This is the 1st arrondissement, home to lots of shopping, the Louvre, Les Halles, Notre Dame and Ile de la Cite. It's considered by many the heart of the city and was a great place to begin our stay.
This is a photo taken especially for Jes, the Saint-Eustache church across from Les Halles. We'd seen this on the last day of our first trip to Paris and no one took a photo then. Amazingly, it was just around the corner from our first of two apartments in the city this summer.
And, just down the street from that very apartment - this store!
Eiffel Tower in the distance, across the Seine.
The beautiful Notre Dame.
The finals of the World Cup were airing just after our arrival. FIFA had set up a "Fan Fest" over Trocadero where a big screen was set-up for the fans to enjoy the game together. We were surrounded by people pulling for both Spain and Netherlands. We were of course pulling for Spain!
Our friend Marc who'd let us in on this amazing location for watching the game. Thanks Marc, great suggestion!
As the night went on, the fans got a bit excited and flares started going off left and right!
A perfect way to watch the game!
The beautiful, L'Opera Garnier. This summer the city was reapplying the gold leaf to all the statues, buildings and monuments. It was incredible to see the differences in a building with fresh gold leaf and those that had been weathered.
The eve of Bastille Day - July 14th, at Place de la Bastille. The streets were all shut down for a free concert with a myriad of French musicians - so much fun!
New friends Johan and Malin from Stockholm, Julian from Metz, Marc from Zurich!
The morning of Bastille Day. This is one of the only times you'll see the Arc du Triomphe without traffic! On Bastille Day, it's tradition, since 1880, for the French military to host a parade down the Champs-Élysées.
There were even demonstrations overhead!
In the middle of the parade it started raining, so we ducked into the Galeries Lafayette. When was the last time you saw a mall this beautiful?
That evening, it cleared just enough to head out for the last of the day's celebrations...
Fireworks at the Eiffel Tower!
The fireworks are choreographed to beautiful French music.
The whole thing is incredible!
A Saturday in the Bois de Vincennes, enjoying the Jazz Festival.
An afternoon along the Seine...
With Notre Dame across the water!
Yet another of Paris's amazing parks, the Luxembourg Gardens.
Parisian Graffiti - most of the pieces we saw were actually pasted paper and most were very cool.
Sending a postcard to Katie and Abby from just below Sacre Coeur!
Simply beautiful, Sacre Coeur.
Coming down Montmartre.
The world famous Moulin Rouge cabaret.
The Barbès – Rochechouart metro stop at the junction of the 9th, 10th and 18th arrondissements.
Our local cheese shop :) Delicious!
One of many local wine shops!
With the cheese, wine and fresh fruits there's not much that can make a better picnic.
A walk through the 2nd arrondissement.
Outside of Centre Pompidou, it's very common for street artists to perform. Here, an older group of guys were performing a break dance routine when this little boy decided he wanted in on the action. Amazingly, he had some very good moves!
59 Rue de Rivoli - An artists' Atelier
The front door of the Atelier
Panoramic view from the rooftop terrace of the Printemps Department store.
A great place to savor the views, people watch and enjoy some wine.
Musée du Louvre
Though it began as a palace, the Louvre is now the most visited and one of the largest museums in the world.
Panoramic of Musee du Louvre, from the Tuileries Gardens.
The Ferris Wheel in the Tuileries Gardens.
Ross and Rocky on Pont Alexandre III, crossing the Seine with the Hotel des Invalides in the background.
Pont Alexandre III, with the Grand Palais in the background.
An evening of French beers...
And great food in Montmartre!
The Arc de Triomphe on the morning the Tour de France came to town...
Go Lance, Go!
Paris is probably one of the only cities in the world where you regularly stumble across photo shoots.
Katie's first day in Paris on the roof top of Printemps.
Sushi night!
Paris has an incredible summer event that runs the full month of August called Paris-Plages. Where the banks of the Seine are transformed into "beaches" for those in the city who can't leave on vacation. It's incredibly fun with open air concerts, ice cream stands, kids events, fountains, swimming pools and boule ball. Of course, there are also many stands with refreshments :)
We spent many evenings with picnics at the Paris Plages.
And, playing Boule ball! Here, Ross, Lili and Marc are all playing for the evening's title :)
When it gets too dark for Boule bal, a perfect place to go is the crepe stand next to Notre Dame.
Banana and Nutella is by far the most delicious choice!
Ile de la Cite metro stop.
Patrick! Our wonderful friend from the house we stayed at in Normandy was in town for a few days so we met up again to enjoy a some Parisian meal.
A little later that evening, we headed to the Australian bar,Cafe Oz.
For a little fun...
and more friends!
Dinner at a great Italian place - look at that seafood pasta!
Stef and Lea, Marc's cousins from San Francisco who we'd first met at Marc's mom's birthday party. It was so much fun to spend more time with them!
Rocky enjoying the lawn beneath the Eiffel Tower at one of many, many picnics of the summer!
One evening picnic in particular, we met Francois! Who shared his guitar skills with us..
Our "home" metro stop our second month in Paris - Faidherbe - Chaligny.
Le Cimetière du Père-Lachaise - the largest cemetery in the center of Paris, also one of the world's most famous for those buried here.
Including, Jim Morrison of The Doors.
Back in the Luxembourg Gardens, the original model of the Statue de la Liberte.
Luxembourg Palace
There are designated areas throughout the park for specific purposes including playgrounds, tennis, chess and here Boule ball.
Also, particular places where you can sit on the grass :)
Just near the Luxembourg Gardens, the Panthéon.
Église Saint-Étienne-du-Mont
On the Ile de la Cite, a street performer.
With unusual talents :)
One of Pari's famous metro entrances. These wrought-iron railings were installed over 40 years ago and display the art nouveau of architect, Hector Guimard. Originally there were approx. 180 of these throughout the city, of those just 86 remain.
Catacombes de Paris. Beginning in 1786, Paris's many cemeteries were exhumed out of fear for disease. The bones were transferred here, to the old stone quarries 19 meters beneath the city.
Along the way, date markers show when certain sections of the catacombs were begun.
It's a slight bit scary down there!
All the bones have been stacked into decorative patterns and marked with the date from which they were exhumed and what cemetery they originally came from.
On our last night in Paris, our good friend Kailey recommended one of her favorite restaurants. With a prix fixe menu that changes every night, we had five amazing courses and a wonderful evening with friends!
Seared veal, so tasty...
Seared tuna with roasted vegetables - a favorite of the evening!
Calamari in its own ink! And, while we don't have good photos of the desserts, we can assure you they were amazing! And yes, there were two :)
