Today, glory hallelujah, was a sleep-in day. Some of Paris' older hotels have these marvelous windows you can open and let the morning in-- such lovely light in Paris. While I was puttering around the room, Dusty left to the marche to get a little breakfast for us. The sweetie always brings back the most delicious pastries..... and bananas.....always bananas. :)
This is looking down at the inner courtyard from our room.
The last time I was here, my aunt took us to the street market on Rue Muffetard. I knew Dusty had to experience it. It was only minutes from our hotel and has such a Parisian vibe. Lots of vegetables and fruits we don't see in the states often.
Too much fromage in my opinion, but then I did get a little burned last time I was here and never have felt the same way about cheese since.
Oh, Europe and your street performers. This act was particularly classy. A piano and bass. So fabulous. So glad I was there.
Such an off the beaten path experience. The smell of real rotisserie chicken in the air, mixed with shops of chocolate, olive oil from Nice, and perfumes. Heaven.
We pulled ourselves away from the shopping and took the metro up to the Auguste Rodin Museum. (yes, Carrie, of course we went there!) His sculptures are some of my very favorites. So emotional, rough around the edges, and almost as if carved from wood.
From the gardens of the Museum you can see the tip top of Hotel des Invalides and the first sculpture you are drawn to is The Thinker.
Winding your way around to the "backyard" is the main garden with a random smattering of sculptures nestled here and there.
Think you've seen this one somewhere before? where's his guitar?
The Museum is such a lovely building. Dusty and I admired its design for quite a while. We both love houses with lots of symmetry.
A bronze statue Dusty really liked.
The Gates of Hell-- a very large sculpture that contains mini versions of his larger works. A very disturbing piece.
Unfortunately, the main interior of the Museum is being renovated, so I couldn't show Dusty my favorites inside. But one section is open, and here you can see "the Cathedral".
In the center, underneath the dome, is the 7-layered coffin. Apparently, Napoleon is still perfectly preserved inside. oh goody. I don't know, I just get a creepy feeling when I am here. I remembered it from last time as well. Weird.
Connected to Invalides is the intensive Army Museum. There is a wing for each time period-- medieval, the World Wars, etc. I let Dusty choose which one to go to and, shocker, he chose the WWI and II exhibits. :) It wasn't so comprehensive that it was boring, but just right. Lots of interesting things to look at and read about. (and in English!)
It was time for some lunch. We began in the direction of the Tour Eiffel and found a great little supermarket to buy some lunch. We bought salads, drinks, and a baguette. With food in hand, we walked to the grassy southern end of the tower and ate our little picnic while admiring the hugeness of it. I had reserved a time online before coming over and we had about a half an hour before it was time to be in line.
We lazily strolled up to the tower, watching Dads play soccer with their kids, couples reading together, teens listening to music. It was a relaxing area.
Finally underneath the tower, we located the "entrance with reservations". There was no one in line! At first, we thought maybe we were in the wrong spot, but eventually a man arrived, scanned our voucher, and let us through the doors right to the elevator. You should have seen the "regular" line. At least a two hour wait. Next time you go, reserve a time. End of story.
The elevator ride to the first floor was quick. Here is a little look from there to Trocadero Square. In the distance you can see the newer skyline of Paris.
After the first floor, everyone has to wait in line to get to the summit, but it isn't too bad. The top is windy. But the views are worth it-- city as far as the eye can see.
Coming down is another story. I think we waited a total of an hour in two lines to come down. Only one lift was in operation due to technical problems. But I can think of worse places to wait in line. :)
Upon coming down, we walked north to Trocadero Square and relaxed on the grass while watching men roller blade down the hill. They were going incredibly fast around tiny cones. The warm sun felt perfect and the breeze was cool. It was one of those gorgeous life moments--being together in Paris.
Dusty wanted to do a little shopping (he had become quite the window shopper after London) and so we took the Metro to Galleries Lafayette. We browsed the Mens section for quite a while looking for a particular jacket, but didn't find one. After, we went just south of the Galleries to the Paris Opera.
There is an open square with hustle and bustle. On the corner is the Cafe de la Paix. I ate there last time and it was excellent. Today, there was no eating, but listening to this band of youngsters. They were really good. We sat on the steps of the Opera House and were entertained. I can still hear the exuberant song in my mind.
A candid moment, snapped by Dusty. I'm gathering my bearings, and trying to figure out where we wanted to go next and how to get there. We settled on Paris' Statue of Liberty.
Can you see her arm sticking up? I must admit. she was a little disappointing. But we wouldn't have otherwise seen this side of the city. Passing her, we walked along the Seine to the Tour Eiffel again, hoping to catch a boat cruise at the base of it. It was starting to get pretty chilly and a nice ride sounded pleasant to our tired feet. Sadly, we were literally minutes too late. Quelle bummer.
This is looking down at the inner courtyard from our room.
The last time I was here, my aunt took us to the street market on Rue Muffetard. I knew Dusty had to experience it. It was only minutes from our hotel and has such a Parisian vibe. Lots of vegetables and fruits we don't see in the states often.
Too much fromage in my opinion, but then I did get a little burned last time I was here and never have felt the same way about cheese since.
Oh, Europe and your street performers. This act was particularly classy. A piano and bass. So fabulous. So glad I was there.
Such an off the beaten path experience. The smell of real rotisserie chicken in the air, mixed with shops of chocolate, olive oil from Nice, and perfumes. Heaven.
We pulled ourselves away from the shopping and took the metro up to the Auguste Rodin Museum. (yes, Carrie, of course we went there!) His sculptures are some of my very favorites. So emotional, rough around the edges, and almost as if carved from wood.
From the gardens of the Museum you can see the tip top of Hotel des Invalides and the first sculpture you are drawn to is The Thinker.
Winding your way around to the "backyard" is the main garden with a random smattering of sculptures nestled here and there.
Think you've seen this one somewhere before? where's his guitar?
The Museum is such a lovely building. Dusty and I admired its design for quite a while. We both love houses with lots of symmetry.
A bronze statue Dusty really liked.
The Gates of Hell-- a very large sculpture that contains mini versions of his larger works. A very disturbing piece.
Unfortunately, the main interior of the Museum is being renovated, so I couldn't show Dusty my favorites inside. But one section is open, and here you can see "the Cathedral".
We walked around the block to our next stop, Hotel des Invalides, a.k.a, Napoleon's Tomb. Not quite an Egyptian pyramid, but coming close.
In the center, underneath the dome, is the 7-layered coffin. Apparently, Napoleon is still perfectly preserved inside. oh goody. I don't know, I just get a creepy feeling when I am here. I remembered it from last time as well. Weird.
Connected to Invalides is the intensive Army Museum. There is a wing for each time period-- medieval, the World Wars, etc. I let Dusty choose which one to go to and, shocker, he chose the WWI and II exhibits. :) It wasn't so comprehensive that it was boring, but just right. Lots of interesting things to look at and read about. (and in English!)
It was time for some lunch. We began in the direction of the Tour Eiffel and found a great little supermarket to buy some lunch. We bought salads, drinks, and a baguette. With food in hand, we walked to the grassy southern end of the tower and ate our little picnic while admiring the hugeness of it. I had reserved a time online before coming over and we had about a half an hour before it was time to be in line.
We lazily strolled up to the tower, watching Dads play soccer with their kids, couples reading together, teens listening to music. It was a relaxing area.
Finally underneath the tower, we located the "entrance with reservations". There was no one in line! At first, we thought maybe we were in the wrong spot, but eventually a man arrived, scanned our voucher, and let us through the doors right to the elevator. You should have seen the "regular" line. At least a two hour wait. Next time you go, reserve a time. End of story.
The elevator ride to the first floor was quick. Here is a little look from there to Trocadero Square. In the distance you can see the newer skyline of Paris.
After the first floor, everyone has to wait in line to get to the summit, but it isn't too bad. The top is windy. But the views are worth it-- city as far as the eye can see.
Coming down is another story. I think we waited a total of an hour in two lines to come down. Only one lift was in operation due to technical problems. But I can think of worse places to wait in line. :)
Upon coming down, we walked north to Trocadero Square and relaxed on the grass while watching men roller blade down the hill. They were going incredibly fast around tiny cones. The warm sun felt perfect and the breeze was cool. It was one of those gorgeous life moments--being together in Paris.
Dusty wanted to do a little shopping (he had become quite the window shopper after London) and so we took the Metro to Galleries Lafayette. We browsed the Mens section for quite a while looking for a particular jacket, but didn't find one. After, we went just south of the Galleries to the Paris Opera.
There is an open square with hustle and bustle. On the corner is the Cafe de la Paix. I ate there last time and it was excellent. Today, there was no eating, but listening to this band of youngsters. They were really good. We sat on the steps of the Opera House and were entertained. I can still hear the exuberant song in my mind.
A candid moment, snapped by Dusty. I'm gathering my bearings, and trying to figure out where we wanted to go next and how to get there. We settled on Paris' Statue of Liberty.
Can you see her arm sticking up? I must admit. she was a little disappointing. But we wouldn't have otherwise seen this side of the city. Passing her, we walked along the Seine to the Tour Eiffel again, hoping to catch a boat cruise at the base of it. It was starting to get pretty chilly and a nice ride sounded pleasant to our tired feet. Sadly, we were literally minutes too late. Quelle bummer.
It turned out okay though. We crossed a bridge to the other side of the Seine and caught a glimpse of the sparkling tower in the dark. Much by chance, today had turned into the Eiffel Tower day. We saw it in almost every kind of light.
Even though we were so tired, this was our last night in Paris and we wanted to make the most of it. We walked up George V street, past designer stores, and finally connected back into the Champs Elysees. We wandered into a few stores, (alas the Gap was closed), thought about going to a movie, but decided we would probably end up sleeping through it. Magically, Laduree was open, and we bought a selection of Macaroons to share. My favorite was the lemon.
Off to home. We tried to talk with the boys but Dusty's mom didn't answer. We certainly missed them so very much, but there is no way they could have kept pace with us.
3 comments:
I had no idea that you could reserve the Eiffel Tower online. I didn't go up in it while I was there because the line was so long, even the one for walking up, I'm pretty sure (that, or my feet were already hurting). I will have to remember this for the next time I go there. (If that ever happens. I hope, I hope!)
Hooray that you made it to the Rodin, but sad that the inside was being renovated. Some of my favorite stuff was inside!
And also, YES on the building symmetry. I am a fan, as well!
I am also loving this posts!! I am living vicariously though you two!! And I am loving it! Thanks for all your extra description too! I am also loving the pictures of you and Dust. :)
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