Paris, France: (26 pictures) – Days 6, 7, and 8
Eiffel Tower - This is probably the most famous landmark
in Europe, and as such, it was the first thing I headed toward when I arrived
in Paris.
Eiffel Tower - It is REALLY big. Especially when you're
standing right under it. I did later go all the way up to the top.
Eiffel Tower at night - A lot of people think it looks better
at night, and this picture shows that could in fact be very true.
Eiffel Tower with French buildings - This is what almost
all the buildings and streets in Paris looked like (minus the great view
of the tower though).
Arc de Triomphe - This was my second destination in Paris.
It's the biggest triumphal arch in the world and was commissioned by Napolean.
I would later come back here and go to the top of this also.
Arc de Triomphe at night - The traffic around the Arc
de Triomphe was crazy. This was taken from the middle of the famous
street Champs-Elysees. The Arc is surrounded by a traffic circle
I don't know how many lanes wide, but with 12 converging boulevards all
leading straight into it. When I went to the top, I just watched
the traffic beneath for about 15 minutes because it was so interesting.
Crowd watching France lose World Cup game in front of Hotel de Ville
- The World Cup was one of the runnning themes for at least the first
half of my trip. Everywhere I went in Europe I would see either pubs
and restaurants filled with people watching the soccer games, or I would
be walking down the street when cars would be driving by blasting their
horns and waving their country's flags out the windows after they had won.
This picture was taken in a square right after France unexpectedly lost
their World Cup game.
Notre Dame - You might not recognize it from this view,
but yes this is the most famous cathedral in Europe. It's actually
700 years old.
Notre Dame - Now it's more recognizable. This is
the front of the cathedral. I went inside, but didn't go up to the
top of the towers.
Saint Chapelle - This is the other famous church in Paris.
It's also over 700 years old, but it came with over an hour long wait to
get in and a $6 admission, so I didn't go inside.
Paris from the top of Samaritaine store - I had read in my guidebook
that I could get a great view of Paris from the top of this department
store, so I went 11 floors up and found it to be true. Here you can
see Notre Dame on the left, and Saint Chapelle in the middle of the picture.
Paris from the top of Samaritaine store - This view of
the Eiffel Tower shows just how big it is compared to all the other buildings
around.
The Hall of Mirrors inside the Palace of Versailles - On my
second full day in Paris, I took a half hour train ride to Versailles,
probably Europe's greatest palace. This is the largest and most impressive
room in the palace, and is also where they signed the Treaty of Versailles,
which ended World War I.
The Gardens at Versailles - You can walk around for hours in
the Gardens, but I was happy with just taking this picture.
The Palace of Versailles - This is the front of the Palace.
It was built for Louis XIV about 300 years ago.
Sacre-Coeur Church - Here is another impressive, but relatively
new church in Paris. It's only 130 years old.
Moulin Rouge - This is near Pigalle, Paris' red light district.
I later found there were Moulin Rouges in other European cities, but I'm
pretty sure this was the original. Don't even ask if I went inside,
because tickets were over $50.
The Louvre - On my final day in Paris I bought a museum pass
and went crazy going to as many of the included sights as possible.
Of course I had to go to the Louvre, as it is considered the best museum
in all of Europe. Inside I saw the following two pieces of art.
The Mona Lisa - Sorry for the bad quality of the picture
(it was too dark in the museum, and no flashes meant I had to lighten the
picture on the computer when I came home). Anyways, the Mona Lisa
is actually not very big. Maybe two feet tall, but I don't really
remember. It was still very cool to see though. It was painted
by Leonardo da Vinci.
Venus de Milo - This is the other incredibly famous piece
of art at the Louvre. I feel stupid, but I don't even remember if
it's an ancient Roman or ancient Greek sculpture.
Inside the Orsay Museum - This is the other great museum
in Paris. I think I might have liked this one a little better because
it had more sculptures that I liked. It is best known for its Impressionist
collection, including paintings by Monet, Renoir, and Degas.
Les Invalides - This whole building is mostly dedicated to Napolean's
tomb. It also has the Army Museum though.
Napolean’s Tomb - This is it. The tomb is located directly
underneath the 26 pounds of gold that lines the dome in the previous picture.
Paris from the top of the Eiffel Tower - On my final day
in Paris I went all the way up to the very top of the Eiffel Tower and
took this picture of the Seine River and surrounding Paris. To save
money, I walked up the first half of the tower and then took the elevator
the rest of the way to the top since there were no more stairs.
Paris Business district from the top of the Arc de Triomphe -
This is just one of the twelve streets leading away from the Arc de Triomphe.
In the background you can see the Business District of Paris with the huge
office complex called Grand Arche de la Defense in the middle. The
arch is actually made up of offices for 30,000 people and is much larger
than the Arc de Triomphe.
Me and the Eiffel Tower from the top of the Arc de Triomphe -
My climb to the top of the Arc de Triomphe was one of the last things I
did in Paris, except for when I returned for a couple hours at the end
of my trip to fly back home.
Continue on to Madrid, Spain
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