Paris: The Louvre & Musee d'Orsay

The Louvre and its pyramid are one of the top destinations in Paris. It's one of the world's largest art museums, holding some of the greatest works of all time - including: The Winged Victory and Da Vinci's Mona Lisa. The building itself is a historic monument and a central landmark of Paris. It was once Louvre Palace, where the royal family used to live. It wasn't until 1682 that Louis XIV chose to leave the city and live at the Palace of Versailles.

The problem is that the museum is so huge that it's impossible to see everything. There are over 35,000 works of art displayed in the Louvre throughout approximately 652,300 square feet! I read that to devote 30 seconds to each (and ignoring the time taken walking from one work to the next), it would take about thirteen 24-hour days to see each piece. So needless to say, we came up with a game plan before we even entered the museum. There were 3 main things we wanted to see: 1) Mona Lisa, 2) Winged Victory, and 3) the Egyptian exhibits.

Part of The Louvre... it is HUGE!

Glass pyramid entrance in the main court to the Louvre.

Inside the Pyramid - view of the Louvre Museum from underground.

The Winged Victory

Musee d'Orsay was a former railway station, which is now an incredibly beautiful museum filled with impressionist paintings and marble sculptures. We were able to see extensive collections of paintings, including Monet and Van Gogh. There were also numerous sculptures, furniture, and photography exhibits. The interior of the museum is worth the entrance fee alone, and from the top floor you also get beautiful views of the city. There is a restaurant in the museum with huge glass windows overlooking the Seine River. I really wanted to eat here, but we ran out of time... next time!

Inside the museum - love the ceiling.
This picture is from the website http://aforsay.org/

Huge clock on the top floor of the Museum d'Orsay.
Looking out through the hands you can see Sacre Coeur Basilica.

Joe and I are not huge museum people, but I have to say that we really enjoyed both The Louvre and Museum d'Orsay. Stunning buildings, with beautiful art work exhibited in both. It would be nice to go back and spend more time in each.

Paris: Hotel Des Invalides & Musee Rodin

The Museum of Rodin houses the famous statue, The Thinker. Unfortunately the museum was undergoing restoration so we were not able to see any exhibitions; but we were able to walk around the gardens. Below are the two famous statues, The Thinker and the Gates of Hell, which can be found in the rose garden - I bet during the right season, it would be beautiful!

The Thinker

The Gates of Hell

Hotel Des Invalides was completed in the 17th century. It was created by Louis XIV as a home for aged soldiers and disabled veterans. During that time period the huge complex contained homes, barracks, a convent, hospital, and even a workshop. We learned that it housed up to 4,000 residents, who were then supervised by their offers and divided into working companies (so that more able-bodies patients could be guards, whereas others were in charge of tasks such as shoe repair).

Today you can spend well over a day walking around the complex. Part of the buildings are now used as an armory museum, where you can see various collections of suits of armor, uniforms, knives, firearms, cannons, etc. It was quite extensive!... and I was sad to see little suits of armor for toddlers. Apparently it is one of the largest armory museums in the world.

Another portion of the complex includes the chapel and tomb of Napoleon I. Since the buildings are gorgeous, filled with paintings and incredible details throughout, I was actually surprised to see that Napoleon's tomb is very plain - just a ginormous brown sarcophagus sitting directly under the beautiful hand-painted chapel dome. Other members of Napoleon's family as well as many of France's war heroes are also buried here.

The dome of Invalides, under which is Napoleon's tomb.

Looking up - the inside of the dome.

Napoleon's tomb.

Organ in the chapel.

Wow, we went to a lot of places in Paris - this is post #6! Only a couple more to go :)

Paris: Notre Dame & Sainte Chapelle Church

Beginning in 1163, Notre Dame took almost 200 years to complete! It was the largest religious building in western Europe until the mid-13th century. It's Gothic architectural style surely brings mystery to the unique building. It's a Roman Catholic cathedral, made especially famous after Victor Hugo's novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

The outside - so much detail on the building, it was truly incredible. It's hard to get a picture of it's huge size, but you can kind of see how the building extends quite a ways in the back.

The inside - it was difficult to capture the atmosphere inside because 1) it was extremely large, 2) there was a service going while we were there, and 3) no flash allowed. It fit the Gothic style though - a little dark and gloomy.

We climbed the 387 steps of the winding staircase to the top of the towers for a gorgeous panoramic view over all of Paris. With a baby strapped to my chest, it was an exhausting journey! But well worth it to see the view, and famous gargoyles up close.

A gargoyle on the top of Notre Dame looking out over Paris. There were hundreds of these mysterious stone creatures throughout the top of the cathedral.

Another view from the top, looking down over the back of the cathedral. Of course we took several other stunning photos from the top, you'll have to check out our shutterfly pics to see them all.

Sainte Chapelle Church is located just around the corner from Notre Dame. It was built around 1248 and has two main levels: the first is a plain lower chapel for servants, the second is an elaborate upper chapel which was reserved for the king and court members. The upper chapel is surrounded with beautiful stained glass windows. I read that it retains one of the most extensive collections of 13th century stained glass anywhere in the world. The 1,113 scenes depicted in the 15 stained glass windows tell the story of mankind from Genesis through to Christ's resurrection. It was simply amazing! I can't even imagine how beautiful it would be on a sunny day.

The lower chapel, for the palace staff.

The upper sanctuary, reserved for the king and his family.

Another view of the upper chapel.

Paris: Montmartre, Sacre-Coeur Basilica & Moulin Rouge

Montmartre is a 130-meter tall hill in the northern part of Paris, and is the highest point in the city. Sitting on top of this hill is the famous Sacre-Coeur Basilica, whose huge white domes can be seen from many different places throughout the city.

Here is the distant view of the church from the top of Notre Dame Cathedral. Can you see it way in the distance?


And a closer view...

Sacre-Coeur Basilica is a Roman Catholic Church dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Construction of this enormous and beautiful building began in 1875, but it wasn't finished until 1914. It was consecrated after the end of World War I in 1919.

I read that the Basilica has managed to keep its white color despite heavy pollution because of the type of stones that were used for construction - when it rains, the stones react like a bleacher. I thought that was a unique fact.

The interior was huge, but a bit gloomy. Pictures weren't allowed to be taken inside, but I managed to get away with taking the one above. The gold painting on the ceiling was incredible. There are also beautiful stained glass windows on the side walls.

Due to its location on top of Montmartre hill, the church towers over the city. I read that its highest point is even higher than the top of the Eiffel Tower. Because if it's prime location, spectacular views, and gorgeous architecture, it's one of the most noticeable and visited landmarks in Paris.

Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate with us this day, it was very cloudy and hazy. Even though we could still see quite a far distance, it wasn't the same as it would have been on a clear sunny day. So we didn't even bother climbing to the top of the dome for the full view and what reviews say are the most "breathtaking views of Paris." This picture was taken outside of the entrance to the church.

The crypt below the church contains numerous statues of saints. I also read that there is a relic that some believe to be the very Sacred Heart (Sacre-Coeur) of Christ. The crypt was very dark and dreary, and to be honest a little bit creepy.

The streets outside the church are filled with tourist shops, local shops, restaurants, cafes, and lots and lots of people. It was a really unique area of Paris, and one of my favorites. I would love to go back on a sunny day!

After visiting Sacre-Coeur, we headed over to the nearby famous Moulin Rouge. I really wanted to go to a show, but unfortunately couldn't convince anyone else to go with me. :( It's pretty expensive, and actually has some bad reviews. So I had to settle for a picture in front of the building.

But if I ever go back to Paris, I'm going to this show!!!

Paris: La Tour Eiffel & Arc de Triomphe

The Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe are two of the most famous sites in Paris.

The arch was commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 to commemorate his victories, but apparently he died before it was complete. The Arc de Triomphe stands at the end of the Champs-Elysees, in the center of the Place Charles de Gaulle. It stands in honor of those who fought for France, specifically during the Napoleonic Wars. Engraved on the inside are all of the French victories as well as the names of all of the generals. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I. Next to the tomb lies the Memorial Flame. It was lit in November of 1923, and since then has never been extinguished. It burns in memory of those who lost their lives and have never been identified.

The Arc is now surrounded by the world's busiest roundabout, the Etoile, which means the star. Above you can see a picture of the Arc at night from the Eiffel Tower and the streets surrounding it look like a star.

The Eiffel Tower was built as the entrance arch to the 1889 World Fair. It was named after its designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel. At that time, it was the tallest tower in the world. It remained the highest tower in the world until the Chrysler Building was built in New York in 1929.

The tower was originally bright red, covered with an anti-corrosion mix. And there is a small apartment at the very top, where apparently Gustave and his daughter would occasionally entertain guests. We learned that the majority of the public didn't approve of the tower at that time, and thought of it as an eyesore. The city actually planned to tear it down, but after proving to be valuable for communication purposes, it was allowed to remain. Today the tower is widely recognized throughout the world, and one of the most visited paid monuments in the world.

The tower stands 324 meters tall, including the antenna. As I already said in a previous post, we were surprised that the Eiffel Tower is actually brown. The tower has 3 levels - the bottom two levels can be accessed by stairs or elevators, and both levels have restaurants. You have to take an elevator to the very top third level, and the views from up there are spectacular!! There is even a champagne bar at the top. We went at night so that we could see all of the city lights; and for an extra bonus - the tower lights up at the top of every hour for 10 minutes, where thousands of gold lights sparkle. It was beautiful all sparkly!

We were surprised with how big the structure actually is. And considering that Paris is a historic city (no tall skyscraper buildings) it stands out quite a bit. Below you can see Joe & Mike standing next to one of the legs.

Paris: The City of Love ♥

Our top 15 things we found surprising or interesting about Paris...

1. People walk around with baguettes. It's seriously just like the movies! Baguettes in shopping bags, baguette sandwiches, or people simply just gnawing on a baguette walking down the street. And yes, the bread was delicious!!! We particularly enjoyed the simple Parisian sandwich: ham & cheese on a buttered baguette.


2. Paris is dirty! Definitely different from Japan, that's for sure. Such a beautiful city, so it's very unfortunate that there is gum, graffiti, cigarettes, and dog poop everywhere. The subways even reeked of urine sometimes.

3. Dogs at restaurants. Actually, dogs everywhere - in purses, on leashes, without leashes, in shops, and at restaurants. We even saw a dog sitting in a chair at a table inside a restaurant.


4. It's expensive! I knew Paris would be expensive, especially since it's one of the top travel destinations in the world. But since we're coming from Japan - the most expensive country in the world, I thought things would seem cheap. But I have to say, I think Paris is more expensive than Japan. Of course, you can find some cheaper items - mainly bread and cheese ;)

5. People are friendly. Parisians get a bad rep for being so rude. But everyone we encountered was friendly and overall helpful and nice. We found that people are nicer than they're made out to be. Maybe this was because we had a "French translator" with us and never had to deal with the language barrier...?

6. Music on the subway. We encountered several people playing music on the streets of Paris, including underground on the subway, and even on the actual train. This cute little man was kind enough to play at the opposite end of the train since Elodie was sleeping, and he even posed for a picture.


7. The Eiffel Tower is brown. Who would have known? Seems like every picture I've ever seen shows it as a metal silverish tower. But it is indeed, brown.

8. Everyone smokes! No joke, everyone smokes! Men, women, young, old, you name it - they're smoking.

9. The staple of Paris: Nutella. It's everywhere, and ohhhh sooooo good! We really loved the nutella and banana crepes. And lucky for us there were crepe stands all over the city!



10. No fast food restaurants. Occasionally you would see a McDonalds, Subway, or Starbucks - but the city was not littered with fast food chains like the U.S and several other cities throughout the world. I was impressed with this, and loved all the local cafes.

11. Cafes everywhere. So cute, so unique, and so yummy! And I was surprised to see people sitting outside at cafes everyday, all day long. People sit and smoke, drink wine, drink coffee, and relax. Even if it's freezing cold out, they're still enjoying their cafes.


12. Such a diverse city. People were from all over the world, from several nationalities. We were actually surprised to see quite a few Japanese people there. Love the diversity - that's one of Japan's major downfalls for us.

13. NOT baby-friendly whatsoever. I've decided that people in Paris either don't have babies, or never leave their homes. I never saw a single changing table in any bathroom anywhere. So poor Elodie was changed on the streets and park benches sometimes, and unfortunately on the nasty bathroom floors sometimes too. There was also no place to nurse her... and since nursing isn't very popular in France anyway, it wasn't ideal or easy to do. So I'd usually just try to find a park bench, or hide away in a strip mall or anywhere indoors... since it was so cold outside!! Not an easy task. And the entire city was not stroller friendly - cobblestone isn't so easy to push a stroller on. Plus, strollers don't fit through the entrances or exits of any subway, and there aren't any elevators either! I wouldn't recommend taking a baby to Paris to anyone.

14. The Mona Lisa painting is surprisingly small! And her real name is La Gioconda or La Joconde, which is the actual name of the painting. Here you can see it behind Joe & Elodie in bullet proof glass.


15. I don't really have anything to say for this one, other than... we loved Paris!!! Everything from the food, cute cafes and shops, historic buildings, to the overall atmosphere. It really is the city of love ♥

Paris

We're home!... and I have so much to say about Paris that I don't even know where to begin. So I guess I'll start by saying THANK YOU to Mike & Mimi who welcomed us into their home in Paris. We enjoyed every single second of our trip, and that's all thanks to you guys!

They have a lovely apartment right in the heart of downtown, so it was the perfect location for sight-seeing. We woke up every morning to freshly baked croissants, pain au chocolat, & pain au raisin... and a homemade cafe latte! :)

After breakfast, we would head out for a day of sight-seeing. We feel fortunate that we had our own personal tour guides and photographers for the entire trip. Mike & Mimi were nice enough to take us all over town - constantly showing us the sights, explaining the history, and taking our pictures. And since Mimi speaks French, it was an extra bonus since we never had to deal with the language barrier!!

Mike took off a few days of work to spend with us, which we really appreciate. And Mimi also helped us out with laundry, made dinners, etc. Thank you again M&M for being such generous hosts.

It was truly an incredible trip, and we are so thankful to have such wonderful friends. Even though we miss them terribly in Japan, we now completely understand why they would rather live in Paris. :)

I'll post pictures and descriptions throughout the week of our favorite places in Paris. But I'll end this post with Elodie's 6 month picture. She was a rockstar throughout our entire trip! From take-off to landing, we really have no complaints. She adjusted to the time quickly, enjoyed all the sights of Paris with us, and was still happy at the end of the day. We really couldn't have asked for a sweeter little girl.

This month she learned how to roll over from her back to her tummy. She also discovered her feet, which are now always in her mouth. We also started rice cereal with her, and she's an excellent eater. Speaking of which, she also ate a band-aid. Being first time parents, we were dumb enough to put a band-aid on her finger because she had a small cut on it and it looked infected. But the band-aid disappeared and was gone within minutes. We are very lucky that she didn't choke on it; and needless to say, we won't be putting a band-aid on her finger again anytime soon. Happy 6 months to our little lovey!

Recent Elodie Pics

We are about to embark on our trip to Paris. We'll be gone for 10 days, woohoo! Looking forward to spending time with our good friends Mike & Mimi in Paris, and then heading down to see "Big Elodie" and her family in Toulouse for a couple of days. And of course being complete tourists and seeing all of the sites, visiting cafes, people watching & eating French cuisine :)

Elodie will be 6 months while we are in Paris. I can't believe how quickly our little baby is growing up. So before we head out, here's a blog post of recent pictures of her.

Also, I've finally updated our shutterfly pics! http://emilyandjoepictures.shutterfly.com/


We love you Elodie Cay! And we're off to Paris....