AH Paris! The city of lights. There are few words to describe the city of Paris and it's wonderful culture and landmarks. There are NO words to describe the brilliance of Eiffel and his incredible Tower. To say it is magnificent or amazing are huge understatements. It is something that everyone should see someday if possible. When asked what the best thing about Paris is, I'd have to say it's a toss up between the Eiffel Tower and Monet's gardens at Giverny .
Just being in Paris was an incredible adventure. We have been there twice and both times realized that one semester of French was not enough to read all the signs. Oh well, we'd muddled through. The first time we stayed in a small hotel (aren’t they all?) in the 18th district which is near the Sacre Coeur in the district of Montmatre. This is the area where a lot of impressionist artist got their start. There are still a lot of up and coming artist painting there hoping to be discovered someday. The second time we stayed in a hotel near the Hotel de Ville in the 4th district. That time we rented a little apartment from some very nice people. They were very friendly and very helpful. They had a lot of maps and books in the apartment which were extremely helpful. The area is wonderful and very close to Notre Dame and Cite Island It was a different feeling staying there instead of a hotel. I felt like we sort of lived there. I would definitely stay there again the next time we go to Paris. Here is their web site Paris Rent
On the first trip we were tired from the long flight, but did venture out to get some dinner. I was a little disappointed because we couldn't see the Eiffel Tower from where we were. We did not get to see the tower until later the next afternoon when we were leaving the Musee d’ Orsay. We could only see the top, but it was so exciting at the time. We didn't know what was in store for us later that night.
Anyway, after a good nights sleep we made or way to the Muse d' Orsay and all of it's treasures. The building, which was an old train station that was converted into a museum, is a piece of art itself. Their collection contains works from the years 1848 (2nd Republic) to 1914 (World War II). The museum is incredible and holds a lot of impressionist art work which I love. I could have spent hours there. However we did have a tour planned to go to Giverny later that afternoon, so we walked around and looked at a few exhibits, had lunch and took a tour bus to Giverny.
Giverny at last!!!!! I am a big fan of Monet, and walking around his house and gardens was like a dream come true. It was easy to see why he was so inspired to make the wonderful pieces of art he did. I liked the lily pond and we spent a while just relaxing on one of the benches and enjoying all the sites and sounds. I know it might sound sort of strange but I tried to see the gardens through his eyes and see how he decided which flowers or bridge to paint, and where to start.
The lily ponds were incredible and it was easy to see why they inspired Monet so much. They told us that he had 4 easels set up so he could paint the pond at different times of the day. He was very interested with light and how it reflected on the pond. You can look at a lot of his painting and tell what time of the day he painted. The link above will take you to a separate page where I have some pictures of the gardens and some information about Claude Monet. I think this was one of the best parts of the trip!
Later that evening we went to the Eiffel Tower and I was completely in awe. I didn’t think anything could seem more amazing then Monet’s Gardens, but this was right up there with them. They even had little lights that blinked at the top of every hour. It was incredible. I couldn’t stop taking pictures of it. We took the elevator to the top and it took our breath away. The view, especially at night, was incredible. It wasn’t quite dark when we got up there, but when we left it was dark and you could see all the monuments lit up. It was the most incredible site to see. It is definitely something you have to do at night as well as during the day. The feeling is completely different. Anyway, later that evening we took at cruise on the River Seine. It was nice and we got to see the Statue of Liberty that they used to create the one they sent us. A little bit of trivia - both statues are pointing toward each other.
The next day we got up and headed toward the Mussee L’Orangerie which is in the same area as the Place de Concorde . This museum is where Monet’s has 8 large water lily paintings called the Nymphéas de Giverny This museum also contains works by other impressionist artist up until the year 1920. This turned out to be a bitter disappointment. The museum was being remodeled. It was suppose to have been opened at the end of the previous year, but it still wasn’t opened in May. After I pouted for quite a while, we just walked around the city and saw some of the sites. We had another tour of the city later that evening so we decided to spend a few hours at the Louve Museum.
The Louvre Museum is HUGE! That’s all I can really say about it. You could spend a whole week in just one wing of it and still not absorb everything. We spent a few hours looking at as much as we could in four hours. We did see the two biggies, the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. I like white marble and they had a lot of white marble statues. I think I took two rolls of film (yikes I am dating myseelf, but it was in 1999) in one section. Oh well, how often are you in Paris? If you get a change to go sometime, you have to spend a few minutes and walk through the Tuileries . Anyway we enjoyed our time there then took our tour.
Unfortunately that was about all the time we had in Paris that trip. We were using a time share down in the south of France, but couldn’t get that close and not see Paris. We decided that we were coming back again as soon as possible.
As it turned out we were back a year later! This time we spent a whole week in Paris. It was just as wonderful as we remembered. We got to do a lot of the things we wanted to do that we didn’t get to last year. This time we got to the Luxembourg Gardens which is a really nice place to just hang out and relax. We saw a lot of Parisians eating lunch there and talking to friends. We thought it looked like a nice thing to do, so we left and got lunch and ate in the park as well. We went up to the Arch de Defense which is really impressive. There is a wonderful view from up there.
Some of the museums that we went to were the Musee Rodin , Musee Picasso, Salvador Dali Museum , Musee de Invalides, (which is actually three museums) and the Centre Georges Pompidou Museum (also know as the modern art museum. Each of these were unique in there own way. The links above have more information on each of them. In the case of Dali, there is also a lot of information on him and his life. We tried to go back to the L’Orangerie, but it was still closed. We found out it wasn’t going to be open for another two or three years. They must have lost budgeting or something. Needless to say I was upset again. This was one of the main reasons I wanted to go back to Paris. A little later we did go see a little more of the Louvre Museum . This time we went and looked at some of the Egyptian art. They have a really nice exhibit. After we left the Louve, we walked along the River Seine for a while. It was a very pleasant and romantic evening.
The museum that was the first on my list to see was the Musée Marmottan-Monet. This museum contains the world’s largest collection of works by Claude Monet. It also contains 65 of his later works. It was absolutely incredible. I was really disappointed that I wasn’t able to take pictures. Here I was in Monet heaven so to speak and I wasn’t able to capture the moment. It was still incredible though. Something I will never forget. I still wish I had the pictures to remember. I don’t know what their problem was. Most places will let you take pictures, without a flash. Oh well. Even though I was upset, I did buy a calendar for next year. Some of the more famous works that are there are Sunrise, Cathedrale de Rouen, and several of Camille (his wife). Of course there are a lot of paintings of the water lilies at Giverny as well.
One afternoon we did go and see the Opera House that we had heard so much about. It is really an interesting piece of art. It even had the name of several famous musicians in gold on the outside. It looks like it must be beautiful inside. Not far from the Opera House is the Fragonard Parfumeur . It smells wonderful as you walk in. All the different fragrances hit you all at once. They had a little museum which told how the perfume was made and bottled. They did have some really old perfume bottles on display. After we took the self guided tour, we wandered into the store and I bought some eau de toilet cologne and some bath gel. It made me feel special. Later we went to the Liberty Torch which is right above the tunnel where Princess Diana was killed. It was sad to see it, but it helped remind us of what a special woman she was. There were even flowers on the liberty torch in honor of her. Definitely a sad part of history.
Last time we were in Paris we did get to see the Arc de Triomphe , Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur, but we didn’t get to go in or explore. We were on a tour and they didn’t stop. They just pointed them out. This time we actually walked up to the top of all three of them. Each one was between 300-400 steps. Quite a climb, but well worth it. It was raining and overcast when we went up Notre Dame and Sacre Coure, but we had an excellent view of the Champs-Elysees from the Arc de Triomphe. They were all worth the hike to the top. I think the Sacre Coure was the worst one to climb. Not because there were more stairs, but because some of the steps were tall and I am short. I was crawling up the stairs at one point. Notre Dame was great and the bell was great to see. Sorry kids, no Quazimoto. Maybe he will be there next time
We did take a couple of tours this year as well. We went back to Giverny Gardens again : - ) and to the Chateau de Versailles. I already talked about Giverny earlier, but Versailles was also incredible. It’s hard to believe that people actually lived there. What luxury! The place was packed though and we were pushed through like a heard of animals. I guess my best suggestion would be to go as early as possible. We were there later in the afternoon, and it was impossible to see everything. Apparently the tour guides only have 10 minutes in each room. Wow. That goes by so fast. We did enjoy the visit though, but I would like to go back and be able to get more out of it. I don’t feel like I really saw all that I wanted to see.
Another big highlight of our trip was going to the Moulin Rouge . We had a fabulous dinner and saw an incredible show called Féerie. They kept you entertained from the beginning to end. The whole show was wonderful, but the end was amazing. I didn’t want it to end. It seemed like it was over, before it even started. It was well worth the price!
Well that is pretty much it for our trip. Just like Moulin Rouge, it seemed like it was over before it started. We did do a whole lot in a week though. This time we can say we feel like we really saw Paris. The last thing we did was take one more look at the Tour Eiffel as the Parisians call it. We had some time so we walked form the Champs de Mar, under the tower, and up the Trocadero . Originally, we had planned on taking dinner and a bottle of wine and sitting out there somewhere to eat. Unfortunately on our last night there, it rained. There went our plans. Walking around and seeing the sites are one thing, sitting in the rain to ear is another. We did find a really nice restaurant to eat at right outside the Trocadero. It was a wonderful way to end our vacation. I am still sad about being home, but happy to have the memories of Paris. We both love Paris and know we will be back again some day. We still have to see L' Orangerie . : - ) Au revoir Paris. We will see you again someday!!!Back to USA Travels Home Page
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Page last updated August 2014.
