My husband and I are in Europe for several weeks so I thought I’d create 2 posts instead of Snapshot Sundays.

In post #1 I’ll Dish about our 4 days in Paris.

Shasta’s column is on hold for now, but he’ll have a fun post after we return as I’ve been compiling dog related photos in Europe as well.

Notre Dame.  Gothic Cathedrale that took almost 200 years to build.

The North Rose Window (1225-1270)

 
View after climing the 400 spirling steps to the rooftop views of Paris.

Across the street is the Shakespeare and Company Bookstore. You weave between nooks and crannies which overflow with new and secondhand books. The original location where Hemmingway would meet with his “lost generation” was closed by the Nazis in 1941 and George Whitman opened the current location in 1951.  It is still run by his daughter.

Place de la Concorde, the cities largest square.  The obelisk, a gift from Egypt in 1831, stands where the French Revolution guillotine was located and where King Louis the XVI (the first execution in 1793) and many others including Marie Antoinette were executed.

You then drive down the Champs-Elysees past several palais’ and high end luxury shops to the Arc de Triomphe.

The arch was commissioned in 1806 following Napoleon’s victory at Austerlitz but only the foundations were laid at the time of his fall from power.  However, the building continued and it was finally completed in 1836.

 Across the Seine and to the West the iconic Eiffel Tower.

The Flame of Liberty Memorial-in 1987 was given by the USA to France as a symbol of friendship and is a replica of the flame which tops the Statue of Liberty.  However, the area of the memorial is more famous as it sits above the tunnel where Princess Diana was killed in 1997.

Now let’s travel to Versailles, built in the 17th century it was the seat of the royal court from 1682 until the French Revolutionaries in 1789 took King Louis XVI and queen Marie Antoinette back to Paris to be guillotined.  It housed 6000 people and the grounds are approximately 900 hectares (if anyone knows how many acres this is please comment and let me know).  The chateau has seen few alterations except the interior furnishings disappearing during the revolution.

The beautiful Hall of Mirrors, devoted to Louis XIV’s sucesses in war. To the left are the mirrors and to the right floor to ceiling windows with the frescos above.

 We strolled through the grounds, Grand and Petit Trianon Palaces (where they escaped court life) and the Queen’s Hamlet (a mock village of thatched cottages from 1784 build so Marie Antoinette could play milkmaid).  The Hamlet was probably the most unusual.  It is, quite literally, a lifesized dollhouse with animals included (see pictures starting below).

The Bastille is a 14th century fortress built to protect Paris.  It is a famous site that no longer exists.  Prior to storming Versailles, on July 14, 1789 the mobbing of the Bastille started the French Revolution.  Now there is a green/bronze column marking the spot.

A visit to France would not be complete without a visit to a local Fromagerie.  The women was very pleasant.  She did not speak English but sweetly let us know our choices by through a baah or moo  depending on the type of cheese.

Then we took the lunch to the grounds around Basilique du Sacre-Coeur (started in 1882 and not completed until 1919) atop the 130 meter high Butte de Montmartre.

The complexity of the Parisian underground is rivaled by the floors and halls of the Louvre.  I’m directionally impaired, thank goodness Denton is not.  The place is AMAZING!

Venus de Milo

We did so much exploring and took so many pictures I decided to only include a few highlights.  I’ll end with Sainte-Chapelle with it’s beautiful stained glass from 1248 in which the Holy Crown of Thorns (aquired by Louis IX) used to be displayed.  It is now in the treasury at Cathedrale Notre Dame and only brought out for special occasions.  The lower chapel has the oldest fresco in Paris, pictured 1st below.

There are 113 scenes shown in the 15 floor to ceiling stained glass windows.  See, starting at the bottom of the next picture creation and the the fall from Eden.

Have you been to Paris?  Where was your favorite spot in or around Paris?