Cool roadside market on the way to Notre Dame
Jonathan was intrigued with the birds at this stand.
I've never seen so many canaries.
Palais du Justice, Paris, France
Palais de Justice
Notre Dame
Inside Notre Dame. The only thing that bugged me was that you have to pay to light a candle there.
Notre Dame has some amazing stained glass windows.
One of the famous rosette windows.
Check out the windows. You really can't capture the in pictures.
South Rose Window. The South Rose Window was a gift from the king Saint Louis. It was designed by Jean de Chelles and Pierre de Montreuil. The Cathedral’s first construction master, Jean de Chelles, laid the first stone of the south transept façade in 1258. The South Rose Window, a central element that thrones over the transept façade, was constructed in 1260 as a counterpoint to the North Rose Window, which was built in 1250. Like its north sister, the South Rose Window reached 12.90 metres in diameter and, if you include its bay, a total height of nearly 19 metres.
Sanctuary of Notre Dame
Organ in Notre Dame
Nave and Sanctuary of Notre Dame de Paris
Altar of Notre Dame de Paris
Altar and Sanctuary of Notre Dame de Paris
Nave of Notre Dame de Paris
The bear having some wine in the rain in front of Les Invalides.
Another shot of the bear in front of Les Invalides.
Jonathan and the bear in front of Les Invalides
The Eiffel Tower at dusk, lights twinkling, from lawn in front of Les Invalides.
Les Invalides at night from the Esplanade des Invalides.
Looking down the Esplanade des Invalides in the opposite direction. The bridge is the Pont Alexandre III. The glass-topped building is the Grand Palais.
I walked out into the middle of the street to a little pedestrian island to take this photo.
From the same little pedestrian island in the middle of the Esplanade des Invalides. I needed to have something to stabilize my arm so I could take a nighttime shot that wasn't blurry.
Metro station
View out our apartment bedroom window.
Leaned out the window a bit to take this shot. The wire in the foreground is to keep the pigeons from roosting on the window sill. There are a LOT of pigeons.
Our bedroom.
Another shot out the bedroom window. The apartment building in the distance looks really nice.
Looking down and to the left of our apartment into someone's yard.
The scene behind and to the left of our apartment
The living room in the apartment. Jonathan slept on the couch, which was a sofa bed. He spent pretty much all his time on my laptop.
The bathroom - small, but functional.
The small but very functional kitchen. I made breakfast each morning in here, and had plenty of room to do so.
The view out the living room window. The building sits behind a building that is on the street, in a little courtyard sort of. Virtually every street is like that - a commercial/retail building on the street, and then an apartment building behind it. They were replastering the building, hence the scaffolding and mess in this shot.
I'm sure a caption is unnecessary. Le Moulin Rouge, of course (The Red Windmill)
The bear again. This time he's listening to his iPod outside the Moulin Rouge
I love the architecture in Paris. This was an interesting area - sex shops mixed with upscale apartments and sidewalk cafes. This is across from The Moulin Rouge.
Inside the entrance to The Moulin Rouge
Tom and Jonathan in the foyer of The Mouline Rouge
Art in the foyer of The Moulin Rouge
Well, I tried to get this info in a photo so I could translate it later. Too bad it's blurry.
The entry of The Moulin Rouge
Walking down the Boulevard de Clichy in the Moulin Rouge neighborhood.
Interesting store window on the Boulevard de Clichy
I love that there are these mini parks between the lanes in many parts of Paris.
Pigalle
Street leading to Sacre Coeur - Rue Steinkerque. Cool street with all sorts of little shops. Of course, these shops are just tourist traps, but they're fun to walk through.
Our first view of Basilique du Sacre-Coeur. It is a spectacular building in a spectacular setting.
Basilique du Sacre-Coeur
It is a LONG way up to the entrance of the cathredal. Look at how small the people are, and I'm zoomed in.
What a beautiful church!
Jonathan just HAS to make a face.
Finally, a decent smile, sort of.
The Bear visiting Basilique du Sacre-Coeur
The Bear wanted a good shot of himself at Sacre-Coeur
Fountains at the first plateau on the way to the entrance to the cathedral.
Shot of Paris from that first plateau.
The Eiffel Tower is way to the right.
That white statue? Not a statue. In the background is the funicular station for those who don't want to, or can't, climb the stairs.
They were VERY strict about taking photos inside, so I had to be very surreptitious. My camera does GREAT indoor shots with no flash, and without having to put it up to your eye.
Gorgeous mosaics in the dome.
There was a guy watching people like a hawk so they didn't take photos. I had Tom stand between him and me, and kept my camera really low. Viola!
Stunning!
This building is amazing.
Off to the left of the church (my left looking at it) is this side street and little park. I found the architecture interesting, and the scene just very inviting.
The Eiffel Tower captured between the boughs of a tree in the park on Montmartre.
A clearer shot of the Eiffel Tower from Sacre Coeur. I've zoomed in.
Same shot, unzoomed.
Shot between tree branches, unzoomed.
Tympanum above main entrance to Sacre Coeur.
Back down from the cathedral and along the street in front of the Moulin Rouge.
Porte St-Denis in the Opera/Grands Boulevards district. Situated along the Boulevard St-Denis, this is one of two arches. Not as grandiose as the Arc de Triomphe, but triumphant nonetheless, Paris's second-largest arch (76 feet) was erected by François Blondel in 1672 to celebrate the victories of Ludovico Magno (as Louis XIV is here styled) on the Rhine. The bas-reliefs by François Girardon include campaign scenes and trophies stacked on shallow pyramids. The arch faces rue St-Denis, formerly the royal processional route into Paris from the north. Last used as such a route by Queen Victoria in 1855, it's now known primarily for its sidewalk queens of the night.
Jonathan shared a story of how this plaza near the Porte St-Denis was filled with ten times this many pigeons one day when he was here in May 2007. He and two of his classmates were walking here, when one of them stomped on the ground. The flock of pigeons engulfed them, reminiscent of "The Birds".
This is where Jonathan and his fellow France Study Program classmates stayed for several weeks while in France.
The place on the right is where they ate their dinner. Sadly, it was no longer in business, so Jonathan didn't get to visit the owners, of whom he had grown quite fond.
There is a story about these posts. One of his classmates ripped his one and only pair of pants as he hopped over one of them.
See the FedEx van? They're everywhere.
Couture wedding gowns.
Usually, you'd see a car parked right up against the bumper of the Smart Car too. I don't know how people get in and out of parking spaces.
Gilbert Jeune is like a Borders. They're everywhere.
Jonathan, Tom, and The Bear at a sidewalk cafe.
The Bear having a beer at a sidewalk cafe. Looks like his beer and our wine cost about 19 euros.
Hard Rock Cafe Paris - Beer, Nachos, what more could you a bear want?
We had a craving for "American" food (well, TOM had a craving for American food). Jonathan remembered that the Hard Rock Cafe was nearby (we were in the Opera/Grands Boulevards district where he lived for several weeks). Our waiter spoke perfect English, so we figured he was American. Turns out he was French, with an American mom, so he spends 2 months each summer in the US. He had NO accent.
The Bear on the Metro.
The Bear on the escalator in a metro station
The Bear sleeping in the apartment.
Snuggled in for the night.
The Bear checking out MySpace while chatting on his cell phone.
Scenery around The Louvre
Parisian architecture
The Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel at The Louvre
One of the wings of The Louvre. The place is MASSIVE!
Walking toward The Louvre from Les Jardins de Tuileries
I love this place!
The Arc, the pyramid, the main part of The Louvre, and some random people
Random tourists at The Louvre
The Opera
The Opera. This is as close as I got. :(
Pont Neuf and the Île de la Cité
Sainte-Chappelle
Conciergerie, Île de la Cité
One of the stands along the Siene
I can't help but wonder where they get this stuff!
There is an 8 year waiting list for one of these stalls.
Île de la Cité
The Conciergerie - where Marie Antoinette was held
Another cool market right along the Siene
The Eiffel Tower in the distance
Conciergerie, the Eiffel Tower, and the Louvre on the right in the distance (you can see its roof)
Isn't that gorgeous? Look at all those flowers!
Place de la Concorde
One of the tunnels that goes under the Champs-Elysees similar to the one Princess Diana died in.
The Obelisk
Place de la Concorde - looking down the Champs-Elysees toward the Arc de Triomphe
Entrance to the Jardin des Tuileries
Place de la Concorde - Eiffel Tower in the distance, Obelisk on the right.
Watching kids play with sailboats in the fountain at The Louvre
The Louvre
Walking toward the Louvre from the Tuileries
Between the Tuileries and the Louvre, looking toward The Obelisk
Sculpture in the Tuileries garden at the Louvre
The Louvre, between the Tuileries and the Museum
The Hall of Mirrors, Versailles
We just found this couple's height different amusing.
