My Mom is now a maestro of the Paris metro system. The Paris metro system is claimed to be the best in the world, and I can see why - it ridiculously easy to access and cheap to ride.
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| Not sure who this guy is or why he's so angry. Maybe it's the bird on his head? |
We braved the 284 steps and climbed to the top of the Arc de Triomphe for some fantastic views, despite the threat of rain.
We shopped the Champs-Elysees with minimal damage to our bank accounts, and wound up at the Place de la Concorde.
We dined at a typical French brasserie with waiters in bow ties who brought me 'vegetarian' food that I managed to order in French ('vegetarian' because I'm pretty sure that wasn't vegetable broth in that lentil stew... Luckily I didn't have the vocabulary or inclination to ask!)
We wandered the Seine some more and entertained ourselves on the Ile St-Louis.
My Mom tried the ice cream from the famous Maison Berthillon. She chose salted butter caramel and says "best ice cream I've ever had"!
We finished Day 2 by heading to Trocadero to watch the Eiffel Tower light up. And on June 22, that doesn't happen until late. The lighting up around 10 pm is pretty. The flashing light show starting at 11 pm is almost seizure inducing.
The next day we took the train out to Versailles to visit the palace. This place is huge and outrageously ornate. It was also jam packed with tourists, despite the fact we got there at a reasonably early hour.
There's an art exhibition going on right now that has modern art placed throughout the palace. My Mom wasn't convinced she liked it, but I thought it was kind of a neat juxtaposition of very modern versus very old.
Maybe she looks a little TOO at home in the palace...
This was a piece of the modern art we both thought was pretty cool. There are actually two of these shoes, and they are made of pots and lids.
We didn't get to visit the gardens, as they were shut down for a special event that day. But they looked lovely from the outside! And with that, we hightailed it back to Paris.
We found a book market in the Latin Quarter, but sadly it was only books en francais.
My Mom tried out fruit jellies from one of Paris's many chocolatieres. The verdict? Delicious!
The lovely Place des Vosges. We had dinner at an equally lovely cafe nearby, where the locals entertained us with their enthusiasm for the game of Hearts and were gracious enough to wait until we finished eating to smoke. People in Paris are much friendlier than their reputation gives them credit for.
This morning was the first day it rained - and I mean really, really rained - all day. Luckily we had planned a morning at the Louvre. The waterproof camera was enough to capture these obligatory proof we were at the Louvre shots:
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| The upside down companion to the pyramid atop the main Louvre entrance. |
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| I think you all know who this is... in real life, this painting is much smaller than one would expect. There were just as many people here to visit it as there were when I pushed my way in to see it 12 years ago. |
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| Venus de Milo |
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| A gigantic sphinx, though not the biggest there was to see. |
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| The jugs they're carrying are full of beer! |
Our plan for the rest of the day was to visit Sacre Coeur Cathedral and wander Montmartre. This was compromised by the rain, so we were forced to seek shelter and drink grog for part of the afternoon.
And that's our visit to Paris! We leave tomorrow morning for Nice on the TGV, so stay tuned for more adventures from the south of France.
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