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| Paris June 2005 |
| Paris truly is a beautiful, enchanting city. Photographs don't do her justice. We stayed in a 5th floor apartment in the 10th district just south of Gare de L'est. We had cool views of the Sacre Couer from our front balcony and of the district government building (far right) from a bedroom window. The only downside to the flat, was the stairs required to reach it at the end of a long day of touring the city! It had the smallest kitchen Karen has ever cooked in, but it suited us fine and served as a good home base for our six day stay. We really got a taste of city living! |
| The Eiffel Tower was the main destination on our first day in town. We waited about 1/2 hr for the first elevator ride to the second level and were treated to these wonderful views. We made it up to the top as well after another wait for the lift. Then we spent some time on the first level eating and viewing displays before heading back to our apartment. We never made it all the way to the Arc de Triomphe, seen here from the Eiffel Tower, as the kids were tired later in the week and not so interested. Oh well,.... |
| The kids actually enjoyed our visit to the Louvre. They each got a headset and enjoyed punching in the numbers to listen to commentaries about selected pieces. By the end of our day, however, they were punching in random numbers! :-) We mapped out a plan and did get to see the Mona Lisa as well as Venus De Milo (far left with Noah) and lots of the Dutch masters as well. The building itself is as much a work of art as some of the pieces it displays. Ralph's favorite painting by far was "The Wedding at Cana" by Veronese. |
| Sunday was church day - of course! We worshipped with an English speaking congregation in the morning and then ate picnic style along the Champs Elysees. After lunch we headed to the beautiful Sainte Chapelle (left) where the stained glass depicts 1000 Biblical scenes. The next stop was the massive Notre Dame (above and right). We opted not to wait in the line to climb the tower but enjoyed the interior and back park with lots of other folks. |
| Our days in Paris went quickly. We also visited Disneyland Paris one day and it was the highlight of the week for the kids. The grownups had fun as well. Ralph worked the last three days at the Paris Air Show and the rest of the family took a slower pace through the remainder of the week by sleeping in and finding some of the city's playgrounds. We only visited one other museum, the Cluny museum of the middle ages. It was there that some thought they might lose their heads! We also got to see the "Lady and the Unicorn" tapestries. It was a really great city visit! Interesting, was that while we were often trying to find the right French word for something, out would pop a Dutch word, which was even less understandable than English to the locals. There is still plenty more to explore, however, should we get another opportunity. |