Paris - The Fourth 24 Hours

Bonjour!

After almost two trips, today I finally made up to the towers of Notre Dame. Words of advice. Be in shape. Don't have vertigo. It is at least 500 steps in a tiny spiral staircase all the way up. But, I got to have a glimpse of the view that Quasimodo had. :-)

Enjoy.

Scot

Paris - The Third 24 Hours

Bonjour!

Today I took a day trip to Giverny, to visit Monet's house and gardens. I won't write a lot. Breath taking. That is about all I can say. I hope that the pictures do the day and place justice. It truly was remarkable. This isn't even a fifth of the pictures that I took.

Scot

Paris - The Second 24 Hours

Bonjour!

Day Two featured two of my favorite places in Paris, the Cathedral of St. Chapelle and the Jardin du Luxembourg. For those of you who have not seen my pictures from my first trip to France, St. Chapelle is a small church where the walls are almost made entirely of stained glass. Each "round" object is a visual representation of a story of the bible. The pictures start with Genesis and go all of the way to Revelations. It was cloudy when I first visited three years ago, this time it was sunny. What a sight!

The afternoon I spent lounging with the rest of Paris at the Jardin du Luxembourg, my favorite gardens in Paris. I finished up writing my postcards, and read all afternoon. The good life.

After dinner that evening (a pizza that had the big "3" of French cheeses, Camembert, Comte, and Roquefort, it was delicious!), I grabbed a bike, and rode all the way back to my hotel, at least 5 miles. I stopped and took pictures, watched the sun go down on the Seine. I am telling you, there is nothing better! The bike rides have taken this trip to another level. The dusk/night pictures are from my ride.

Until next time....

Scot

Paris - The First 24 Hours

Bonjour!

I can't talk enough about the bike rental system. This has got to be one of the greatest ideas for a traveler. Awesome.

As I stated earlier, I went back to Notre Dame the first day back. They have completed the cleaning project on it, and it looks almost brand new.....for a 600 year old building. Later that evening, I watched the light show at the Eiffel Tower.

Everything is what I remembered. The ice cream at Bethillon's is still the best in the world. The falafel at Du Monde Falafel is still the best. The lines for it are three times longer than the last time I was here. Plus, there is a falafel stand all over the Marais now. Imitation is the best for of flattery.

Below are some of the pics from the first night and day here in the city.

Scot