Commissioned in 1806 by the orders of Napoleon I, the
Arc de Triomphe stands in the heart of Paris with beautiful views down the Champs-Elysees--a major shopping avenue. It's another magnificent structure.
Looking east down the Champs-Elysees.
These are names of generals and the wars fought by them. I loved the rosettes on the ceilings.
Zoooooom. More naked Frenchmen.
The World War I Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. John and Jackie Kennedy visited this tomb. And, after Kennedy was assassinated, the First Lady remembered the eternal flame here and had President Kennedy's resting place marked with his own eternal flame. Since Washington, DC, was designed by Pierre L'Enfant, a Frenchman, it resembles Paris and made me long for my birthplace. The low rise-buildings, the avenues and even the Metro. We (Washingtonians) don't call it a subway, it's the Metro, just like Paris! Anyway, I had no idea that Kennedy's eternal flame idea came from the Arc de Triomphe, did you?
After our tour, we began our trek down the Champs-Elysees. Just a lot of run-of-the-mill shopping, fast food joints and basic tourist traps. As we started coming to the end, there were some wonderful buildings to spy on. This one is a library. I want a library card to go here! Sorry about the sun bursts. What a beauty.
An art museum behind Charles de Gaulle's monument.
A look back down the Champs-Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe.
We were finally making it to the end at the Place de la Concorde. I liked this little Frenchman staring at me waiting for me to take his photo. During the French Revolution, King Louis' statue was torn down and the square was renamed the Place de la Revolution. This is the square where the infamous guillotine was erected and where King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette were executed. The guillotine was removed in 1795 and the square renamed Place de la Concorde. How's that for history.
This is the 3,300-year-old, 72-foot, 220-ton red granite obelisk of Luxor. It was a gift to the King Louis-Phillipe from Egypt in the 1830s.
Some lovelies on the square.
And speaking of lovelies, we stopped just long enough to shoot this at Laduree. It was too hot for tea, so we continued our journey to find something a little on the cooler side to sit and sip. But, oh ....... I love Laduree's. The kid and I had frequented the one at Harrods in London several years back. The pastries are a sight for sore eyes. Scrumptious, indeed.
We kept spying these fancy phones for over 5,300€! Ouch. If you're interested in one, you can go to
Vertu. Be my guest. Just don't send me the bill!
A pretty window, perhaps Ralph Lauren.
For my niece Madeleine.
My favorite perfumery,
Annick Goutal, was a bonus on our tour. I had told Raphael to look and see where it was but we thought it was too far away. Low and behold, it was just a couple of blocks away from our hotel!
Danger!!! But, the latest scent, Musc Nomad (a musk) wasn't one of my favorites, so I came home without anything new. Whaaaaaaaaa.
Old England, the store I was telling you about when we first arrived, just so happened to be
CONNECTED to our hotel. Yay. We had made it "home." Phew, what a tour!
Commissioned in 1806 by the orders of Napoleon I, the Arc de Triomphe stands in the heart of Paris with beautiful views down the Champs-Elysees--a major shopping avenue. It's another magnificent structure.
Looking east down the Champs-Elysees.
These are names of generals and the wars fought by them. I loved the rosettes on the ceilings.
Zoooooom. More naked Frenchmen.
The World War I Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. John and Jackie Kennedy visited this tomb. And, after Kennedy was assassinated, the First Lady remembered the eternal flame here and had President Kennedy's resting place marked with his own eternal flame. Since Washington, DC, was designed by Pierre L'Enfant, a Frenchman, it resembles Paris and made me long for my birthplace. The low rise-buildings, the avenues and even the Metro. We (Washingtonians) don't call it a subway, it's the Metro, just like Paris! Anyway, I had no idea that Kennedy's eternal flame idea came from the Arc de Triomphe, did you?
After our tour, we began our trek down the Champs-Elysees. Just a lot of run-of-the-mill shopping, fast food joints and basic tourist traps. As we started coming to the end, there were some wonderful buildings to spy on. This one is a library. I want a library card to go here! Sorry about the sun bursts. What a beauty.
An art museum behind Charles de Gaulle's monument.
A look back down the Champs-Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe.
We were finally making it to the end at the Place de la Concorde. I liked this little Frenchman staring at me waiting for me to take his photo. During the French Revolution, King Louis' statue was torn down and the square was renamed the Place de la Revolution. This is the square where the infamous guillotine was erected and where King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette were executed. The guillotine was removed in 1795 and the square renamed Place de la Concorde. How's that for history.
This is the 3,300-year-old, 72-foot, 220-ton red granite obelisk of Luxor. It was a gift to the King Louis-Phillipe from Egypt in the 1830s.
Some lovelies on the square.
And speaking of lovelies, we stopped just long enough to shoot this at Laduree. It was too hot for tea, so we continued our journey to find something a little on the cooler side to sit and sip. But, oh ....... I love Laduree's. The kid and I had frequented the one at Harrods in London several years back. The pastries are a sight for sore eyes. Scrumptious, indeed.
We kept spying these fancy phones for over 5,300€! Ouch. If you're interested in one, you can go to Vertu. Be my guest. Just don't send me the bill!
A pretty window, perhaps Ralph Lauren.
For my niece Madeleine.
My favorite perfumery, Annick Goutal, was a bonus on our tour. I had told Raphael to look and see where it was but we thought it was too far away. Low and behold, it was just a couple of blocks away from our hotel! Danger!!! But, the latest scent, Musc Nomad (a musk) wasn't one of my favorites, so I came home without anything new. Whaaaaaaaaa.
Old England, the store I was telling you about when we first arrived, just so happened to be CONNECTED to our hotel. Yay. We had made it "home." Phew, what a tour!
6 comments:
I must come back and totally drool over all of these! Your wonderful postcard arrived. THANK YOU!!!
Hugs -- more later!
I am eating your pictures up like candy! Please keep them coming.
I didn't know that about Mrs. Kennedy, of whom I am an ardent fan. Of course she, being French, was inspired by Paris in a great many things!
More wonderful pictures. Can't wait to see more! Hope to see you this week.
xoxooxoxoxooxox
So awesome to "visit" Paris with you. You took some great shots! Next best thing to being there.
xoxox
Just cam over from Beth's blog and WOW! What amazing pictures! I love it. Looks like are having fun.
Dearest Rosa,
Omigosh, I've so been enjoying catching up on your last few posts and seeing all those gorgeous pictures you took while in Paris! Oooh la la!! Next time I'll go with you so that I can translate for you ok??? hehe How very lucky you are to have gone to Paris...I would love to go there one day but with my fear of flying, I just don't ever see it happening. Hmmm, wonder how long it would take me in a canoe?? lol Sounds like you had a terrific time and good for you for going up in the Eiffel Tower...the views from the top are absolutely breathtaking!! xoxo
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