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| Monday in Paris: Just moments after landing, we mastered the metro and made our way to the Arc de Triomphe. This here is me on the verge of a complete "oh my gah!" meltdown. coat and velvet pants: Anthro; dotted scarf: Target; boots: The Walking Company |
Well, bonjour, kids! I do believe, after passing out last night at 7:30pm, that I am finally over jet lag and ready to tackle this mountain of Parisian Photos. I took so stinkin' many (erm, 1067 to be exact) that I just want to share them all...but don't worry, I'll spare you a few. And, since I'll be sharing so many, I've decided to break this post up into bit sized bits. So stay tuned for 587 photos of La Tour Eiffel. Au revoir!
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| When we landed, we found the weather to be perfect. Little did we know that it could be as moody as the Parisians themselves. Soon after these gorgeous photos were snapped, rain clouds rolled in, did their sprinkling business and rolled out. Frankly, I coulda cared less. I was in Paris! Standing in front of the very monument I'd taught the kids about at the beginning of the year. |
I never realized just how large the arc was until standing right in front of it. I was completely blown away by it's size and beauty. Hubs and I paid a handful of euro to take the tiny spiral staircase to the top. An American dude in front of us asked to take the elevator to which the French ticket-taker replied, "Why? Are you pregnant? No! You are healthy! Take the stairs!" Love it.
Will you think me a complete sap if I say I got a little teary upon this view? Even looking at this photo, I cannot believe I was actually there. Such an amazing sight to see. I loved using the binoculars to see the ant-sized people at the top of the tower.
So did you know that there are actually three arcs? The Arc de Triomphe is in the middle while the one in the photo above is the most modern arc called La Defense. All three arcs are connected along the same street.
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| To get to the arc, one cannot simply cross the road. Because the arc sits in the center of a roundabout with twelve roads radiating away from it (hence the name etoilee or star), one would surely be creamed by one of the five lanes of insane traffic. So you gotta take this underground walkway to get to the arc. Once at the top, watching the Parisians drive without incident is nothing short of a miracle. |
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| From the arc, hubs and I walked down the Avenue des Champ-Elysees and the Avenue Montaigne which is home to the Christian Dior boutique among many drool-worthy others. Then we walked down to this stunner of a bridge, Pont Alexandre III. |
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More What I Wore Monday: I know, me in pants is a rare sight. But knowing that temps could be as low as 40 degrees, I wanted to be comfy and warm. The day before we flew out, I found these velveteen pants at Anthro (originally $99 and picked up for $9!) and scooped up a maroon and a navy. pants and top: Anthro; sweater: DIY; boots: The Walking Company
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| So this city is just full of the most amazing statues. I think on the first couple days, I most have photographed each and every one. By the third day, I was sadly statued out. |
After bridge crossing, we stumbled upon the Tuileries Gardens and...
The last arc of the day, the Arc de Triomphe Carousel.
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| The gateway to this ole place, the Lourve. By that time, jet lag had hit us both like a ton of stale croissants so we said au revoir and went in search of our hotel and much needed sleep. |
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| Tuesday found us in better shape and ready to take on Notre Dame, Saint Chapelle and Disneyland Paris. I loved that the subway to Notre Dame stopped off at this lovely flower market. |
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| Oh, Notre Dame. Built about a thousand years ago? I hope I look this good when I'm that old. When chatting about this church with my students, I explained to them that it took 170 years to build. This was met with, "people lived to be 170 years old back then?!" They found it fascinating that people who worked on this church didn't live long enough to see it's completion. Imagine that in our instant-gratification society. |
My neck still hurts from all that lookin' upwards, mouth agape.
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| After Notre Dame and a tour through Saint Chapelle, we took the metro out to Disneyland Paris. Which I'd like to dub "Bizarro Disneyland". It was so close to being like Disneyland California...but not. While I enjoyed it, I gotta tell ya, I like our homegrown version best. |
Although their castle was pretty sweet.
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| When the rain came, hubs went all haute couture and fashioned this hat out of his souvenir bag. Tres chic! |
I know...I've only gotten through two days worth of photos! I'm sorry, I hope this isn't absolute torture. But I just loved this vacation so much, I feel like I need to share every last bit of it. So stay tuned!
