Day Seven- Paris

We met our guide and driver at the hotel for the "Monuments Tour."  This is a tour of the city by walking and van to some of the most iconic spots of downtown Paris.  However, it is only to the outside of these buildings and included lots of historical facts about the buildings and the history of the locations.

Our guide was excellent (but I can't remember her name.)  She was from Serbia and was in Paris studying for her PhD in art history.  Our driver was also excellent as we survived the day in Paris traffic.

The Notre Dame was our first stop.  This cathedral was built in the 12th century and has survived through many significant historical wars and revolutions.  It contains many significant relics of the Catholic Church.  In April of 2019, parts of the building burned by an accident caused by some restoration work which was being done.  As a result, we could not go into the buildings itself.  Notice the trucks and fencing around the property.  I have heard that it is an amazing building inside. It was sad to hear of the fire which made the news worldwide when it happened.

View from the bridge of the Seine River--

Paris directions--we are not in Kansas, as they say.

This is the City Hall Building, I believe...........it has a huge square in front where there have been ancient and modern demonstrations.

Very famous Hotel where famous people have stayed
who I can't remember their names. :(

There are some little parks throughout Paris and this is one where we stopped briefly.

I loved the doors on the old buildings.  So different from London.

Approaching the Louvre--

The walkway of arches we took into the courtyard.

This Pyramid is built in the middle of the Louvre courtyard.  It is the main entrance to access the museum itself and can have long lines which fill the courtyard.  It was designed in the 20th century to add some additional space to manage the crowds.  It seems so out of place and I have wondered why they choose that design for Paris.  Our guide explained that France wants to see itself and its history as a melding of the past and future--a metamorphosis of the two. They can treasure and honor the past, but still move forward to the future.

Okay, I get it....but it still seems out of place in the style of old Paris.

Standing in front of one of the many doorways into the Louvre..

A crepes salesman in the middle of a square.

Front of the Opera house where the shadows made an interesting effect in the windows.

I loved this HUGE advertisement for the Grand Canyon right in the middle of Paris--what a contrast between an history city and nature's beauty.  We are lucky to live in a world that has both.

The Opera House:

This was inside a large (and elite) shopping mall.  Our guide told us that Parisien shop keepers long ago figured out that the more beautiful the store, the more shoppers were willing to buy and spend.  This was a gorgeous stain glass ceiling over one section of the mall which was several stores high.

This is on top of a building near the Paris Opera House where you had views over the city.  We ate lunch here.

You need a selfie with the Eiffel Tower in the background if you are in Paris, right?

The White Chapel or  "The Sacre-Coeur sits on a hill in Paris and has a commanding view of Paris and the surrounding suburbs.  An interesting fact about the building is that it is made of a specific stone which has a high level of calcite in it.  When the weather is damp, it leaches out and recovers the building in a chalky white "paint," keeping it white on its own.  (And no, I didn't remember the name of the material in the stone.  I had to google it as I wrote this.)

Down a winding narrow hill and on to one of the biggest roundabouts you will ever see.  Traffic coming in from 12 different directions....and trying to go out of those same 12 streets.

The Arc de Triomphe  (Arc of the Triumph) was built to honor the heroes and those who died in the Napoleonic War and French Revolution.  It sits at the end of the famous shopping street--Champs-Elysees Avenue.

Motorcyclists in Paris are a curious combination of daring and fool-hearted.  They are driving in and out of cars at high rates of speed.  Even as a passenger in the van, they would startle me as they zoomed by us in stopped traffic.

After arriving back at the hotel, Charon, Vonette, and I headed out to find some sweatshirts for Mom Hall and Charon as the Paris mornings had been cooler than expected, especially when the wind was blowing.  We had a fun encounter when I was buying the sweatshirts we had found--the young salesman had asked for my drivers licence as part of using my credit card.  When I handed it to him, he smiled and said, "The Jazz."  I was surprised to find a basketball fan in Paris, but he said he loved basketball.  He was actually a Warriors fan,but followed the Jazz as well because of Rudy Gobert (a Jazz player from France).  We had a fun discussion about the recent trades of the Jazz and the hope for a better season for us.

This is the view of the Eiffel Tower from the deck of Mom Hall's room.  It was our adventure for the evening after a quick rest at the hotel after our very busy tour day.

The Eiffel Tower is afterall THE EIFFEL TOWER and it deserves its very own post.  So on to Day Seven- Part Two The Eiffel Tower!

Isn't that a pretty view.  Notice the variety of colors and rooflines--so beautiful!

I LOVED Paris and if it is possible, would definitely go back again!  Cities have certain feelings, I guess.  It is hard to explain.  I love Hong Kong, San Francisco, and now Paris!  But why?  I really couldn't explain....and I know that there is hundreds more amazing cities in the world! I might fall in love with them as well.

What a wonderful world we live in with diversity that teaches us and thrills us and helps us love our own piece of the world a little bit better than before.