The Time of My Life (Part 2 - Paris)

Upon arrival in Paris, I was expecting to see overly French people wearing berets and smoking while walking standard-size French poodles.  To my dissappointment, the only people I saw wearing berets were tourists, and I never saw a poodle.  I still loved Paris, and I am happy I was able to visit such a dynamic and historic city.

After deboarding the train and dropping our bags at our cute little hotel, we headed out to see the Eiffel Tower.  I was far more impressed with the Eiffel Tower than I had anticipated I would be.  On TV and in movies, it just doesn't look as big, as impressive, or as beautiful.  The line for the elevator was long.  Had we wished to climb 600 stairs to reach only the second level, we could have cut down our wait time.  However, the internet tells me that the average number of stairs in a flight is 16, meaning 600 steps is 38.5 flights.  so... We waited in line. 

To pass the time, I took pictures from below.  The scaffolding is there for the repair of one of the tower's elevators.

The views from the top were awesome.  We stayed at the top until sunset soaking up the view from every angle. 

Sunset from the Eiffel Tower.  One of my favorite pictures from Paris.

We boarded the elevator back down to ground level and walked to the lawn to set up for the light show.  After dark, the tower twinkles every hour on the hour.  Hundreds of people sit on the lawn for a romantic night of drinking champagne near the twinkling Eiffel Tower.  Very pretty sight.

For dinner, we went to a cafe a few streets away from the twinkling tower where I had the best French onion soup.   I have never liked the burned taste of most French onion soups, but I guess the French really know how to make it.

The next day, we headed to the Palace of Versailles.  I am so glad that we allowed ourselves an entire day there.  It was so big that we could have spent two days exploring.   The manacured gardens, the brightly-colored decor, the fountains, the scluptures - all so stunning and so decadent.   Wearing only black pants and a t-shirt did not seem fitting for such a fancy place.  I fit right in with the rest of the tourists, but I kept imagining walking the halls wearing a grand gown and headdress.

entry gate

chandelier in the Hall of Mirrors

view of the gardens from a window

paddle boats on the pond

When we returned to Paris from visitng the Versailles, we went to the Arc de Tromphe.  It was fun to stand at the top and watch the cars circle the Arc in no certain pattern.  The views of the city weren't bad either.

The next day, we went to the Louvre, Notre Dame, Centre Pompidou, the Patheon, and the Bastille Monument.  In Notre Dame, I lit two prayer candles.  One for a very special baby girl.  I told her parents that I'd bring her an Olympic t-shirt from London, but there was very little Olympic merchandise to be found.  I lit a candle to pray for her instead; that's much better than a t-shirt anyway.  The other candle was for our infertility struggles.



Notre Dame prayer candle

Centre Pompidou (HDR photo)

Bastille Monument with light trails

On our last full day in Paris, we went to Sacre Coure, toured the Opera Garnier, walked down the Champs-Elysees, took a cruise down the Seine, stood outside of the Grand Palais, visited the lobby of the Petite Palais, and saw the Moulin Rouge.  To get to Scare Coure, there is a tram up the hill... we didn't know that and took the long way snaking-around through several streets.  I guess I'd would call it the "scenic route".  Our next stop, the Opera Garnier, was awesome.  The interior was so beautiful. 

Opera Garnier chandelier

The Grand Palais was under renovations, so we just stood outside of it wishing we could go it. Then, we walked across the street to the Petite Palais.  I don't know what is inside of this small place, but my guess would be all the riches in Paris.  The security was so strict and the people so rude, they must have been protecting something special.  We walked out when security wanted my mother-in-law to leave her purse at the check-in because it was "too bulky".  Unreasonable.  Oh well.  Our last stop of the day was Moulin Rouge.  We went when it was still light to see the building in the day, ate at an Irish Pub nearby, and stayed in the area to take pictures at dark.

in the day...

and at night... (HDR photo)

We went back to our hotel, packed our bags, and had the urge to take more photos.  Chris and I took a quick cab ride to the Louvre for some night photography.

Louvre with light trails

The next day we headed home and back to reality.  It was a wonderful vacation.  I am so glad to have been able to share it with Chris's Mom.  With Chris being quite tall and his Mom being quite short, I was worried that she wouldn't be able to keep up, but she did great and we had a blast!

Title from (I've Had) The Time of My Life by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes.

All images by Christopher & Kelly Watson of Peach Bayou Photography.