La Vie En Rose

I can't hope to describe Paris, so here are some of my favorite snapshots and moments from throughout the trip.

Our first sighting of the Eiffel Tower! We were walking down a side-street when Heidi paused and said (completely deadpan), "Hey guys, I just realized something..." and pointed. I couldn't really believe my eyes. 

An army of brightly colored bears marched on Paris while we were there... This is a display of bears that each represent one country in the world. They lined the park in front of the tower, and were a silent plea to foster international community and understanding for the sake of abused children around the world. Or something like that. It's a really good idea, actually--each bear was unique and showed some different characteristic of the country. 

Even prettier when it lights up. We were investigating a carousel as dusk was falling when it started to glow. 

Café au lait after a long, cold day. This corner café is one of my favorite memories from Paris--my travel buddies and I enjoyed the warmth, laughter,  conversation, and free water (which we haven't had since we left the USA!). 

Doesn't do it justice. It sparkles on the hour, and literally takes your breath away. 

First crépes, with Nutella! Delicious. :)

Fall foliage. Never thought I would miss it this much. These are the gardens by Sacre Coeur, which we meandered through and then climbed the dome to get a view of the city.

This harpist was incredible. Another favorite memory was sitting with Jo and Kate on the steps of Sacre Coeur overlooking the entire city of Paris listening to this man (named Hugo) play "La Vie en Rose."

Angel we met on the way up Sacre Coeur..

View of the Eiffel Tower from the top of Sacre Coeur, complete with gargoyle. Paris is just massive: the sprawl continues in a complete 360, as far as the eye can see!

My travel buddy. :)

Tintin's Detective Thompson meets James Bond in Parisian graffiti. I don't get it either. 

Artists selling their paintings on the street! Loved the atmosphere, but couldn't exactly bring anything home. If I had a million dollars... 

Europe has a thing with bridges and locks (there were locks on the Duomo, on bridges in Switzerland, and on the bridges of Rome, too), but this bridge in Paris (Ponte d'Arte) is famous--couples write their names on a lock and leave it here to symbolize their commitment, and it's absolutely covered. I think it's really sweet, but to keep the real-estate available, they periodically clear the bridges of all the locks. This was the oldest that we found, and it's from 2005.

...apparently I need to find this Marcello character...

Notre Dame! Hearing Vespers sung by a boy choir at sunset was a highlight. 

It's so beautiful, tall, and awe-inspiring. We just sat and took it all in.

Candles in Notre Dame.

I took 1453 photos over fall break, and I think about 300 of them were the Eiffel Tower. It was compulsive photo-taking.

On Sunday morning we worshipped in the American Cathedral, which had Anglican/Episcopalian services in English. It was a beautiful building, and a large community of very welcoming people gathered to worship. The amount of Scripture and beautiful singing by the choir was also really refreshing. I had never worshipped in an Anglican church before--I'd say it was a good and refreshing introduction to a type of church that's fairly different from my own leanings.

The park next to the Eiffel Tower. We tried to estimate how many couples got engaged here. Any guesses? :)

Break-dancers street-performing at the Eiffel Tower. They were good. It reminded me of the troops that perform outside Quincy Market ("White people! Find your rhythm!").

Old boats, Seine, autumn leaves. 

I found myself picking my jaw up off the floor when I first walked in to Sainte Chappelle. It's a relatively small chapel, but all light and glass and vaulted ceiling. 

Another situation that just took some sitting and staring. I didn't want to leave.

River Seine at night... where are my oil paints?!

We were very excited to finally see the Arc de Triumph. 

Arc + Eiffel Tower + Champs Elysee... Is this real life?!

Dawn over Paris, seen our last morning from our hostel window. My camera still didn't capture how orange this was.

Kate and I hoped to explore the Musée D'Orsay, but it was closed when we tried to get in. We were disappointed to miss out on the Impressionist paintings, but were allowed into the Louvre for free! I've always heard that the Louvre is enormous, and, well, it's a little overwhelming. Kate and I wandered and absorbed everything, and just "happened" upon the only room in the entire museum that held some Impressionists. What a gift! This is Renoir's "The Lecture." :)

Monet.... *happy sigh* I've seen this painting in my art room since I was 14 years old. 

...along with this one. :) I was thrilled.

Winged Victory of Samothrace! I've wanted to see this since I was about 12. I was honestly more excited about this than the Mona Lisa. I felt like I was on the Green Line coming home from a Red Sox game when we saw her--it was packed and people were mobbing forward trying to get a picture. It didn't help that the Mona Lisa is so small--the crowd was almost crushing. Winged Victory, however, was in this main hallway that everyone moved through. She needed to be in a big space. 

One of my favorite painters is Georges de la Tour. Most paintings don't portray Jesus' relationship with Joseph, so this was different, and I love the light. I also love the little glowing hand.

I don't remember this one's name or sculptor, but it was sweet and captured a moment. We saw lots of famous paintings that were pretty exciting to see, but I just like the simplicity of this one. 

After the Louvre, we headed to the airport. Au revoir, Paris! I'll be back someday...

Paris--Versailles!

Fall Break started off with a bang--after lecture on Thursday morning, we flew into Paris. This city was everything I could have imagined and more. From the street-corner cafés, to the crépe stands, to the insane metro system and the massive Louvre, it was rich with class and culture (and some seedy areas, too). We started our first day with a complementary breakfast of croissants, baguettes, and cafe au lait that our hostel provided (that's when you know it will be a good day) and then found our way out to Versailles on the Metro (which has 14 basic lines, not to mention the four RER lines on top of that, and was actually really convenient, efficient, environmentally friendly, and not too expensive. Props to Paris for that one!).

This palace defines opulent. It's over-the-top, overwhelming, beautiful, and absolutely massive. My sister visited a few years ago, and said she was staggered by the sheer grandeur, and I definitely resonated with that. I loved the gardens. They were manicured and seemed never to end... I was incredibly jealous of the local people who were going running by the Grand Canal (it was also refreshing to see many people running in France--people just don't jog in Italy, and they tuck the few runners away in city parks... but I digress). 

It was a surprisingly cold day that was a bit of a shock to our bodies that were so used to Roman weather, but us northerners somewhat enjoyed the cold and the Fall colors the different climate brought. As we walked from the Metro, the wind started to blow, so we kept our heads down, turned a corner, and saw....

...this. I can't tell you how impressive it is to walk up to golden gates that are 15 feet tall. The gold starts glinting from about ten blocks away, even on such a cloudy day. The French monarchy knew how to make an impression.

Since we pre-ordered our tickets, we were able to walk right in--one of the few times in Paris that we didn't wait in line. The staff were really helpful, and were some of the first Parisians to start debunking the myth that French people are snobs. We met some of the sweetest and most helpful people during our stay in Paris.

This is the chapel where Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were married. It's also where all the noblemen of France came when Louis XVI called his royal court at Versailles to keep them occupied and out of mischief. The gilt organ was simply beautiful, and someone was playing as we passed.

Hall of Mirrors!! I kind of expected a little more mirrors, but I think that's from watching the Wishbone version of famous novels that involved halls of mirrors. It was still beautiful, though! 

Chandeliers, gold, mirrors. It was pretty cool to stand in the room where World War I was officially ended!

Mirror shot... in the Hall of Mirrors. It had to happen. Don't judge us. 

Apparently the King and Queen's days were so ritualized that they had an audience of noblemen greeting them when they woke up, watching them eat breakfast, and going through every basic movement of the day. Louis XVI passed out obviously necessary jobs such as holding back his sleeve while he ate. Not exactly my idea of fun, but maybe that's just me. 

He also forced his courtiers to walk like this. No joke.

Une belle femme!! Switching from Italian to French was a little mind-blowing. I'm pretty sure the baker in Versailles thought I was stupid when I kept saying "Si, si!"

Marie Antoinette's bedroom. I think I would probably develop a couple complexes, too, if I had to wake up to floral designs spattering every available surface. Also, lots of little French children were touring the palace in school groups. Could you imagine that? Just taking a field trip to the palace of Versailles with my 3rd grade class, no big deal. 

Even the cloth was gilt...

The gardens! This was refreshing (if freezing) after the complexity of the palace.

Doesn't it just seem to go on forever?! Multiple flights of stairs are hidden in this picture, too... Enormous. I loved it.

I kind of have a thing for roses. Bear with me--many more flower photos are to come.

The Apollo fountain... I love that it looks like he's emerging from the water with his chariot. 

Heidi was also in her happy place.

Fall colors!! 

Kate and tall trees. And falling leaves!!

...and this was in late October. I'd love to see these gardens in May! What an explosion of color it would be.

Versailles also so big that it apparently contains Ireland. We found ye olde sheepfold.

Wind, rain, umbrellas, crunchy leaves. Look at how perfectly straight the aisles of trees are, and how manicured the trees are!

The fog gave it a bit of a magical (but chilly) feel. The square trees were pretty impressive, too.

Roses are even beautiful when they're dying... and that's pretty cool. These ones smelled amazing.

Books from Marie Antoinette's library... this is for Megan. :)

Ok, I know there are a ton of flower photos, but I have never seen such vibrant colors in flowers in the last week of October. 

After a long, cold, exhilarating day, we bought our first French croissant, glazed with almonds and powdered sugar. It was just as amazing as it sounds--the perfect introduction to French bakeries. I also ate a Croque Monsieur, which is the best grilled cheese sandwich I have ever had in my life.

What a beautiful place. I think we got a different kind of experience because of the grey day, but that just showed a more mysterious, dramatic Versailles. Perfect starter to a full Fall Break!