Seine River Tour
Alexander III Bridge
It was built in 1900 for the Paris Worlds Fair ...More
Nice lighting effect on Eiffel Tower
It was built in 1900 for the Paris Worlds Fair. At the top we saw an apartment with mannequins of Eiffel and Alexander Bell. Bell had just given him one of his new "gramophones". It was sitting on a table ...More
Jan is not so sure
Eiffel!
Watching the crowds (and pickpockets) in front of Notre Dame
Notre Dame
Backside, note the flying buttresses
Flying buttresses are an architectural feature mainly seen used in medieval cathedral designs. First developed in Romanesque architecture and later perfected in Gothic architecture. The purpose of these are to support the weight and horizontal thrust of the high arches and domes spanning the interior space. ...More
The reliefs by the front doors were stunning
This door is called the Portal of the Last Judgment—the central figure is Christ (the statue on the left) and the six figures to his left are six of the apostles. The other six are to his right out of photo. The figures above the door are the resurrected dead about to receive judgment. ...More
Jan's Birthday at a Paris Restaurant. That's a a bottle of real French Champagne
Enjoying a light moment
Another night eating dinner. Jan has a very nice Calamari Steak and I ordered something that turned out to be pasta mixed with squid ink.
...More
We met a guy in Copenhagen that insisted that we go and see the Paris Catacombs. We went... but came away thinking we could have used the half day in a better way.
The Paris Catacombs are a maze of tunnels and crypts underneath the city streets where Parisians placed the bones of their dead for almost 30 years starting in the 1700s.
But as the city grew, the cemeteries quickly ran out of space. The decision was made to use an underground section of limestone quarries in Paris. The bones from Paris’ city cemeteries were moved underground between 1786 and 1788. ...More
At the Louvre
You descend an escalator from the glass pyramid to an area below the courtyard for the ticket sales, gift shops and then go back up into the palace halls to view the art.
Listen to a street musician playing the clarinet outside the Louvre
The vivid colors in this 400 yr old oil painting were unbelievable!
The Winged Victory
The Winged Victory of Samothrace, also called the Nike of Samothrace, is a 2nd-century BC marble sculpture of the Greek goddess Nike (Victory). It is 8 feet high. It was created to not only honor the goddess, Nike, but to honor a sea battle. It conveys a sense of action and triumph as well as portraying artful flowing drapery, as though the goddess was descending to alight upon the prow. The Nike, discovered in Greece in 1863, is estimated to have been created around 200–190 BC. Since 1884, it has been prominently displayed at the Louvre and is one of the most celebrated sculptures in the world. ...more
Going through the gates at Versailles.
Originally it started out as a simple hunting lodge built by Louis XIII. His son, Louis XIV decided to build the palace into an extravaganza.
There are several hundred acres of gardens. This one is just outside the
palace.
Note the citrus trees in
planters
We spent about 4 hours with a guide touring a portion of the 800 Hectares of manicured gardens to the right and left in the picture.
Just one of the stunning objects we saw in the gardens
The kidnapping of Persephone 1679
HAIDES abducts the spring-goddess PERSEPHONE to the underworld to be his bride and queen
...More
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Enjoying a surreptitious glass of wine on the steps of Versailles during a hard day's touring
In addition to the meticulous manicured lawns, flowers and sculptures are the fountains, which are located throughout the garden. Dating from the time of Louis XIV and still using much of the same network of piping, the fountains contribute to making the gardens of Versailles unique.
You could almost get lost in the maze of gardens and little areas carved out with fountains and sculptures.
Ham and Swiss on Baguette
Purchased from small outdoor restaurant in the gardens 4.50 Euro each
Jan enjoying my Ice Cream cone ...Also 4.50 Euro
This is just one of several buildings
Here's Jan in the Hall of Mirrors
Ceiling in the Hall of Mirrors. It was just stunning.
The Hall of Mirrors was constructed between 1678 and in 1684. The Hall of Mirrors was the grandiose setting of the 17th and 18th century royal ceremonies. The Hall was the venue of the 1871 proclamation of the German Empire by Otto van Bismarck and the 1919 signature of the Versailles treaty which ended World War One.
...More
Another room in the palace. Note the size of the fireplace.
Another room
A painting of King Luis XIV
Arch de Triumph
The Arc de Triomphe ("Triumphal Arch") honors those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I.
Listen to a street musician playing an accordion in the tunnel below the arc
The Departure of the Volunteers of 1792
The most famous of the four reliefs on the faces of the arch flanking the opening, this emotional composition depicts the French people rallying against enemies from abroad.
The sculpture celebrates the cause of the
French First Republic during the 10 August uprising. Above the volunteers is the winged personification of
Liberty. ...More
