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S I G H T - S E E I N G   I N  P A R I S

We made a video (at the right) and we have some photos below. There is nothing that I can think of about Paris that wasn't said, written, filmed or sung by someone better at it than I. We loved Paris. We are very glad we went and we hope to go back. We have fantasies about living there or  somewhere in France. We can only say, if you haven't been there, you must make arrangements immediately to go. Now. Why are still reading this?

Montmarte, Paris 2006

click to play

T H E   E I F F E L  T O W E R

We arrived in Paris on an overnight train from Barcelona at 7 a.m. We found our way to the Metro and quickly got to our hotel. Our hotel was 2 blocks from the foot of the Eiffel Tower Park and one block to Rue Cler, famous for its food market; cheese shops, fishmongers, tarte shops, fresh fruits/vegetable shops, patisseries and bakeries. The Eiffel Tower was so close, it was the first thing we went to see. The air was crisp and the sky was brilliantly clear. We passed an open air bakery and several sidewalk cafes on the way. We are so excited to be in Paris.

Craig  in front of the Eiffel Tower 2006

Alberto beneath the Eiffel Tower Paris 2006

Eiffel Tower, Paris April 2006

Eiffel Tower Paris 2006

R U E  C L E R

Just around the corner from the Hotel was the famous Rue Cler with open air markets and fresh flowers, cobblestones streets. Once again we thank Rick Steves for his intelligent and comprehensive guide to Europe, Rick Steves, "Europe Through the Back Door" at http://www.ricksteves.com/ . Don't leave for Europe without it. This book is filled with great bargains and locations. Every single recommendation was completely accurate.

Our Hotel, Paris 2006

Flower shop

Rue Cler

Our bread and pastry shop on Rue Cler, Paris 2006

Rue Cler

T H E  S E I N E

Like the waterways of Venice and Amsterdam, Paris' Seine carries freight, barges, merchandise and tourists up and down the river. In our travels across Paris we crossed and re-crossed the river dozens of times. Always atmospheric, and serene, this river evokes an earlier century.

We caught a running marathon in progress

T H E  L O U V R E  M U S E U M

T H E  D ' O R S A Y  M U S E U M

T H E  R O D I N  M U S E U M

Three of the greatest  museums of the world in one city. We were dumbstruck to see so much beautiful and famous art. The Mona Lisa and The Venus de Milo at the Louvre, The Monet's and Renoir's at the D'Orsay and The Thinker and The Kiss at the Rodin. However, one is reminded that everywhere you go in Paris, there is brilliant and famous art in the architecture and fountains and sculptures that seem to be around every corner. Which is the museum? Stepping through a door into a building? Or walking past Les Invalides to buy a croissant?

Les Invalides, Paris 2006

T T H R E E  M U S E U M S  I N  P A R I S - V I D E O

This video is, for some reason, very popular on Google Video. I have had more than one thousand hits. At the end of the video is a delicious little slice of street life in Paris that remarkably has all the stereotypical things we think of in Paris. The thing is, this is just an average commercial street in Paris and not at all contrived. It just makes us want all the more, to go back.

 Music:  Largo-Allegro Molta by WA Mozart performed by the Orchestre Symphonique de Paris

S A C R É  C Œ U R

Mysterious for what looks like Crusaders or Knights Templar (but is actually Joan of Arc and King Saint Louis IX) on top of the front steps entry. Beautiful inside and out, the church sits on the highest point in Paris, and the front has a broad fan of steps to sit on and admire the spectacular panoramic view of Paris. You can walk to Sacré Cœur from the Montmartre District, which is what we did.

Inside Sacre Coeur, Paris 2006

Outside Sacre Coeur, Paris 2006

M O N T M A R T R E

( from Wikipedia ) " In the mid-1800s artists, such as Johan Jongkind and Camille Pissarro, came to inhabit Montmartre. By the end of the century, Montmartre and its counterpart on the Left Bank, Montparnasse, became the principal artistic centers of Paris.

Pablo Picasso, Amedeo Modigliani, and other impoverished artists lived and worked in a commune, a building called Le Bateau-Lavoir during the years 1904–1909.

Artist associations such as Les Nabis and the Incoherents were formed and individuals including Vincent van Gogh, Pierre Brissaud, Alfred Jarry, Gen Paul, Jacques Villon, Raymond Duchamp-Villon, Henri Matisse, André Derain, Suzanne Valadon, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Maurice Utrillo, Toulouse-Lautrec, Théophile Steinlen worked in Montmartre and drew some of their inspiration from the area."

Alberto and I saw the le Moulin Galette windmill where Renoir painted his famous garden party painting and where Van Gogh lived.

We are so thrilled to be here.

Craig and Alberto in Montmartre, Paris 2006

Montmartre, Paris 2006