Today is our last day in Paris. We got a 8:30AM wake up call, as it has been somewhat difficult getting up before 10! We only have a few hours, so we wanted to get a few more sights in before we leave. We ate breakfast at a cute restaurant on the Seine and then just enjoyed Paris in the morning. The mornings here are so peaceful, as you watch the artists along the river setting up shop for the day, the cafe's putting their tables out for lunch, the women buying bread for the day, and Parisians enjoying morning crepes for breakfast.
We had such a wonderful time here in Paris. We want to thank my parents for such a thoughtful wedding gift. Our passion is travelling and we love making memories. This is definitely one we will never forget.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Paris - Day 4
Today was one of our best days! We got up early today and headed over to the Louvre. This is one of the largest and most beautiful museums in the world. It has been in central Paris since the 12th century, open to the public since 1793. The building has had several facelifts over the last 200 years. As it stands now, it is flanked by a beautiful glass triangular entrance. After seeing how big the space was, we decided right away that we should pick just a few "must see" exhibits. You could literally spend weeks here, as the museum holds over 35,000 works of art in over 60,000 meters of space!
The most famous painting here is Leonardo da VINCI's Mona Lisa. She is magnificent and certainly knows how to draw a crowd. She is very small, comparatively, to the other Italian and French paintings. She is guarded 24 hours a day and is sealed off by roping and a glass case.
We also viewed the famous Leonardo da VINCI's "Last Supper." Most of you will remember this painting from the movie, The Da Vinci Code. This is the painting that caused all the controversy, famous for the hand holding the knife and the magnification of a person accompanying Jesus. This painting was so beautiful and HUGE in size compared to Mona Lisa.
We spent a few hours at the Louvre and then decided to do some window shopping in the Champs Elysees area. Because all of the stores are closed on Sundays, we were limited to only window shopping!
Last, but not least, our final stop of the afternoon was to check out Les Catacombs!
Looking in almost any direction, you will see that Paris is covered in stone. Most buildings, bridges, sidewalks, and monuments are all built from stone. Most of this stone is actually limestone that was quarried locally. Many people don't realize this, but because of the large quarrying done in Paris back in the 12th century, there is actually a city underneath the city!
One such famous "city" or quarry sits just under the Left Bank. The main entrance is at 2 Place Denfert-Rochereau. The story behind this quarry (known now as the Catacombs is that in 1786 Paris' largest cemetary, Les Innocents , had become so saturated that its neighbors were starting to suffer from disease, due to contamination caused by improper burials, open mass graves, and earth charged with decomposing organic matter. After almost a century of ineffective decrees condemning the cemetery, the government finally decided to create three new large-scale suburban cemeteries and to condemn all of the existing cemetaries within the city limits. The remains of all condemned cemeteries were moved discreetly to a renovated section of Paris' abandoned quarries.
This effort took several decades. Bodies and bones were simply detached and thrown into the catacombs. No individual marked graves were made and no system was developed for stacking the bones. It wasn't until several years later under Napolean ?? rule that the bones were cleaned up and stacked neatly to make way for visitors and high-end society parties underground. By 1860 when the project was completed, the parisian government estimated that 6MM bodies were re-buried in the catacombs.
Once we entered the discreet green door, paid our 5 Euros, we walked down 185 spiraling steps. We then walked through several long tunnels under a stone ceiling that was only 6 feet tall. After a few more long tunnels, rights, and lefts, we approached some painted pillars surrounding a narrow doorway. There was a sign on top. Arrete! C'est ici L'Empire de la Mort -- "Stop! Here is the Empire of the Dead." This is where the 6MM dead now live and are stacked over 4 feet high and 15 feet deep!
"The catacombs are eerie—quiet (except for the sounds of water dripping from the ceiling and tourists chatting), dark (except for the dim floodlights and camera flashes). It’s hard not to notice that the bones of these millions of people are all pretty much the same. The skull of a revolutionary may be resting on the leg of an aristocrat; noble and corrupt, young and old, wealthy and poor, all are indistinguishable now. It can give you an entirely new perspective on the concept of human equality. It also, needless to say, gives visitors a very keen sense of their own mortality. It made me wonder fleetingly whether, centuries from now, someone might walk by my bones among millions of others."
I would definitely suggest visiting the Catacombs. It is not for the faint of heart, but it is the largest gravesite in the world and the structure is quite impressive!
After the quarries, we headed back to the hotel for some R&R. We were off for dinner and the Moulin Rouge show!
Dinner was excellent. We ate at this quaint French Restaraunt located in the heart of the left bank's gallery scene. The restaurant called, "Le Christine, " makes you feel that you have escaped Paris and are now sitting in the french countryside. This bistro has been retrofitted into an ancient stable and still retains the rough-hewn walls, authentic wooden beams, and charming courtyard, now made chic in the inimitable French style. It was so cute! We had great wine and shared salt bass and semi cooked chocolate cake........SO GOOD! http://www.restaurantlechristine.com/rue-christine.html
The highlight of the night was visiting the famous Moulin Rouge (the Red Windmill). Moulin Rouge is located in the red light district of Paris in Montmarte. Built in 1889, the Moulin Rouge offers musical dance entertainment for adult visitors from around the world. Much of the romance from the turn-of-the-century France is still present in the club's decor.
As you may knkow, the Moulin Rouge is famous internationally as the 'spiritual home' of the traditional French Can-Can, which is still performed there today. Over the years, the Moulin Rouge has lost much of its former reputation as a high-class brothel. It is now fashionable for French society to visit and see the spectacular cabarets.
As the can-can used to reveal more than just legs and panties, it is now recognizable for the long skirts with heavily frilled undergarments that the dancers wear, high kicks, hops in a circle whilst holding the other leg in the air, splits, cartwheels and other acrobatic tricks, normally accompanied by squeals and shrieks. As the dance is now more respected, it is also less crude. However, the choreography is always intended to be a little risque at times, somewhat provocative and 'a little naughty'.
This was definitely a tourist thing to do, but it was so fun! Part of the show included acrobats, clowns, Ventriloquist, Jugglers, REAL donkeys, women dancing with snakes under water, etc. Basically all the original elements of the show still exist, they just do it with more clothing on now! Although, I think Jeff thoroughly enjoyed the topless dancers! HA HA HA!
All in all, Paris was so nice. The city is so beautiful and the flowers were all in bloom. We are definitely going to come back and spend some more time here. I think the purpose of the first visit is to do all the touristy things, then come back and shop, shop, shop!
The most famous painting here is Leonardo da VINCI's Mona Lisa. She is magnificent and certainly knows how to draw a crowd. She is very small, comparatively, to the other Italian and French paintings. She is guarded 24 hours a day and is sealed off by roping and a glass case.
We also viewed the famous Leonardo da VINCI's "Last Supper." Most of you will remember this painting from the movie, The Da Vinci Code. This is the painting that caused all the controversy, famous for the hand holding the knife and the magnification of a person accompanying Jesus. This painting was so beautiful and HUGE in size compared to Mona Lisa.
We spent a few hours at the Louvre and then decided to do some window shopping in the Champs Elysees area. Because all of the stores are closed on Sundays, we were limited to only window shopping!
Last, but not least, our final stop of the afternoon was to check out Les Catacombs!
Looking in almost any direction, you will see that Paris is covered in stone. Most buildings, bridges, sidewalks, and monuments are all built from stone. Most of this stone is actually limestone that was quarried locally. Many people don't realize this, but because of the large quarrying done in Paris back in the 12th century, there is actually a city underneath the city!
One such famous "city" or quarry sits just under the Left Bank. The main entrance is at 2 Place Denfert-Rochereau. The story behind this quarry (known now as the Catacombs is that in 1786 Paris' largest cemetary, Les Innocents , had become so saturated that its neighbors were starting to suffer from disease, due to contamination caused by improper burials, open mass graves, and earth charged with decomposing organic matter. After almost a century of ineffective decrees condemning the cemetery, the government finally decided to create three new large-scale suburban cemeteries and to condemn all of the existing cemetaries within the city limits. The remains of all condemned cemeteries were moved discreetly to a renovated section of Paris' abandoned quarries.
This effort took several decades. Bodies and bones were simply detached and thrown into the catacombs. No individual marked graves were made and no system was developed for stacking the bones. It wasn't until several years later under Napolean ?? rule that the bones were cleaned up and stacked neatly to make way for visitors and high-end society parties underground. By 1860 when the project was completed, the parisian government estimated that 6MM bodies were re-buried in the catacombs.
Once we entered the discreet green door, paid our 5 Euros, we walked down 185 spiraling steps. We then walked through several long tunnels under a stone ceiling that was only 6 feet tall. After a few more long tunnels, rights, and lefts, we approached some painted pillars surrounding a narrow doorway. There was a sign on top. Arrete! C'est ici L'Empire de la Mort -- "Stop! Here is the Empire of the Dead." This is where the 6MM dead now live and are stacked over 4 feet high and 15 feet deep!
"The catacombs are eerie—quiet (except for the sounds of water dripping from the ceiling and tourists chatting), dark (except for the dim floodlights and camera flashes). It’s hard not to notice that the bones of these millions of people are all pretty much the same. The skull of a revolutionary may be resting on the leg of an aristocrat; noble and corrupt, young and old, wealthy and poor, all are indistinguishable now. It can give you an entirely new perspective on the concept of human equality. It also, needless to say, gives visitors a very keen sense of their own mortality. It made me wonder fleetingly whether, centuries from now, someone might walk by my bones among millions of others."
I would definitely suggest visiting the Catacombs. It is not for the faint of heart, but it is the largest gravesite in the world and the structure is quite impressive!
After the quarries, we headed back to the hotel for some R&R. We were off for dinner and the Moulin Rouge show!
Dinner was excellent. We ate at this quaint French Restaraunt located in the heart of the left bank's gallery scene. The restaurant called, "Le Christine, " makes you feel that you have escaped Paris and are now sitting in the french countryside. This bistro has been retrofitted into an ancient stable and still retains the rough-hewn walls, authentic wooden beams, and charming courtyard, now made chic in the inimitable French style. It was so cute! We had great wine and shared salt bass and semi cooked chocolate cake........SO GOOD! http://www.restaurantlechristine.com/rue-christine.html
The highlight of the night was visiting the famous Moulin Rouge (the Red Windmill). Moulin Rouge is located in the red light district of Paris in Montmarte. Built in 1889, the Moulin Rouge offers musical dance entertainment for adult visitors from around the world. Much of the romance from the turn-of-the-century France is still present in the club's decor.
As you may knkow, the Moulin Rouge is famous internationally as the 'spiritual home' of the traditional French Can-Can, which is still performed there today. Over the years, the Moulin Rouge has lost much of its former reputation as a high-class brothel. It is now fashionable for French society to visit and see the spectacular cabarets.
As the can-can used to reveal more than just legs and panties, it is now recognizable for the long skirts with heavily frilled undergarments that the dancers wear, high kicks, hops in a circle whilst holding the other leg in the air, splits, cartwheels and other acrobatic tricks, normally accompanied by squeals and shrieks. As the dance is now more respected, it is also less crude. However, the choreography is always intended to be a little risque at times, somewhat provocative and 'a little naughty'.
This was definitely a tourist thing to do, but it was so fun! Part of the show included acrobats, clowns, Ventriloquist, Jugglers, REAL donkeys, women dancing with snakes under water, etc. Basically all the original elements of the show still exist, they just do it with more clothing on now! Although, I think Jeff thoroughly enjoyed the topless dancers! HA HA HA!
All in all, Paris was so nice. The city is so beautiful and the flowers were all in bloom. We are definitely going to come back and spend some more time here. I think the purpose of the first visit is to do all the touristy things, then come back and shop, shop, shop!
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Paris - Day 3
We woke up late today....long night out. We decided to pub/bar/night club crawl last night. We ate dinner at the Buddha Bar, which was really cool. The atmostphere was really interesting. After dinner, we walked to Champs Elysees and had a martini at George V (Four Seasons). This is such a beautiful hotel, with a really neat courtyard with perfectly trimmed junipers! Once we left Champs Elysees, we THOUGHT we were going to go home...however, we ended up venturing into a club called Bar 3 Beach Club Au Bar. We walked in and it was like something from a past college spring break trip. Tiki huts, tropical drinks, etc. We walked down the stairs to the dance club section and I stepped into SAND! The basement of this club was several different caves filled with a sand flooring! VERY VERY odd! We thought that this was so funny, so we decided to walk around and find more of these interesting Latin Quarter clubs! We walked around the corner and found another one called the Carwash! HILARIOUS! These people listen to American music from the late 80s and early 90s like it just came out on the radio. Jeff and I had a blast listening to "old school" American music! Around 4:30 we made our way back to the hotel and crashed.
So this morning, we were exhausted but still got up to enjoy one of our last days in Paris. We walked over to the Jardin De Luxembourg, which is so beautiful. Jardin De Luxembourg is Paris's largest public park . It is the garden of the French Senate, which is housed in the Luxembourg Palace. These gardens include a large fenced-in playground that is popular with young kids and their parents. Adjacent to it is a puppet theatre and a merry-go-round. We also saw pony rides! In addition, free musical performances are presented in a gazebo on the grounds and there is an anonymous, inexpensive restaurant nearby, under the trees, with both indoor and outdoor seating from which many people enjoy the music over a glass of wine.
The garden is famed for its calm atmosphere. On the little pond children play with miniature boats, while the adults enjoy the various statues and sculptures. Surrounding the pond are a series of statues of former French queens.
We really enjoyed the park. We decided to get quiche from a local restaurant and eat it at the park. It was nice to enjoy the sunshine and beautiful scenery.
After the park, we walked over to Le Marais. Le Marais is considered to be one of the most chic and trendy areas in all of Paris. It is located just about 8 blocks from Notre Dame on the right bank. Very cool area, with a lot of unique boutiques and home decor shops. This area has both a large Jewish population, as well as a growing gay community. We loved how diverse it was and consider this a must see. The home decor stores were so amazing! I actually bought a beautiful vanity and mirror set for our new home. Can't wait to show it to all of you!
Last but not least, we went to dinner at Le Entrecote. Founded in 1958, this restaurant is famous for its Steak Frites Parfait.
From the Zagat France book: Addicts of a "mythic entrecote", "crip, hot frites" and "secret-magic sauce" "stand in line" (no reservations taken) and sit "on top of each other" at these "outstanding" steakhouse "staples" in Saint-Germain and near the Champs; when ordering from the "friendly but no-nosense servers","rare", medium or well done are the only words you need to know" because the "reasonably priced" beef’s the only game in town here; but "when they have perfected this so well, why serve anything else?"
I know what you are thinking....Yes, I ate meat! I couldn't pass up the opportunity to eat at this famed brasserie. We waited in a line of about 30 people to eat here. We knew it had to be good once we saw the line. It was really fun to be part of this famous Parisian eatery. I highly suggest this to anyone visiting Paris, it is an experience! http://www.relaisentrecote.fr/uk/index.html
We decided to get dessert on our own and we went WAY overboard! I got Italian Gelato (tirimasu, white chocolate, caramel vanilla, and mascarpone cheesecake) on a cone and Jeff got THREE pastries. He is HOOKED and I have the pictures to prove it! We are turning in early tonight (well, 12am). Not sure we could pull off another 5AMer.
Tomorrow is our last day and our calendar is full - dinner at Le Christine, Moulin Rouge, the Louvre, more shopping, ect. So much to see and too little time!
So this morning, we were exhausted but still got up to enjoy one of our last days in Paris. We walked over to the Jardin De Luxembourg, which is so beautiful. Jardin De Luxembourg is Paris's largest public park . It is the garden of the French Senate, which is housed in the Luxembourg Palace. These gardens include a large fenced-in playground that is popular with young kids and their parents. Adjacent to it is a puppet theatre and a merry-go-round. We also saw pony rides! In addition, free musical performances are presented in a gazebo on the grounds and there is an anonymous, inexpensive restaurant nearby, under the trees, with both indoor and outdoor seating from which many people enjoy the music over a glass of wine.
The garden is famed for its calm atmosphere. On the little pond children play with miniature boats, while the adults enjoy the various statues and sculptures. Surrounding the pond are a series of statues of former French queens.
We really enjoyed the park. We decided to get quiche from a local restaurant and eat it at the park. It was nice to enjoy the sunshine and beautiful scenery.
After the park, we walked over to Le Marais. Le Marais is considered to be one of the most chic and trendy areas in all of Paris. It is located just about 8 blocks from Notre Dame on the right bank. Very cool area, with a lot of unique boutiques and home decor shops. This area has both a large Jewish population, as well as a growing gay community. We loved how diverse it was and consider this a must see. The home decor stores were so amazing! I actually bought a beautiful vanity and mirror set for our new home. Can't wait to show it to all of you!
Last but not least, we went to dinner at Le Entrecote. Founded in 1958, this restaurant is famous for its Steak Frites Parfait.
From the Zagat France book: Addicts of a "mythic entrecote", "crip, hot frites" and "secret-magic sauce" "stand in line" (no reservations taken) and sit "on top of each other" at these "outstanding" steakhouse "staples" in Saint-Germain and near the Champs; when ordering from the "friendly but no-nosense servers","rare", medium or well done are the only words you need to know" because the "reasonably priced" beef’s the only game in town here; but "when they have perfected this so well, why serve anything else?"
I know what you are thinking....Yes, I ate meat! I couldn't pass up the opportunity to eat at this famed brasserie. We waited in a line of about 30 people to eat here. We knew it had to be good once we saw the line. It was really fun to be part of this famous Parisian eatery. I highly suggest this to anyone visiting Paris, it is an experience! http://www.relaisentrecote.fr/uk/index.html
We decided to get dessert on our own and we went WAY overboard! I got Italian Gelato (tirimasu, white chocolate, caramel vanilla, and mascarpone cheesecake) on a cone and Jeff got THREE pastries. He is HOOKED and I have the pictures to prove it! We are turning in early tonight (well, 12am). Not sure we could pull off another 5AMer.
Tomorrow is our last day and our calendar is full - dinner at Le Christine, Moulin Rouge, the Louvre, more shopping, ect. So much to see and too little time!
Friday, June 13, 2008
Paris - Day 2
We woke up around 10AM Paris time this morning. We decided to start the day with a trip to the famous Notre Dame cathedral. The cathedral is so beautiful, adorned with stained glass windows and beautiful stone carvings on the exterior. From Notre Dame, we caught "Les Cars Rouges," which is the double decker sightseeing bus. You can get on and off as you wish and its a great way to see Paris for $24Euro each!
We saw the Musee D'Orsay, Opera (BEAUTIFUL), Camps Elysees, Grand Palais, Trocadero, Tour Eiffel, Champ De Mars, and Musee Du Louvre. We got on and off as we saw things we wanted to explore more. We got off at the Opera and ventured into the Galleries Lafayette, which is a HUGE department store in the middle of Paris. Every designer that you can think of is housed here and the selection is overwhelming! The place is so big, they even have maps in almost every language to help navigate their customers. Believe it or not...I didn't buy anything!! It was fun to look though.
We got back on the bus and headed towards Champs Elysees when we passed the Louis Vuitton flagship store. This is the largest LV store I have ever seen. Three stories tall and a whole city block wide! Of course, I had to go in! It was pretty awesome. I took a picture for all you girls, it was unbelievable!
After LV, we ventured back to the left bank. We walked through the quaint Latin Quarter (which is right next to St Germain Des Pres...literally 3 streets over from our hotel). Based on Linda Burns suggestion, I begged Jeff to stop and get some pastries. I had a Pain Au Chocolate, which is basically a croissant with Chocolate chunks throughout. YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!!! Even though he was hesitant at first to stop for pastries, I believe he was happy in the end. I think it only took him a few minutes to down his apple tart. And then he wanted more! Believe what they say - the pastries are to die for in Paris.
We are now back to our hotel, enjoying some time off our feet. Sara Schulman suggested we check out Buddha Bar for dinner tonight, so we are heading back over to the Champs Elysees area for dinner and drinks.
Depending on the weather tomorrow, we plan on packing a picnic (wine, cheese, fruit, pastry) and heading over to Jardin Du Luxembourg for lunch tomorrow. This is a beautiful garden located in the middle of St Germain Des Pres. Then we will be off to see the Moulin Rouge show! We can't wait!
We saw the Musee D'Orsay, Opera (BEAUTIFUL), Camps Elysees, Grand Palais, Trocadero, Tour Eiffel, Champ De Mars, and Musee Du Louvre. We got on and off as we saw things we wanted to explore more. We got off at the Opera and ventured into the Galleries Lafayette, which is a HUGE department store in the middle of Paris. Every designer that you can think of is housed here and the selection is overwhelming! The place is so big, they even have maps in almost every language to help navigate their customers. Believe it or not...I didn't buy anything!! It was fun to look though.
We got back on the bus and headed towards Champs Elysees when we passed the Louis Vuitton flagship store. This is the largest LV store I have ever seen. Three stories tall and a whole city block wide! Of course, I had to go in! It was pretty awesome. I took a picture for all you girls, it was unbelievable!
After LV, we ventured back to the left bank. We walked through the quaint Latin Quarter (which is right next to St Germain Des Pres...literally 3 streets over from our hotel). Based on Linda Burns suggestion, I begged Jeff to stop and get some pastries. I had a Pain Au Chocolate, which is basically a croissant with Chocolate chunks throughout. YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!!! Even though he was hesitant at first to stop for pastries, I believe he was happy in the end. I think it only took him a few minutes to down his apple tart. And then he wanted more! Believe what they say - the pastries are to die for in Paris.
We are now back to our hotel, enjoying some time off our feet. Sara Schulman suggested we check out Buddha Bar for dinner tonight, so we are heading back over to the Champs Elysees area for dinner and drinks.
Depending on the weather tomorrow, we plan on packing a picnic (wine, cheese, fruit, pastry) and heading over to Jardin Du Luxembourg for lunch tomorrow. This is a beautiful garden located in the middle of St Germain Des Pres. Then we will be off to see the Moulin Rouge show! We can't wait!
Paris - Day 1
We are in love with Paris. It is a tree lined city full of colorful flowers, beautiful architecture, perfectly landscaped trees, yummy pastries, outdoor cafes on every corner, and excellent shopping!
We arrived at 12PM on June 12th, checked into our hotel and went on our way. We decided to stay in St Germain Des Pres, which was a great choice. St Germain Des Pres is in the left bank. This area is full of unique boutiques and outdoor cafe's. It is definitely my favorite area. I would definitley suggest this area to anyone who likes good food and great people watching! We are staying at this charming hotel, called Artus Hotel. It only has 26 rooms and is very quaint.
Upon arrival we ate at the famous Les Deux Magots on the corner of St Germain Blvd. This is definitely a great place to sit and watch the world go by. This cafe was originally founded in 1813 as a silk drapery and luxury store. Many changes have been made to it throughout the years. 100 years later, the family realized the potential of this artsy area and turned this into a cafe. Since then it has become the place to see and be seen. In fact, in the early 1900s, every morning, Jean Paul Sartre with Simone de Beauvoir would take his seat at "Les Deux Magots" and write for hours, often without pause, but sometimes stopping to talk to Ernest Hemingway, another regular customer! I wonder if we sat at the same table?
http://www.lesdeuxmagots.fr/history/index.php?id=7
After a few glasses of wine, quiche lorraine, and a goat cheese toasted baguette, we decided to do some walking. We walked from our hotel over the Seine River to the Right Bank. People that live here really enjoy the Seine. We saw artists painting along the river, people sitting and just enjoying the view, and boats riding up and down the river showing people the sights of Paris. We walked along the Seine, which was really nice. Very romantic for our anniversary! While walking along the Seine, we saw the Musee Du Louvre. This is magnificent! We plan on visiting the Louve on Saturday.
We also saw the Jardin De Tuileries. In the early 16th century this area was a clay quarry for tiles. After the death of Catherine de Medicis husband, Henri II in 1559, she had a Palace built at the tuileries, the Palais de Tuileries. The palace featured a large garden in Italian style, reminding her of her native Tuscany.
Between 1660 and 1664 the garden was redesigned in French formal style by André Le Nôtre, the celebrated gardener of King Louis XIV. Le Nôtre built a terrace along the riverbank and opened up a central axis which he extended three years later with the creation of the Champs Elysees. The Jardin des Tuileries was one of the first parks to open to the public and it quickly became a place to see and be seen. Even in the 18th century the park featured amenities such as cafes, kiosks, deck chairs and public toilets. The Palais des Tuileries, situated near the Arc du Carrousel, was razed in 1871, opening up the view from the Louvre to the Arc de Triomphe.
Most recently renovated in 1990, Le Nôtre's formal design of the Tuileries garden has been kept intact. At the same time the park was separated from car traffic. Many modern sculptures were added and in 1999 the Passerelle de Solférino (now the Passerelle Léopold-Sédar-Senghor), a footbridge across the Seine opened, linking the Tuileries with the Musee d'Orsay.
Like the Jardin du Luxembourg, Jardin des Tuileries is one of those parks where you can grab a chair for free and sit wherever you like. It also features several fountains, two large basins, numerous sculptures and two museums, the Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume and the Musée de l'Orangerie, which displays Claude Monet's large water lily paintings . Those two buildings are the only remains of the original Palais de Tuileries.
The French really enjoy this park. They picnic, play with their dogs, and sip espresso all day long. We loved how relaxed people are here! They are definitely not American!
From the Jardin Des Tuileries we walked over to the Tour Eiffel. It is really magnificent. We decided to be tourist and go to the top floor. The lines were long and it was pretty chilly today, but it was definitely worth the wait. The view was great of the entire city! Believe it or not, the Eiffel was finished being built in 1889 and at the time was the tallest building in the world! It wasn't until 1930 that it lost its title to the Empire State Building. Even funnier - the French hated the Eiffel when it was being built, calling it an eye sore. They wished that he had gone through with building it in Barcelona, which was his original choice. The government of Spain rejected his plans as too expensive and out of the ordinary for architecture in Spain. So once he built the structure in Paris, he was was criticized for being too artistic and having no regard for proper engineering. Angry letters were written to the newspapers complaining about the structure and begging for it to be dismantled at the end of its permit. Eiffel had a permit for the tower to stand for 20 years, meaning it would have had to be dismantled in 1909, when its ownership would revert to the City of Paris. The City had planned to tear it down (part of the original contest rules for designing a tower was that it could be easily demolished) but as the tower proved valuable for communication purposes, it was allowed to remain after the expiration of the permit. The military used it to dispatch Parisian taxis to the front line during the First Battle of the Marne, and it therefore became a victory statue of that battle.
Well, I find this funny now and I guess all those artists were wrong, as it is one of the most recognized structures in the world and has had over 200,00,000 visitors since its opening.
For dinner, we just walke down the street and ate at one of the many brasserie's. The onion soup was great and the wine was even better!
First day in Paris was really fun, we can't wait till tomorrow.
We arrived at 12PM on June 12th, checked into our hotel and went on our way. We decided to stay in St Germain Des Pres, which was a great choice. St Germain Des Pres is in the left bank. This area is full of unique boutiques and outdoor cafe's. It is definitely my favorite area. I would definitley suggest this area to anyone who likes good food and great people watching! We are staying at this charming hotel, called Artus Hotel. It only has 26 rooms and is very quaint.
Upon arrival we ate at the famous Les Deux Magots on the corner of St Germain Blvd. This is definitely a great place to sit and watch the world go by. This cafe was originally founded in 1813 as a silk drapery and luxury store. Many changes have been made to it throughout the years. 100 years later, the family realized the potential of this artsy area and turned this into a cafe. Since then it has become the place to see and be seen. In fact, in the early 1900s, every morning, Jean Paul Sartre with Simone de Beauvoir would take his seat at "Les Deux Magots" and write for hours, often without pause, but sometimes stopping to talk to Ernest Hemingway, another regular customer! I wonder if we sat at the same table?
http://www.lesdeuxmagots.fr/history/index.php?id=7
After a few glasses of wine, quiche lorraine, and a goat cheese toasted baguette, we decided to do some walking. We walked from our hotel over the Seine River to the Right Bank. People that live here really enjoy the Seine. We saw artists painting along the river, people sitting and just enjoying the view, and boats riding up and down the river showing people the sights of Paris. We walked along the Seine, which was really nice. Very romantic for our anniversary! While walking along the Seine, we saw the Musee Du Louvre. This is magnificent! We plan on visiting the Louve on Saturday.
We also saw the Jardin De Tuileries. In the early 16th century this area was a clay quarry for tiles. After the death of Catherine de Medicis husband, Henri II in 1559, she had a Palace built at the tuileries, the Palais de Tuileries. The palace featured a large garden in Italian style, reminding her of her native Tuscany.
Between 1660 and 1664 the garden was redesigned in French formal style by André Le Nôtre, the celebrated gardener of King Louis XIV. Le Nôtre built a terrace along the riverbank and opened up a central axis which he extended three years later with the creation of the Champs Elysees. The Jardin des Tuileries was one of the first parks to open to the public and it quickly became a place to see and be seen. Even in the 18th century the park featured amenities such as cafes, kiosks, deck chairs and public toilets. The Palais des Tuileries, situated near the Arc du Carrousel, was razed in 1871, opening up the view from the Louvre to the Arc de Triomphe.
Most recently renovated in 1990, Le Nôtre's formal design of the Tuileries garden has been kept intact. At the same time the park was separated from car traffic. Many modern sculptures were added and in 1999 the Passerelle de Solférino (now the Passerelle Léopold-Sédar-Senghor), a footbridge across the Seine opened, linking the Tuileries with the Musee d'Orsay.
Like the Jardin du Luxembourg, Jardin des Tuileries is one of those parks where you can grab a chair for free and sit wherever you like. It also features several fountains, two large basins, numerous sculptures and two museums, the Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume and the Musée de l'Orangerie, which displays Claude Monet's large water lily paintings . Those two buildings are the only remains of the original Palais de Tuileries.
The French really enjoy this park. They picnic, play with their dogs, and sip espresso all day long. We loved how relaxed people are here! They are definitely not American!
From the Jardin Des Tuileries we walked over to the Tour Eiffel. It is really magnificent. We decided to be tourist and go to the top floor. The lines were long and it was pretty chilly today, but it was definitely worth the wait. The view was great of the entire city! Believe it or not, the Eiffel was finished being built in 1889 and at the time was the tallest building in the world! It wasn't until 1930 that it lost its title to the Empire State Building. Even funnier - the French hated the Eiffel when it was being built, calling it an eye sore. They wished that he had gone through with building it in Barcelona, which was his original choice. The government of Spain rejected his plans as too expensive and out of the ordinary for architecture in Spain. So once he built the structure in Paris, he was was criticized for being too artistic and having no regard for proper engineering. Angry letters were written to the newspapers complaining about the structure and begging for it to be dismantled at the end of its permit. Eiffel had a permit for the tower to stand for 20 years, meaning it would have had to be dismantled in 1909, when its ownership would revert to the City of Paris. The City had planned to tear it down (part of the original contest rules for designing a tower was that it could be easily demolished) but as the tower proved valuable for communication purposes, it was allowed to remain after the expiration of the permit. The military used it to dispatch Parisian taxis to the front line during the First Battle of the Marne, and it therefore became a victory statue of that battle.
Well, I find this funny now and I guess all those artists were wrong, as it is one of the most recognized structures in the world and has had over 200,00,000 visitors since its opening.
For dinner, we just walke down the street and ate at one of the many brasserie's. The onion soup was great and the wine was even better!
First day in Paris was really fun, we can't wait till tomorrow.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
1 hour to Go!
Hi everyone - Welcome back to our blog! We are almost done packing and getting ready for our trip! We leave in one hour for the beautiful city of Paris. We are so excited to spend our first wedding anniversary there! We have some fun things planned, so stay tuned.
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