More sites to see

Today is Saturday and we are on our third day of exploring this huge city.  We stated that we were going to slow down a bit so we have some energy at the end of the day.  Great idea until the hotel staff announced that the elevator broke and we are on the fourth floor.  I counted 100 steps that we need to climb  to get to our room each time we return from an outing!  Anyway so off we went today to a different part of the city.  Our first stop was the Rodin Museum.  What a beautiful and interesting place.  The museum highlighted Rodin's work with models that he made for many commissions he received.  Then we went out to the gardens and there were all of his works-The Thinker, the Gates of Hell based off of Dantes trilogy, along with about twenty other sculptures.  All that amongst blooming rose bushes and tree roses.  It was so delightful and fragrant.  From there we headed to see where Napoleon's tomb is.  We think our monuments to our great leaders are grand - they do not even compare!  After that we toured the WWII exhibit in the Army Museum which has info and items from all the wars the French have fought in.  We had a lovely lunch there and then decided to go visit the Jacquemart-Andre Museum,  housed in a lovely mansion once the home of a couple whose sole purpose in life was collecting art from all over the world.  They were rich Parisians and their home and possessions were exquisite.  We walked the streets of Paris to get back to our hotel rather than take the subway and really enjoyed the trees and boulevards of the city.

Tonight after a very good dinner of scallops and ravioli and a salad with apples, oranges, grapefruit (one word that I could not make out in French - the rest I could!) and grilled shrimp, we headed up to the top of the Arc de Troimphe (284 steps up) to see the view from the top.  Awesome, especially as the sun set and the Eiffel Tower lit up.

That's it for today!  Only 18,000+ steps today!

Off to the museums

We bought a museum pass yesterday, so after saying goodbye to Christy and Rob, we took off for the Orsay Museum..  This old train station has been converted into a museum that houses the largest collection of Impressionist art.  It was amazing to see Monet, Renoir, Degas, Cezanne, Matisse, Van Gogh as well as many other famous original masterpieces.  Some of these were also at the Orangerie museum which has Monet's water lilies displayed in the round showing the changing light.  From there we headed to Saint Chapelle.  This chapel was built between 1242 and 1248 for King Louis IX.  There are 15 separate stained glass panels  each 20 feet tall.  They depict 1,131 stories from the Bible.  It was totally awesome and very humbling!  Later we met up with our niece, Tracy, who was also in Paris for a day before she traveled to Belgium and then to do a Woofing gig (work on an organic farm - we did not know what it meant either!) in the backcountry of France.  The three of us headed over to the Eiffel Tower to have dinner and then a river cruise along the Seune to see Paris ablaze in light as night settles in.  Wow, was that a sight to behold!  Of course, we had to see the Eiffel Tower up close and personal along with a zillion other people.  It definitely is an engineering accomplishment!  We had to say a quick goodbye to Tracy as Dave and I realized we jumped on our metro headed the wrong direction (Christy and Rob, I did realize it right away though!  Aren"t you proud of us?)once we got to our hotel, we saw that we had again put on 23,000+ steps!

Ooh La La, Paris

After getting settled in our small boutique hotel and getting a good night's sleep, the four of us ( Rob, Christy, Dave and I) headed out to explore the city of Paris.  What an amazing city it is!  So spread out with buildings, statues, fountains, and gardens that are very old and massive.  We headed over to the Marais area since Rob had been to Paris three years ago and wanted to see things that he had not seen before.  Prior to that, though, we made a stop so the rest of us could see Notre Dame and to take a look at the Shakespeare  and Company Bookstore-a landmark here in Paris!  It is very old, quaint bookstore with tons of books, both new and old!  Onto the Marais area where the Revolution and the storming of the Bastille took place in 1779!  This area has some of the oldest homes in Paris and is probably the most ethnic.  There is a distinct Jewish section as well as Middle Eastern influence.  In fact for lunch, we enjoyed tabouli, stuffed grape leaves, a brick filled with meat ( actually a piece of bread!), roasted eggplant in tomato sauce and falafel.  The highlight was visiting the free Carnavalet Museum where the history of the revolution plus the rise and eventual beheading of Louis XVI was described.  On to a view of the Louvre and the pyramid within as described in The DaVinci Code, then the Tuileries Gardens.  We have been amazed at the amount of green space within Paris.  The kids treated us to dinner and then Dave and I called it a night.  Upon laying down on the bed, we saw that we had walked 26,000 steps that day!  That made up for sitting on the plane the day before!

Goodbyes and On to Paris!!

The morning of of departure day dawned sunny and warm. We were up early to head to the airport to be sure Charlie was on time for his flight. We then had some time to take in a bit of Sainte Denis. Enjoyed a short visit to the botanical garden, a stop at the cafe, and a walk down the historical Main Street. Then, off to the airport where tearful, but joyful goodbyes were said.

We are now in Paris after a eleven hour flight from Reunion.  Luckily that flight had one fifth the amount of people that could fit on the plane  allowing us to each have four sets apiece.  That helped us handle that long flight but we still were very anxious to get off the flight.  Dave arranged for a transport for Christy, Rob and Dave and I to get to our hotel which was a great idea as it allowed us to    explore our Arc De Triomphe area.  We Headed to a cafe and had a bite to eat and a beer as we enjoyed seeing the Eiffel Tower lit up!  We knew we had busy days ahead of us.