How do you say, French?

We boarded our ferry in Dover, England and got to see the white cliffs of Dover while we left the UK.

The fog is so hazy, it's hard to see the cliffs behind us. 

Quacker Jack and the model of our ferry boat to France

We arrived in France, not knowing much more than a couple niceties in French, and I'm not going to lie, the first day I was clueless.  But, we found a couple pronunciation videos on YouTube and practiced.  Everyone we encountered was very kind to us and we were able to communicate what we'd like at a restaurant, bar, or store, so I'll say we've been successful. 

One night, we were strolling along....OH!  There's the Eiffel Tower!

I wanted to see the Champs Elysees (the busy street as I called it, because I had a hard time pronouncing it).

This is the obelisk at the end of the road. 

And we saw this pretty fountain there near the obelisk as well.

Another shot of the busy road

Another shot of the Eiffel Tower on our walk home

This was on the bridge we stood on to admire the Eiffel Tower.

Just a pretty picture around town as we strolled around: 

We used our Museum Pass to visit the Louvre a couple times during our visit.   

Aren't you glad you use Dial? 

Samson is breaking this lion's neck.  J is glad to have his picture made with him because in his words, "Samson slayed a lot of people."














 

We saw this lady-and it was a lovely painting, no doubt, but it was a little anti-climatic.  She's not nearly as big as you'd imagine and the way she's presented-all alone on a plain wall with glass covering her-it isn't the best look.  BUT we saw the Mona Lisa; how amazing is that?!!?







 

We got so distracted by all the artwork, that we would forget that the Louvre was a royal palace.  We'd looked up and be wowed all over again by the beauty of the museum building.

A view from inside the museum looking out

Quacker Jack at Notre Dame Cathedral

We did not take an official tour of Notre Dame. Instead, we went to the Vespers worship service one evening, so we don't have any pictures of inside the cathedral.  It was a peaceful service, even if we couldn't understand much of what was being said. 

 Another bridge in Paris:

We bought macaroons in the morning for an afternoon snack. Too bad they got crushed in J's backpack before we could eat them.  They were a little smooshed, but still delicious!  The vanilla was the best we've had yet. 

We went back to Notre Dame to take the Crypt Tour-very interesting stuff just below your feet! 

We also walked around the gardens surrounding Notre Dame.

Love Locks are causing damage to the bridges.  Paris is such a romantic city, surely there are other ways to show your love?  Of course, there are entrepreneurial types left and right on those bridges in Paris selling locks, so I can't imagine it will stop any time soon.  I blame Pinterest.  

The buildings here are gorgeous.  These are some during our walks around town:

We walked to the Eiffel Tower one night after dinner.

Of course, Quacker Jack was with us at the Eiffel Tower. 

We noticed there were many people were having a picnic supper in the parks around.  It was close to the top of the hour, and we thought "Is there something going on?" So, we waited to see if there was a special event. 

So, what was the special event?  At the top of every hour, sparkling lights light up the Eiffel Tower for 5 minutes.  It was such a neat surprise! 

Still can't believe we saw the Eiffel Tower every day. 

We spent some time in the religious artifacts gallery at the Louvre.  I love a good icon. 

Our last day in Paris, we took it easy and tried to avoid the tour groups and crowds.  We bought a picnic lunch and took the Batobus down the Seine River to a park and enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere.  Here are some photos of our rides on the Batobus and the beautiful Parisian scenery:

The weather was amazing during our visit.  The lighting in the afternoons is starting to look like fall and the evenings are even a little bit chilly.  

Can I just say that was the most delicious Risotto we've ever had?

J had Paella Risotto.















Mine was chorizo Risotto.

Saw this statue outside the D'Orsay Museum.  Roll Tide. 

I'm not sure how these photos got out of sequence here on the blog, but we visited Chateau de Versailles on our first full day in Paris.  To say it is impressive doesn't do it justice. 

These pictures are in Louis XIV's bed chamber:

In the Hall of Mirrors

This was J's favorite part of the visit-the painting of Louis XIV as a Roman god (small ego?).

A center courtyard

Just a couple more Hall of Mirrors self portraits:

This is looking back towards the palace from the first part of the gardens.

Takeaways from Paris:
*there is so much to see we've only scratched the surface
*the people were generally nice and friendly
*plan the days as you go, and don't squeeze so much in that you are miserable at the end of the day