Tourist Day in Paris
While Jeremy and I toured Spain and Paris, Barry was ferrying an airplane to Shanghai. This used to be a 50 seat Regional Jet but was reconfigured to be a charter plane. Soon we will be traveling together but until then...
Starting out early, our first stop was the Louvre Museum. It is the world's largest museum. Located on the right bank, we simply walked across the bridge of the Seine River. We went through the Carrousel du Louvre, an underground mall, to get in. This is a way to beat the crowds. Once inside, we walked into a room full of beautifully carved statues. This is my third time to the Museum and I haven't come close to seeing it all.
Of course, we had to make it a priority to find our way to see Leonardo di Vinci's famous "Mona Lisa". Prior to seeing this piece in person, I always thought it was a large and was shocked to see how small she is. The bigger than life, famous painting is only 30 x 21! There were crowds waiting to photograph this piece... a roped protected from people getting too close. I have to admit, this is when a 6'7" son comes in very handy. He was able to take this picture above the heads of all the people... we didn't have to wait in the line :-)
After wanderig through floors and wings of this massive building, we headed out toward the Pyramid. Grand is the word that comes to mind. The architecture takes me back to days of old. From the outside, it seems it would be easy to navigate through the 35,000 pieces of art housed inside. However, the rooms, hallways and stairwells, got me all turned around!
Under the arch opens up to Jardin des Tuileries! Sixty-one acres of gardens, fountains, pathways and statues. During our visit, unique artistic sculptures were placed throughout the grounds. We noticed many locals mixed with the tourists. It is a peaceful place to spend a sunny afternoon. I love that there are many ponds with full foliage to get away from crowds...sit on a bench and just take in the serenity...
Located in the middle of the most amazing roundabout... the famous Arc du Triomphe de l'Etoile stands proudly on the Place Charles De Gaulle. I sat in the sun while Jeremy walked up the stairs, stairs, stairs to the observation deck on top. Last time here with my youngest son, Corey, I walked up and it is incredible. A bird's eye view of all Paris. In a later post, I will have photos... remember, I am recreating from the present back to the beginning of my travels. The arch honors war heroes with names etched into the walls. We had to walk in the underground to get to it because you can't walk across the street.
While Jeremy was at the top of the Arc, I was out front by the busy Place Charles de Gaulle. I created a fast motion video. One tidbit of information I found out was that while driving in this roundabout, no cars are insured, it's too chaotic... cars filter into the roundabout from 12 streets. Once outside the roundabout, insurance resumes... Quite a sight to see!
Walking down the other side of Champs Elysees, we hoped to visit the Grand Palace. Unfortunately, our timing was bad. There was a giant art contest that had the street blocked off and entry to the Grand and Petit Palaces closed to the public. Next time...
Getting a little hungry, and after walking over seven miles, we returned back to the Arc du Triomphe Carrousel area. An awesome structure, there are eight columns made of marble with sculptures of soldiers on top of each. Two smaller arches sit on either side of the main arch. Walking under the arch...opens into pure beauty! Next blog post will be a continuation of our evening... all in all we walked 11.3 miles! Pretty good!
