Paris

Friday morning we got an early start because we had about a half hour train ride into Paris. The train station was just across the street from our hotel and we got our all-day transportation passes and just had to wait a few minutes for the train. Everyone was still moving quite slowly this morning and you can see how Garth's ride was on the last video below. Anita and I had our route all mapped out and we switched to the subway and were headed for the the Arc de Triomphe when the subway stopped and a lady near Anita told her we all had to get out of the car. There was construction at the next three subway stops and there was a bus that would take us to where we could get back on the subway. By the time we got to the Arc de Triomphe, it had taken us over an hour and Anita and I saw how we could have taken the train almost to the Arc and then just had one short subway ride and saved ourselves about 1/2 hour. We decided not to tell Garth and the boys.

The Arc was built by Napoleon to celebrate all of his military victories. All the battles he fought and cites that he conquered are inscribed on the walls. The traffic around the Arc is crazy and Preston and Jip just watched for an accident to happen and checked out all the expensive cars.
This picture was taken while I quickly walked across the street with cars headed my way, thus the tilt of the arc.
We walked to the Trocadero and got our first of many shots of the Eiffel Tower. It looks like a dreary day but actually it was perfect. It was warm but not hot because the sun wasn't shining on us. The only place it was really hot was in the subways where there isn't any air movement and lots of people.
All around the Trocadero (and the Eiffel Tower area) there are Africans selling Eiffel Tower replicas, large and small. It is hard to walk around without being accosted by them. "Three for 1 euro." they say as they shake them at you. After a look at the base of the Tower and the lines to buy tickets to go up it, we decided to head to Notre-Dame. While we were waiting at the subway station, several of the African sellers came tearing through the station and ran down some stairs to hide. Garth, Preston and I had no idea what was going on but Anita informed us that they are illegals and that the police were after them. It was kind of exciting to watch but the Africans all got away.

We had another long subway ride that ended in a bus ride also because three subway stops were closed for construction again. We were a bit frustrated that there was no information given to let you know that there were closures ahead. At any rate we finally made it to Notre-Dame. The cathedral is quite impressive (I guess that is why it's so famous), with all the intricate work done on the outside. You can just see the excitement on Garth and Preston's faces! Yesterday at Versailles we had over heard a girl saying that she couldn't hold her camera steady because she was shaking from the excitement of finally being there. I don't think that is the case with Garth and Preston right here.

A shot from the front doors looking strait up the towers.
Of course, the most famous part of the building are the rose windows. They really are amazing. The building is the most beautiful at night though.
From Notre-Dame we walked over to the Louvre. This was the city palace for the kings and queens, and at times it was hard to remember to look at the building along with the works of art because it too is a work of art.
Here my amazing child is balancing the pyramid on his nose! Jason would be so jealous.
So what do you look at the ancient Greek statues or the ceiling?

Here are just a few of the famous painting/sculptures in the Louvre that you might recognize. The Winged Victory.
I'm sure you can guess this one. The picture is bad because of the glass in front of it or at least that is my excuse. Jip and Preston had gotten to the room before Anita, Garth and I and they said that the room was empty and they just walked right up to the painting. But the huge room that houses the Mona Lisa was full when we got there. Jip and Preston assured me that they would get me up to the front of the crowd to take a picture. Instead of going ahead of me, they pushed me from behind! Needless to say, there were some unhappy Muslims as the boys forced me into them from behind.
Some of you might not recognize one of Michelangelo's slave sculptures.
Preston wanted to know just what made the Venus di Milo so famous, just what do you say to that? I don't know. I guess I should have explained that great art is made because usually the artist did something new, developed a new style or had a special technique or unusual skill but I just looked and said, "I don't know." Good answer, former Art Master Presenter.

After a little rest and a drink we made our plans for the rest of the day. Anita and Jip decided to head back to the hotel and Garth and Preston and I headed for Montmartre and the Sacre Coeur. We made it with no interruptions on the subway and while we were waiting in line to take the tram to the top of Montmartre Hill (it is a very steep climb and we had already walked about half of Paris or what seemed like half of it) we noticed this book camp that was going on next to us. If you can see, the guys are doing push ups on their knuckles and on the cobblestones! We also saw a guy doing squats while he climbed the stairs. We decided that we didn't ever want to be in that good of shape.
When we reached the top you can't help but be impressed with the Sacre Coeru, it is so much whiter and cleaner than the rest of the buildings we had seen in Paris and the views of the city were breath taking. There were lots of people sitting on the stairs watching street performers and there was even a couple taking wedding pictures and in their tux and bridal gown and the crowd cheered for them. We saw them again later back at the Eiffel Tower. Paris is definitely a people watching city.

I went in to look in the church (knowing Preston's aversion to the inside of churches and since Garth had gone to find a bathroom) and found that they were having mass. It was so beautiful to hear the Priest and congregation singing in Latin. I felt lucky to have timed it right. I did end up talking Preston and Garth into checking it out.
Views from the highest stop in Paris.
Our next stop was dinner and then we headed back down the hill and looked for a crepe shop. Even though we'd had crepes for dinner, Preston and Garth wanted a dessert one. They make them right on the street and are quite expert at it as you might well expect. You can check out the video below and see the guy make one and finish Preston's with cinnamon and sugar on top. Preston loves those the best.
We then headed back to the Eiffel Tower to catch a boat ride down the Seine and look at Paris at night. We had to wait until 10:00 for all the lights to be on and while we waited we watched the police chase more of the Africans. You could tell the police didn't want to catch them just chase them away. But we watched two Africans run into the subway followed by two policemen and two Africans came and set up shop right were the others had just left. It was just a game for them all and it amused us to watch. The police could easily have caught the illegals since they were on bikes but they didn't want to you could tell. Not at all like Sheriff Joe in Arizona.

As we waited we watched the lights come on on the Eiffel Tower and I continuously took pictures of Preston as the night got darker. It really annoyed him, so I kept taking more and more. There are the European Union stars on the front of the tower and the blue lights were such a pretty color on it. On the hour there are white twinkling lights that go on for about 5 minutes. You can see the video at the end of the blog. When Preston took the video the middle section wasn't working but later at 11:00 they were all on.

We had a great time on the boat tour and watching the Italian family whose mom was yelling at the dad and didn't make it a pleasant trip for any of them. We had no idea what she was saying but she didn't let up and never let the dad get a word in edgewise. Her boys were laughing in back of her but didn't dare let her see. Garth decided that the Italian language is really beautiful and wished his mom had yelled at him in Italian and he wouldn't have minded.
Preston and I had played around with our camera trying to get it to take good pictures at night. We took lots of pictures but on a moving boat it was had have it on a setting where the shutter stayed open longer because everything moved and blurred. We ended up with just a few good opens and unfortunately none of the prettiest building, Notre-Dame.
We went under 27 bridges and all of them were unique and beautiful. Garth declared Paris a beautiful city at night, I guess that is why it is called the City of Lights. We were really glad we had waited until late to take the boat ride.
Just a couple more pictures of the Eiffel Tower all lite up.
We headed straight to the subway station and then to the train station and didn't have to wait but just a couple of minutes for each. We were back at our hotel in about 1/2 hour. It had been a tiring but fun day. Paris is just full - full of people, food, sites, art, tourists, buildings and cars - I guess that is why it holds such a special place in so many peoples heart.

The Eiffel Tower's light show.



The making of crepes.




Garth's train ride in.