France: Days 4 + 5

Our fourth day we started off by visiting the Catacombs in Paris.  These old quarry tunnels hold the bones of about six million people, who were moved there from the crowded cemeteries to make room for wealthier patrons.  It was cold and pretty eerie down there but an interesting experience.

Afterward we walked along the Seine River to browse among these little book stalls.  We bought one small painting and a few vintage postcards there.

Lunch!  

Lardon (like ham) and veggie quiche and salad with the best mustard vinaigrette 

(the dressing was the same at all the restaurants, but I loved it)

Pont Neuf, Paris's oldest surviving bridge

I can't remember what this bridge was called, but people buy padlocks and sign them with their initials or names, then throw the key in the river.  It's supposed to be a symbol of your undying love.  We didn't do it, but it was fun to look at. :)  We saw another bridge like it nearby.

love locks

We also went to Musee d'Orsay

We couldn't take pictures of the art, but it was amazing!!  I loved the Impressionist paintings the best by artists such as Monet, Degas, Renoir, and Pissarro. We also saw Van Gogh's Starry Night.  It was incredible!

There were many wonderful sculptures also.  We were there for several hours.  Everything kinda became a blur by the end, but I still enjoyed it. 

One of many street performers we saw all over the city.  This pianist was right outside the Orsay and he was fabulous.  He sang and played jazz music on his rickety old piano and was so fun to listen to.

Day 5: {The Louvre}

Mona Lisa (La Joconde)  

Isn't she tiny?  I had to elbow my way through the crowd to get this picture.

The Louvre was different from the Orsay because we could take pictures (with no flash).  It was good and bad, since I liked taking pics of my favorite pieces, but it caused huge crowds around the popular art.

I made Jacob stand in front of this piece so you could see the scale.  It was enormous!!

Winged Victory of Samothrace (Nike)

Venus de Milo

by Monet (I can't remember the name)

Jacob wanted to say he'd seen the entire Louvre, and of the main three wings, he did!  There were 4 floors and we were there for 9 hours, and he saw everything!  I sat and rested on benches occasionally while he went to check out some Egyptian pottery or something like that.  I wonder how much we walked that day.  Our feet were so tired by the end.  But it was worth it to see all of that incredible art.

Resting at the end of the day

We took a peek at Notre Dame after eating in the Latin Quarter again. :)

More to come soon!

Day 3: Eiffel Tower & Arc d'Triomphe

Our third day started out overcast and chilly, as you can tell from our pictures on the Eiffel Tower.  Before entering the monument we had to pass through a security check.  Jacob was carrying a pocketknife that he had to surrender.  They wouldn't hold it and return it later.  He was deeply disappointed, especially because the knife once belonged to my grandpa.  So he was pretty bummed for the first part of our Eiffel Tower tour, but he put on a happy face and was able to still have a good time. 

Can you see Notre Dame in the distance?  (top right)

panoramic view (click to see it bigger)

finally a hint of blue skies!

We walked through the neighborhood near the tower and found a little bakery to grab a sandwich.  Then we headed to the Champs Elysee (lots of expensive shops, which we did not go into) and the Arc d'Triomphe.  

Arc d'Triomphe is a monument for the soldiers of the French revolutionary wars.  There is also an eternal flame in memory of an unknown soldier.  It stands at the end of the Champs Elysee.

It is in the largest and scariest round-about I've ever seen.  I would never want to drive through there.

The view from the top was awesome!  Partly because you can see the Eiffel Tower. :)  Two views of the city in one day is pretty good.  It was also fun to watch the traffic from up there.

This is St. Michel's Fountain (Michael slaying the dragon)

It is near Notre Dame and at the edge of the Latin Quarter where we ate almost every night, so we passed it a lot.  We usually got off on the metro here.

One night in the Latin Quarter we came across this cathedral called St. Sever, so we stopped in to take a quick look around.  I loved this stained glass depicting Christ's birth.

Dinner in the Quartier Latin:

  Steak au poivre, frites, and haricots verts 

(you have to ask for steak to be cooked well done there, and then it comes out about medium; otherwise it will be very rare)  :)

dessert:

dame blanche (white lady)

basically an ice cream sundae

profiteroles (cream puffs filled with ice cream)

Everything tasted so good!

Exhausted at the end of a long but fun day!