So much to see...

I think we walked an average of 5-6 hours every day in Paris, maybe more....this second day, though, was the longest. There is just so much to see in this city and 5 days was barely enough time. We started at Notre Dame, then went up to the Opera Garnier, then over to the Arc de Triomphe, down the Champs-Elysees, down to a couple of palaces (museums now), across the bridge to Napoleon's tomb, and then over to the Eiffel Tower. Then getting back to the hotel was a fiasco, but I guess a little adventure is always good, and gives you a story!

Here are some more pictures of the architecture in Paris; I loved the black iron work, and many of the windows had red flowers in them. It was so beautiful!

And yes, there are many Starbucks all over Paris!

We tried to get up early this second day, but failed....I think it was around 10:00 before we got going. We stopped to eat breakfast at a cafe. This is when I began to realize that all the cafes have essentially the same menu. It consists of anything you can possibly make out of ham, eggs, and of course cheese. So there are cheese plates, and omelettes (ham and/or cheese), and grilled ham and cheese, and hot dogs with cheese on them... you get the picture! There are usually many cafes on any given street and the inside is open to the outside. If you sit on the outside edge the chairs all face out, so as to enjoy people watching. We also soon realized that the French can sit for hours and talk over an espresso, so one must flag down the waiter to get service. They do not want to interrupt you! I realized how quickly we Americans eat, even if we are trying to relax.

This dish was called eggs and mayonnaise, and it was on all the menus, so David finally ordered it to see what it was.....yes, it was eggs and mayonnaise- well, a Dijon mayo, for dipping your eggs in. He said it was really good. But then again, David likes hard boiled eggs and mayonnaise!


We passed lots of these pastry and dessert windows...they are not only beautiful, but every dessert we had in Paris tasted amazing!

The mailbox, from which we sent many postcards to our kids!


So.... here we are inside Notre Dame... it was incredible. It is huge! My pictures are pathetic because the flash wouldn't go far enough...it was so immense! The stained glass was beautiful and so intricate....and all throughout there are alcoves where you can go pray to your favorite saint.

A model of the cathedral, it gives you a better perspective!

This is of the main entrance above the doors....it is hard to grasp the insane amount of artwork and artistry that went into these cathedrals.

We then went to the Opera Garnier; this is where The Phantom of the Opera story is set. I was told it has an underground lake system....hmmm.... We weren't going to pay to go in, but we were drawn in by the entrance and it ended up being one of our favorite places.

The grand staircases looked like something out of the Titanic movie, all different colored marble and gold.

The box seats had their own doors that went to each one...most of the theater is box seats, except for the main floor. I couldn't get a picture of the inside because the lights were off as the stage crew was setting up and testing things.

Here is a picture of the model instead, as it gives a good idea. The stage was incredibly deep with so many curtains. To the side of the main theater is this library, which is full of written operas- amazing!
This is a hallway in the Opera, I guess they used it for social functions; it was absolutely incredible!

From here we went to the Arc de Triomphe. It was larger than I expected and the traffic around it was crazy! It seemed to be about 5-6 lanes wide, but with no lines...so cars just went in and out of the circle wherever. Fortunately there is a pedestrian tunnel that gets you from the main road to the Arc. Napoleon had this built to celebrate his military victories, and later the Nazis marched through it when they captured Paris during World War II.

Then we walked down the Champs-Elysees, which is a major shopping avenue. We weren't too impressed; it just seemed a lot like 5th Avenue in New York City. I did have to take a picture of the Mercedes dealership for my brother. It was the size of a small clothing store inside....I think there were 5 cars on display (mostly very small ones). Outside there was a sign telling you to "buy your Mercedes on the Champs-Elysees".

From there we walked down to a couple of former palaces called the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais (big palace and small palace)- I honestly can't remember who they were built for.

Now they are museums.

These are close ups of the various engravings on the Grand Palais...lots of chubby babies and other strange things. I think these babies are ready to poke an eye out with a sharp object! Not too sure about them, maybe the artists got sick of carving saints and angels.

The side entrance of the Grand Palais- the sculpture on the top was amazing!

From there we crossed the most elaborate bridge over the Seine (Pont Alexandre III), and on to Hotel des Invalides, which houses Napoleon's tomb. The bridge was named after Russian Tsar Alexander III, the Russian leader in the alliance between France and Russia in the late 1800's.

Yes, this dome houses Napoleon's tomb!

The Hotel des Invalides (the dome building) was built by King Louis XIV in the late 1600's to house disabled and impoverished war veterans. When Napoleon died, they buried him in one place, and then later his body was moved to a prominent place (under the dome) in this building. We didn't end up going inside, as it was closed on that day. On a later day, we came back but didn't want to spend money to see a wooden box.

Here are pictures of the military school that Napoleon attended and it is still functional today.

Next...the Eiffel Tower