Our view right out of the Metro station.
The Arc de Triomphe was built as a rememberance of soldiers who fought and died for France in the French Revolution and the Napolionic Wars. It has become a symbol of France and has been the center of many different nations marching through it. According to my Dad, his father use to talk about driving his tank down the Champs Elysee through the Arc de Triopmphe, so it was incredible to be in a place that was so memorable to him.
We walked under the Place de Charles de Gaulle to walk beneath the Arc.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier also sits below the Arc, there is an eternal flame here as well as fresh flowers daily. This is where Jackie Kennedy gained her inspiration for placing an eternal flame on JFK's grave.
Our next stop was the top of the Arc de Triomphe. After over 200 stairs, we made it to the top, and the views were certainly worth it.
We started to head away from the Arc de Triomphe and towards the Louvre which took us right now the Champs Elysee.
Of course, we stopped along the way to take one of our many coffee breaks throughout the trip. The Champs Elysee was a great place to people watch and window shop. We took our time walking and eventually got hungry, so we grabbed sandwiches and drinks but just as we set down, it started to rain.
The rain turned everything pretty gloomy, but once it was over, it didn't rain a single drop for the rest of Dad's trip. After dodging the rain as much as possible, we made it to the Louvre, and took about twenty more minutes to find the correct entrance.
We had to get a DaVinci Code inspired picture...
The Louvre has functioned as a museum since 1793 to display the Royal Collection which included a large number of sculptures and paintings. Previously it was a fortress for Phillip II, however the original building has been added on to and renovated so many times that it is rare to find part of the original structure. The building acted as a residence for the first time in the 1300's and from there was home to the Kings of France. Eventually Louis XIV moved the royal residence to Versailles and the Louvre turned into a residence to artists, and finally during the French Revolution the building became a museum. It officially opened August 10 1793, exactly one year to the day that Louis XVI, and his wife Marie-Antoinette, were captured and imprisoned.
Inside of the famous Pyramid.
The Winged Victory of Somothrace sits on a landing in the middle of a grand staircase in the Louvre. I recognized it, but knew nothing about it. It is believed to be from 180 B.C., but was discovered in 1863, with only the torso, wings, right hand, and other small fragments found. Since its discovery the piece has been displayed in the Louvre. It was taken out once, in 1939, as part of an attempt to protect it from the impending war. It was stored along with many other priceless pieces outside of Paris in a location that was considered safer.
After a few rooms, each one looked the same, and since the Louvre's collection is so large the works of art started to look the same.
What everyone is waiting to see...the Mona Lisa. I'm also pretty certain someone will ask if she really follows you, and I wish I could answer but there was no way I was able to walk near her. It took me 10 minutes of stubbornly waiting for others to get their photos and leave just for this mediocre picture. But, if you go to Paris, you have to see her.
We were tired so we sat down for a coffee, sorry a Cafe Americano, and dessert.
"Smile Dad, I won't tell anyone you are eating something sugary!"
Sorry Papa.
Another must see at the Louvre, the Venus de Milo.
Now compare this picture to the one from when we first got to the Louvre, the weather was so much better for the rest of the day.
We finished up at the Louvre, honestly we didn't walk through all it, we saw the highlights. We both felt that it was so large, and some what poorly guided to make walking through it enjoyable, instead of frantic. Since we were just across the river from the Orsay, we decided to walk over and see if we could fit in another musuem visit for the day, however it was about 45 minutes before they closed so they were not admiting anyone else. Instead we found a bench and had a few snack and then decided to walk back to the hotel rather than take the Metro, so that we could get our barrings a little more and enjoy the nice weather.
During our walk back, along the Seine River.
Military Museum
We eventually made it back without to much difficulty, it helped a great deal that we had a particularly good landmark to help us.
Our cute little balcony...
and the fantastic view to go along with it.
We got ourselves cleaned up for dinner, walked a few blocks away from our hotel to go to a restaurant we had seen while coming and going to the Metro. Dinner was nice and relaxing, we talked about our day and the next day, as well as some old stories from Dad's grandmother and other people in the family.
After dinner, we headed over to the Effiel Tower for a night time trip up the tower.
After an hour of waiting to go up, we were a tiny bit bored, so this was our attempt at making the Eiffel Tower with our hands.
Finally at the second level. We spent a good hour or so walking around the tower and finding all of the most distinct places along the Paris skyline. Also, about 10 minutes before the hour there was a short light display on the tower, so we stayed until midnight to see the display while on the tower.
And to give you an idea of what it looked like...
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