Our first stop after arriving in Paris was the "Arc de Triomphe". It is a massive arc at the end of the Champs-Élysées, built to honor those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars.
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| Underneath the arc lies the tomb of the unknown soldier from World War I |
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| We took a nice walk away from the arc, down Avenue Foch to reach the park, Bois de Boulogne. |
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| Gorgeous Parisian sunset at the end of our walk! |
Eiffel Tower
We started our first morning in Paris with a trip to the "sommet" of the Eiffel Tower. It was quite exciting to go that far up! I would say this was the highlight of Kai's trip. He was so fascinated with the structure and wanted to climb to the very top. He asked how he could get a job to do that!
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Walk Down the Seine
Pont Alexandre
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Replica of the flame from the Statue of Liberty
Below is a monument "erected by the school children of the United States in grateful memory of LaFayette; Statesman, Soldier, Patriot" to commemorate the fraternal participation of France to the foundation of the United States (1775-1783) and to immortalize the sacrifice of the glorious French and American soldiers who died on the battlefields of Liberty, in 1914-1918
Place de la Concorde and the Luxor Obelisk
This is the largest square in Paris and is famous for the location where the guillotine took the lives of Louis the 16th, the King of France, and his wife Marie Antoinette and many other royals and wealthy French during the Revolution. The obelisk in the square was a gift from Egypt. It is one of two which came from the Egyptian Luxor Temple. France used to have both, but gave one back to Egypt. There is also a beautiful fountain.
The Louvre
We had a wonderful time at the Louvre, but not enough time! You would have to come everyday for a week to see everything!!! However, what we saw was wonderful, magical, enlightening with so much emotion and beauty...and Kai's comment "why is everybody naked???"
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| Winged Victory |
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| Mona Lisa |
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| This was Soren's favorite painting. She especially loved the fact that the name had "Louise Vigee" (because her middle name is "Louise" named after her great-grandmother and "Vigee" is so close to "Viger"). |
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| Napoleon in the Swiss Alps |
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| Soren holding Shawn's iPhone because she thought this statue looked like it was looking at a text on his iPhone!!! |
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| Venus de Milo |
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| Thank goodness for strollers!!! Kai was finished!!! |
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I wish I could post more pictures of the Louvre!!! We took almost 200 photos!!!
Notre Dame
After the Louvre, we headed to the "Île de la Cité", a small island on the Seine where Notre Dame is located. It was beautiful at dusk into the night!
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Crêpes and Berets
After Notre Dame, we stopped in a little café that just happened to be next to a shop where the girls purchased berets before eating our crêpes.
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| Kai was so excited to get his favorite building instead of a "girl hat". |
Night Walk Through Paris
Paris is so beautiful at night! The monuments and buildings are well lit and provide a beauty which can only be appreciated in the evening. The illuminated Eiffel Tower steals the show with a search light and magnificently "sparkles" every hour.
Château de Versailles
We spent an entire day out at Versailles in utter amazement and fascination with the "over the top" details dripping with gold, embellishments, crystal, marble, etc. It was almost overwhelming to see such glitz and extravagance!
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| Welcome to Versailles! "Let them eat cake!!!" |
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| Hall of Mirrors |
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| Marie Antoinette's Bedroom |
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| Marie Antoinette |
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| One of the other homes on the estate, Trianon |
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| Sitting on our little shuttle |
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| Marie Antoinette 's little village she had built for her to feel like a peasant! |
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| The Gardens are so beautiful |
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Opera House - Palais Garnier
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| We are a little washed out (camera on the wrong setting) but you can see the beauty and details of the lobby. Loved the mosaic tile floors! |
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| Sage enjoying a piece of her Parisian baguette |
Some Parisian Shots!
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| Louvre Metro Stop |
PAUL's Macaroons! Yummy!!!
Our Last Day...soaking up the sun in front of the Louvre!
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| I did not want to leave! It was so warm and beautiful!!! |
Au reviour Paris!!!
Je t'aime!
Quite the trip, Patchell fam! Loved the pictures and keeping up with your adventures. Hope all's well in Swissland.
ReplyDeleteGreat photography Davis! You're getting to be quite the professional with the camera. How many days was this over? I got a little tired thinking about all the places you visited and with all the kids. I'm also wondering how you could afford to stay in a Parisian Hotel with all of you! Furthermore, I'm also licking the screen trying to get a taste of that Big Macaroon Kai had! And love the little Parisian flower shoppe!
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