Paris Getaway: part 2

On Saturday morning, we woke up with a big agenda filled with museums and sightseeing, and we wasted no time.  We had purchased the Paris Museum Pass, and we were determined to get our money's worth! We took the metro down to the Tuileries Garden, which sits just in front of the Louvre Museum.  We also had the plan to find breakfast on our way to our first destination, but somehow forgot until late morning that we had not eaten anything yet.  Unfortunately for us, we discovered this slip-up in the middle of the Louvre, where every eatery available was closed until lunch.  Although we had headaches as we maneuvered around the grand museum, we managed to be blown away by the magnitude, majesty and beauty of all that we saw.

Some yahoo decided to photo-bomb my picture...(too bad he discussed his plan before he did it!).

So, we tried again and had successful participation this time.

Inside the pyramid.  This was another moment where I was silently singing my friends' praises for taking our kids for the weekend!

I could show you several pictures of beautiful pieces of art, but truth be told, I cannot remember what each one is...so I will mostly stick with the pieces I do know (and most of you do, as well).

Wait for it...you know it's coming.

And there she is.  "The Mona Lisa."  It's a good thing I've always known she was as small as she is, or I might have been highly disappointed!  I did get a wonderful rush actually being able to see this painting in person.

You can see from my previous picture above that I clearly saw the Mona Lisa, and I know that you and I both believe that I was there.  However, I noticed countless people getting their picture taken with the famous painting far off in the background.  I couldn't help myself but take one just for good measure.  See?  Now we both can rest easy knowing for certain that I saw the Mona Lisa.

"The Wedding Feast at Cana," by Paolo Veronese.  This is the largest painting in the museum's collection.  It was on the opposite wall from the Mona Lisa.  I found it pretty spectacular.

Taking our picture with another famous painting in the background! ;)

Another fascinating painting we saw was David's masterpiece, "The Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon and the Coronation of Empress Joséphine."  We had headsets for our self-guided tour, and the story behind this painting was quite interesting.  I learned a lot about Napoleon during our four days in Paris, and I must say, I wrestle with some mixed feelings about that man. 

This photo doesn't do the painting any justice whatsoever.  It was enormous and rich with story and color.

We finally grabbed lunch in a cafe just around the corner from the Mona Lisa Room.  It was pretty cool to think we were eating a simple lunch in such an historically rich building, amongst so many beautiful and valuable things. 

He's thinking, "Really?  You have to take my picture while we wait for our food to come?"  Yes, yes I do.  And don't think I'm not going to do it again!  He really is a good sport, because I take a lot of pictures.

Amongst so many other wonderful things we saw at the museum, we saw the Michelangelo Gallery. 

Statues "The Rebellious Slave" and "The Dying Slave."

"Psyche and Cupid"

We left the Louvre with so much unseen, but we had planned it this way, and left knowing someday we would return to explore the rest of the museum.  Our next stop was the Musee d'Orsay, which is on the left bank of the Seine.  It houses the largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces in the world. 

The museum is behind us...but I guess we blocked the view.

The museum used to be a train station.  There was no mistaking that when we first stepped inside.

The Musee d'Orsay is a fascinating museum, filled with pieces by painters including Monet, Manet, Renoir, Sisley and Van Gogh.  Although it is still a pretty large museum, it was far more manageable after just visiting the Louvre.

Next, we took a walk over to Napoleon's Tomb, which is located at Les Invalides.  On our way over, we passed by the Pont Alexandre III Bridge.  Truth be told, I was not aware that I was taking a picture of such a famous bridge - I just was trying to capture a glimpse of some of my surroundings.  Now, looking back, I wish I would have taken a few more pictures, specifically ones that actually capture the entire bridge in the picture!  Oh well.  At least I can have written down that we saw it and walked across it. 

 

 Les Invalides was yet another impressive place we visited.  We did not tour the military museum, but walked the grounds.

"Oh joy. Another picture!"

I thought the detail on all of these windows was awesome.

We made our way toward the church dome in the background, which is where Napoleon rests.  On our way, we came across this statue of him and I couldn't help myself.  (I sort of developed a bit of a negative attitude toward what seemed to be a pompous, vain and egotistical Emperor who desired to be like the royalty who he opposed.  I don't know.  He just sort of rubbed me the wrong way, I guess.)

His tomb was nothing short of unbelievable.  You walk to a marble banister that circles the room and look down.  The remains are locked inside six coffins in this tomb made of red Finnish porphyry, with a green granite base.  Six coffins?  Really?  Yes.  Surrounding it are a dozen figures representing Napoleon's victories.   

Look at how tiny those people look compared to the size of his enormous tomb (again, 6 coffins)!

I can't deny that it is an absolutely beautiful building and setting.  Lucky man.

We left the tomb and walked back toward the Louvre, only stopping a few blocks beforehand to visit Musee de l'Orangerie, where we were deeply moved by Monet's "Les Nympheas."  I wasn't able to take a picture of these gorgeous paintings.  They were located in two specially designed rooms that were oval shaped, to resemble ponds.  The large canvases wrapped around the rooms and portrayed the most beautiful paintings of waterlilies, water, and trees, during different times of daylight.  It was easy to become lost in the magnitude and peacefulness of these paintings.  We loved them.

Crossing the Pont Alexandre III Bridge.

 We stepped outside in time to catch another beautiful sunset.  The weather continued to amaze us!

So many people out, enjoying the beautiful city and mild weather, for January.  This is another view of the Tuileries Garden, with the Louvre in the distance.

 We enjoyed a very leisure stroll up the Champs de Elysees, doing some window shopping and taking in this very happening part of Paris.  For dinner, we stopped at a place called Vesuvio, where we enjoyed a long dinner of salad, pizza and wine.  It was delicious, and delightful to rest our feet and talk over a quiet dinner!

The restaurant was located just a block away from the Arc du Triomphe.  After a wonderfully relaxed dinner, we headed over to view the massively amazing structure.  We were not disappointed!

Taken right outside of the restaurant.

No.  The camera does not even begin to capture the true size.

Tomb of the unknown soldier, looking down Champs de Elysees.

Yes.  We climbed this staircase.  And yes, it was so, so, so worth it.

This is what we were greeted by when we got to the top.  Just in time to see it sparkle for us!

Ahh... the city girl in me loves this sight.  Activity!!

We stayed on top of the Arc for quite awhile, walking all around it, staring at the crazy traffic beneath us, and just in awe of the beauty of Paris and our day.  It was a full one, but an unforgettable one!

Paris Getaway: part 1

It is no secret to the Internet that Brant swept me away for my birthday last weekend, to none other than Paris, France.  Over a year ago, when we knew we would be moving to the Netherlands, I made a casual statement to Brant that I would be having a monumental birthday away from all of my friends and family (which, if you know me, I don't shy away from celebrating birthdays - especially mine!).  His response was, "Well, for your birthday next year, I will take you to Paris and make sure it is the best birthday you have ever had.  Just the two of us.  How does that sound?"  I told him that sounded dreamy, but pretty much just a dream because I wasn't entirely sure how we would pull that off (both with childcare and finances).  In October, Brant informed me that he had found a great deal on train tickets, a hotel in Paris, and that our friends, the Cooke's were available to watch our kids for three nights in January.  "We're going to Paris for your birthday, Jackie!!!" 

Fast forward to Friday, January 17th.  I dropped Maddie off at school, left Geoffrey in the excellent care of our dear friends, and we rode our bikes to the train station to catch our first train into Amsterdam.  From there, we would catch our hi-speed train down to Paris.  The bike ride was very light, to say the least - I mean, taking two big kids off of my load, and only having one large bag between the two of us adults to share, made for an easy ride for both of us!  We caught our train in plenty of time and had a peaceful ride into Amsterdam.  We had about 45 minutes to spare before catching our next train, so we enjoyed a coffee in a little cafe at the station, as we anxiously smiled at each other in disbelief that this was all really happening. 

Our hi-speed train left at 11:18 in the morning, and we had about a 3 hour ride to get to Paris.  The big drag about this train was our reserved seats were facing backward, and were also located next to the wall that separates the windows.  Needless to say, we were a bit dizzy during a large portion of the trip.  Regardless, we were on our way!

Judging by the looks on our faces, I'd say we have made it to vacation, and it's only been 2 hours!

Our accommodations could not have been better.  We stayed at the Hotel Residence Foch, which was in an excellent location, close to the metro station, about a 15 minute walk to the Arc du Triomphe and 20 minutes to the Eiffel Tower.  It was a beautiful place on a very quiet street. 

A very cozy, European hotel room - this is it, along with the bathroom just behind where the picture is being taken from. 

The view outside our quaint room, into a perfectly quiet Parisian neighborhood.

After taking a few minutes to get settled, we hit the streets of Paris to explore, and most importantly, find our way to the magnificent Eiffel Tower!

A two minute walk from the side street our hotel was located on, is Avenue Foch, and that is how close we were to the Arc du Triomphe.

I really loved the buildings in this city.  The architecture just drew me right in.

Brant and I both agreed that this was a pretty dramatic route to take to initially see the Eiffel Tower.  We walked down several streets, without ever seeing the tip of the Tower over the buildings.  Suddenly, we turn a corner and BOOM!  There it was!! 

I always thought I knew what to expect, but I couldn't have prepared myself for the awesomeness of the structure.

The top of the Eiffel Tower was closed, but the first two platforms were open for visitors.  We did not hesitate for a moment and climbed the many stairs for a view like none other.  We also hit the timing perfectly, as the sun was close to setting.  (The weather was ideal all weekend long - hovering around 50 degrees and dry.)  Be prepared, as the next series of pictures are going to be view after view after view, of the scenery and of the Tower.  I mean, you can't blame me - it was my first time to Paris!!

Les Invalides, which houses Napoleon's Tomb.

Sacre Coeur over on the hill of Montmarte.

Climbing through the steel to the second platform.

This is the direction we walked from when we first saw the Eiffel Tower.

This is as close as we could get to the top.

I don't make this stuff up!

I just had to!

We made our way down the Tower, just as the lights were beginning to turn on.  The change of lighting and perspective forced me to take a billion more pictures!  Don't worry, I will try to be selective in my sharing.

We were standing in front of the Tower just as the lights began to sparkle!  Perfection!!

I am the luckiest girl in the world!

We walked hand in hand over to Rue Cler to find dinner.  The significant part about walking hand in hand, is that we just don't have many opportunities for this anymore.  Besides the fact that there are always bags and kids and a stroller to be pushed, in Kampen, whenever we are out and about, we are riding bikes (with said kids), which makes holding hands obsolete.  Needless to say, holding Brant's hand all weekend was one of the sweetest memories I will take from this special trip. 

We found dinner at a little cafe, I cannot remember the name.  Brant had a fantastically fancy Parisian salad, while I had risotto with shrimp -  eyes and all!  As big of a seafood lover that I am, I am not too fond of seeing every body part of the creature I am about to eat on my plate.  Admittedly, it took me a few moments to devein the shrimp, as the whole thing sort of took me off guard. 

We sat down, and the waiter came over and plopped this gigantic chalkboard menu on the table - this is how they display their choices in English - subtle, no?

The amount of legs I had to get through just to enjoy the shrimp meat...oh boy.

It was definitely as good as it looks.

We left dinner and found a bakery where we picked up two eclairs to share, which we brought back to the hotel for dessert, while we planned out the details of our weekend.  No pictures of the eclairs, but trust me, coming from someone who is not that into eclairs, these were absolutely amazing.  I guess that's what happens when you experience the real deal!

As we walked back to our hotel, we couldn't resist just a few more pictures of the glorious sight before us. 

Happy birthday, indeed!