Our Paris street: Rue Augerau
Front of the Hotel de Londres Eiffel, 1 Rue Augerau
A view of the upper floors of the hotel
Avenue Bosquet, our main route to the École Militaire Metro stop
Rue Cler, a pedestrian-friendly street with one-stop shopping for basic necessities: bread, pastries, cheese, chocolate, wine, and fresh produce
Our first stop: Ile de la Cité, Sainte Chapelle
Sainte Chapelle gift shop
Main interior of Sainte Chapelle, with its amazing stained glass and ambiance...
Even with restorative scaffolding, this place is beautiful.
Classical concerts are presented here during the evenings.
Each frame in the stained glass windows is part of a biblical story.
Exterior view of Sainte Chapelle from courtyard of the Palais de Justice
Palais de Justice, home of the law courts
One of several Art Nouveau Métro entrances designed by Hector Guimard between 1898-1904, designed to entice Parisians to use the Métro
Chris Coleman, Francophile extraordinaire, our wonderful tour guide and new friend
Notre Dame: front view
Kings of Judah
Close-up views from above, thanks to my new zoom
Gregoire, the awed and contemplative tourist
Keeping watch over the main entrance
Interior views...
Exterior side view of Notre Dame with flying buttresses
Canal
View of the Seine with statue of Saint Genevieve on the right
Rear view of Notre Dame from across the Seine
Paris city hall
Ile St. Louis, where we were treated to a wonderful lunch at Entre Deux Ponts
Greg with our new friends, Karen and Gary
Classic Paris, seen through my eyes (and my lens)
Notre Dame in all her glory
The famous Shakespeare and Co. bookstore
Le Quartier Latin
Gregoire à Paris
E & G outside of the Cluny Museum
Karen and Gary on the Seine
La Tour Eiffel with night sparkles
Morning in Montmartre, a village within the city limits
The I Love You wall (http://www.lesjetaime.com/english/)
Art Deco church in Montmartre
Montmarte was a some-time home to many artists, including Renoir, Van Gogh, and Picasso.
Note the windmill above the treetops.
Monsieur Dutilleul, from “The Man Who Could Walk Through Walls,” a story by Marcel Aymé
Legend says that St. Denis, beheaded on Montmartre, picked up his head and walked several miles.
Brigitte, our Montmartre tour guide, born in France and educated in England
Paris view from Montmartre
Au Lapin Agile, a well-known cabaret
A small vineyard in Montmartre
Grapes, anyone?
Montmartre town square
Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart Cathedral), Montmartre
View of Paris from front of Sacre Coeur
Le Musée D'Orsay, formerly a train station, and home to an extraordinary Impressionist art collection...
Interior of the Musée d'Orsay
What a fitting connection to our morning in Montmartre...
Musée D'Orsay ceiling
Pondering with Le Penseur at the Rodin Sculpture Garden
“Hmm... wonder where my clothes are?”
Balzac
Paris takes great pride in its gardens.
View from the back of the Sculpture Garden
Don't you just want to stroll between those trees?
Study in bronze and flesh
La Porte de l'Enfer (Gates of Hell) from Dante's Inferno, with tourist
Places des Invalides
Hôtel des Invalides (in this case, “hotel” means palace)
Place de la Bastille, where we began our walk through the Marais District
L'Opéra Bastille, opera house established by Mitterand
Hôtel de Sully, a typical 17th Century mansion of the Aristocracy
Liz and Nancy Hartzog, posing in front of one of the Place des Vosges fountains
Place des Vosges with Louis XIV style brick work; Victor Hugo lived and wrote at the southeast corner of this square.
Louis XIV
Paris is full of the most beautiful gardens imaginable.
Continuing our walk through the Marais...
Some of the last surviving Renaissance style architecture
A beautiful, understated but powerful memorial to Holocaust survivors
Original Roman wall
Beaubourg, possibly my favorite area; Gothic architecture shouldered with ultra-modern...
Cathedral windows facing...
...a fountain full of modern sculpture: Homage à Igor Stravinsky...
Square outside of the Centre Pompidou, full of colorful characters
Le Centre Pompidou, home to an impressive collection of modern art
An “exoskeletal” building with pipes and heating ducts on the outside
Views from the top floor of the Pompidou Center, taken through glass: Sacre Coeur...
The heavenly effect is the play of light on glass.
More Paris views...
Aerial view of the square in front of the Pompidou Center, with stylish ventilation ducts
Notre Dame through reflecting glass
Surviving tower from old church, complete with gargoyles
Le Jardin du Luxembourg...
Imagine spending afternoons in this park with your family; many people do.
Military band members marching out of the park after a concert
Park statue with faux spider web
Le bateau d'un enfant
Morning at the Louvre...
Winged Victory of Samothrace
View from a Louvre window
Venus de Milo, with our guide Elizabeth in the foreground
Louvre excavation
Main lobby, with stairs leading to the glass pyramid entrance
The pyramid...
Louvre exterior views
Walking toward the Tuileries Garden
Place de la Concorde
Champs-Elysées
Arc de Triomphe...
La Défense - La Grande Arche
Père Lachaise Cemetary...
Tomb of Oscar Wilde
Tomb of Gertrude Stein
Tomb of Edith Piaf
Tomb of Jim Morrison
Night views from the Eiffel Tower...
The Palace of Louis XIV at Versailles
Louis XIV, Master of his domain
Hall of Mirrors
In spite of the lavish interiors, I always like the outside gardens best.
Exterior views of the palace, facing the gardens
Elizabeth (our tour guide) and Greg
Looking back toward the palace
THE END - Back in DC, using Starbucks to quell jet lag
