Paris

Here are some pics of our trip to Paris.
We left for Paris on April 8 at 4 am to walk to the Wiesbaden train station. After a 5 hour train ride (1st Class on the ICE train) we arrived in Paris.
Once there, we took the Metro to the Louvre. We stood in line, outside in the rain, for about 1 hour to get inside.

































We saw the Mona Lisa...



















Cupid and the Psyche by Antonio Canova...along with a few others.














We then walked to our hotel. It took us about 30 minutes to walk to the Hotel Aston. It was a quaint little hotel tucked away on an alley with a couple other hotels. It seemed like a Chinese hotel, was very small, but clean.
After freshening up a little bit, we rode the Metro to the Eiffel Tower.



















After taking some pictures, we walked closer to find this.??!!?



















Workers on strike? You mean we can't go up? There were lots of little shops and things closed up because of the strike (that had just started that day!)

Next we walked to the Arc de Triomphe. This is also known as Napolean's Triumphal Arch - which was commissioned in 1806 to commemorate his victories.














Then we walked down Avenue des Champs-Elysees - probably the most famous avenue in the world. It includes shops like Gucci, Louis Vatton - (we went into this one - a key chain was only 82 Euros!), and many other famous shops.
After all our walking, we found a cafe to eat at. Then we rode the metro back to the Eiffel Tower to see the lights. (we also were told that on the hour, the Eiffel Tower sparkles). So we saw the lights, and then decided to wait another 20 minutes in the rain to see the sparkles. It was definitely worth the wait. I would say that was the highlight! I didn't get a good picture with the sparkles - but here are some with the lights.






































Notice the umbrella in the picture above - it was a little windy too - so we had the problem of the umbrellas turning inside - out on us.
We also bought scraves (the in thing in Paris) at one of the Metro stops - since we were cold from being wet. They did keep us warmer - and we were Stylin'!

The next day, we woke up to beautiful Paris weather (no rain). We rode the Metro to Montemartre. This is an area set on a hill 130 meters high - that looks out over Paris. It is a beautiful view. This area is known for Moulin Rouge, and also the Place du Tetre is a fanciful little square filled with artists displaying thier paintings for sale.
*that is a lot of steps to climb - there were 24 steps per set - with 6-8 sets*














Set on the bluff of Montemartre is the church "Sacre Coeur".



















We enjoyed crepes with egg and tuna or chicken in them after doing a little souvenir shopping.














Last on our list to see in Paris was Notre Dame - located on a small island in the heart of Paris - this is one of the most famous cathedrals in the world.



















See the Gargyoles ??














Wow - all this in 2 days! It was definitely worth all the walking!