, Chinese, Egyptian) and being occupied by little children with their nannies.

The last major stop of the day was the LaFayette Galleries and Printemps; two massive upscale department stores containing every imaginable thing from fresh gourmet foods like fish on ice, fresh made pâté to multitudes of boutique stores within the store like Cartier, Fendi, Louis Vuitton.

And back home again where we found out Glen and Cindy had a baby boy on August 16 and they named him Holden Hammond.  Congratulations to them!

Day Six : The Metro

We almost got cheated out of a Navigo pass.

The day started out late (as usual) with the goal of getting Navigo passes and learning the Metro system.  We figured out that not all stations have tellers that can sell you tickets and cards; there are automated machines where you can buy billets and recharge your cards though.  We ended up going to two other stations before finding someone who was able to get us the card.

— Mike would like to point out he woke up before me (Lily) again.

So, getting back to the story we bought two Navigo passes and the Metro agent helped cut our pictures (that we took in the picture booths found in many of the stations) and put together our card.  We thanked him and we headed out.  Mike’s card worked right away but mine did not.  After a few tries the same agent who sold us the cards gave me a ticket/billet to go through instead.   So as our first trip we went over to see the Eiffel Tower again. No wrong turns, it was an easy find.

The Eiffel Tower looked amazing and there were long lines at each leg of the tower particulary for the full elevator ride.  Mike and I took tons of pictures and walked by the Peace court and Ecole Miliitaire.  We headed back into transit system and once again my Navigo did not work.  Mike had mentioned earlier that he had got a Navigo pass and I only had an expensive souvenir.  I had hoped not!  I tried to explain to the teller in my best spontaneous French “Bonjour.  J’achete mon carte aujourd’hu mai ne pas functionale.”  He scanned it and said it was normal but nothing was on it!  I searched in my bag for my receipt and Mike’s and the agent saw the issue.  He said we were charged “twice” for the same ID card (as indicated on the receipt) and he couldn’t do anything about it.   Looking at the receipts there was nothing different about it, exact change, exact time and no receipt ID to indicate difference.  It fact it was the same receipt printed twice.  I bought a ticket + from the machine and we headed back to the station we bought our passes.  We went back to the original agent and although he didn’t remember us we showed him the two receipts and said we definately paid twice he charged-up my card.  Woo!  I did not just have an expensive souvenir!

We swung by the Pantheon steps and ate an apple tart and had a (cafe expresso) Noisette and headed out. We stayed awake until 8pm and decided we were going to catch an evening view of Eiffel Tower.  As the sun set the tower lit up in blue with search lights at the very top.  We headed towards Jardin du Trocadero for a better sight with all the many, many tourists.

We walked to the Tower again with the spotlights underneath and started back to the Metro.  We heard about something happening at 10pm and Michael David Harvie had forgotten that Lily told him to walk slowly so we could see if there were any fireworks ocurring at the top of the hour. We just lost sight of the bottom of the Eiffel Tower when suddenly it sparkled with series of twinkling lights – it looked better than we’re describing it.   Watch for the video!

That’s all for today.  No plans for tomorrow so we’ll see what happens.

Day Five : A boat tour

I woke up before Lily again. It’s a new record for me. Three days in a row.
We wanted to just rest a bit today so we decided yesterday to do a boat tour along part of the Seine.
We saw most of the sites we had seen before, but this time from a new angle.

We didn’t go on one of the extra large boats. We decided on a medium sized tour from Vadettes Pont Nuef.
The English gentleman in front of us fell asleep while his wife took pictures.  We got our first real view of the Eiffel Tower.  The intricacy of the design could only be valued in person and up close; those trinket souvenirs definitely don’t do it justice.

Just before we went on our tour we took another quick trip to Notre Dame to see our beloved, beheaded Saint Denis, the first bishop of Paris.

Some of the things we saw along the tour were many bridges and sites along the Seine.

Saint Denis (the beheaded saint)

Modern buildings in Paris

“Mike! Lean into the picture!”

Mr. Eiffel’s Tower

Gelato in flower form

Afterwards we headed back to the apartment looking for some food and stumbled upon Sormani restauration rapide (45 rue Daubenton, just off of Mouffetard) for some pizza.

After a nice nap we went for sorbet and ice cream at Gelati d’Alberto recognized for scooping the sorbet/ice cream into a shape of a flower. 3 Euros for one ice cream, two flavours.

We leave you tonight with a video of the Eiffel Tower as we ruin another night of sleep because of our two hours (or more) nap in the late afternoon.  Tomorrow we’ll try and figure out the Paris métro!

Day Four : Living like the French

We’ve gotten into a bad habit of starting later and later. Today was noon starter.
Again, I was actually up before Lily.
I had set my sights on getting a DVD set from a director named Jean Vigo that’s been on my to-get list for years.
We basically went to a mall.
The mall kind of sucked, but I got my DVD, so that’s ok.

We also went to a famous cooking/utensil store, E. Dehillerin . The arrangement was really confusing for us first-timers with tight aisles and there was a very friendly sales agent who was able to help. If you wanted to know a product price you would get the product code and go over to their catalog.  If you wanted to buy something you would lay it out on this table where someone would create a bill of all your items (ie, look-up in the catalog and write down the price) and then you bring your items over to another counter to purchase it.  I got a cake pan with a big rose pattern on top.

We didn’t do a whole lot of sightseeing today (which is kind of odd, considering we were walking for six and a half hours). So rather than talk about things we saw today let’s look at some general things.
Paris doesn’t smell. Parisiennes are far from rude. They are courteous drivers. They seem to love bicyclists (there are 20,000 bikes for rent throughout the city, maintained by the city). They have proper bike lanes (that is, for both directions of bike traffic). This is a clean city (aside from the occasional spot of dog poo which I cannot understand). You can’t walk more than a 100 metres without coming to another garbage bin. Streets are cleaned throughout the day, as are the bins.
The city is blanketed in wi-fi (gratuit et payer).
We’ve taken to crossing the streets like the locals and taking the cross signals as suggestions and not rules.
I guess we looked confident enough that some other tourists asked us for directions (our cover was blown when we had to pull out our guide book).
Like I said, it was a slow down day for us today (we only averaged 60 or so pictures today, compared to our usual 300 or so from the previous days).
We had fast food for dinner today (Quick Burger) then a nap and then an evening stroll along Avenue des Gobelins.

Day Three : All that unused planning

A late start again today. Even with all of our planning during the previous evening (I finally started using our guide books) we had a short nights sleep due to my insistence on a late night cup of coffee.
We were having some problems with our Internet since we arrived but our friendly “landlady” Mme Hattet got us all straightened out by 11:00 this morning. Lily set-up our phone so that we were able to receive messages and calls from overseas and then we headed out.
We had planned on sticking close to the apartment today, which we kind of did.
We headed north east and came across Jardin des Plantes. This is a zoo and horticultural garden. We walked in something that was called a labyrinth, but was really just spiral bushes.
We crossed over to the right bank intending to walk along the sienne and see some local retail. This is where we should mention that today is a French holiday.
Today is assumption day. A Catholic holiday. About 50% of the stores were closed today. So we had another great day of unforseen surprises.
We walked north along Blvd. de la Bastille enjoying the tourist boats parked along the Bassin de L’Arsensl until we came to Colonne de Juillet.
We walked west along rue Saint Antione. We stopped off at Place des Vosges, a busy park near maison de Victor Hugo and then into Hôtel de Bethune Sully. This led us back into Vosges.

We walked through the square of Hôtel de Ville (“city hall”) watched a couple young men make money with their inline skating tricks and found Paris Plages where the city of Paris creates a beach environment in a few spots across Paris.  People were sunbathing and enjoying the siene.. unfortunately we had no sunbathing suits to join in!  We did however have a croque monsieur and a sandwich American at Le Soleil D’or.  I (Lily) have been quite surprised at how well I’m enjoying the sharper cheeses.  I guess if you have the right ingredients it can definately be more than edible – yummy in fact!

After finding a closed Village Voice (English bookstore) due to the holidays we stumbled upon another gorgeous church with a super duper fountain.  St. Sulprice was partially under construction but still amazing.   Paris seemed to always be full of wonderful things to look at around every corner – I can see the reason if they are at all snobs in other countries, they would have high standards that’s for sure.

We went through Jardin du Luxembourg again through a different entry-way and it seemed like we missed so much.  We were trying to look for a hidden statue (that wasn’t even on their maps in the park) of Lady Liberty.  We didn’t find her but we’ll try again next week.  We took lots of pictures of the flowers while thinking of how much my Mom (Mrs. Vu) would truly enjoy Paris.

Ending the day going pass Pantheon and down the busy road of Mouffetard…