Sorry for the BIG delay... Our winter holiday just started and we vowed to get all caught up on our blog. So, we'll start with the second half of our Paris trip from the end of October. 
Our first day back from Mt. St. Michel (and our first full day in Paris) we decided to hit a couple of museums. First stop, Musee d'Orsay. This museum is in a beautiful building that used to be an old train station.
It has beautiful sculptures. Here's Hannah being crowned by some ancient Greek goddess.
And Cisco spending a little time with his own Greek goddess.
One of the things we saw at Orsay and several other museums, were artists making replicas of different paintings. Some were better than others, and some you could(n't) photograph. We were trying to figure out if they were hired by the museum to do this, or if they were just working on their own. Anyone know the answer to that?
Here's one last view of Musee d'Orsay.
As we walked the streets of Paris, we saw beautiful buildings everywhere we turned.
Our next stop was Hotel des Invalides, which houses the Musee de l'Armee and Napoleon's tomb.
Our favorite part of the Army Museum was the armory. We were particularly intrigued by the armor built for the short, fat men of the time :)
We also liked these ones...they remind us of something from Star Wars. The extra pad on their left side was helpful in jousting.
Here is Napoleon's tomb. It is gigantic (3 caskets nested together)! To us he may have seemed a brutal war-monger, but he is a national hero in France.
Here's the beautiful domed ceiling directly above Napoleon's tomb...
and his famous coat and hat. It was funny to see the actual size of these items. They would have fit me when I was in about 7th grade.
Here's a view of Invalides from a small park across the street. This is the same dome you just saw the inside of.
Our next stop was the Musee Rodin. Most of the sculptures were located outside in a beautiful garden. This is Rodin's most famous sculpture, The Thinker. It really was beautiful, and the attention to detail was unbelievable.
Rodin was a very talented sculptor...don't you think? I sure appreciated his work :)
Here's a view of the grounds of the Musee Rodin. The building also held hundreds of his smaller sculptures.
One last view from the garden. You can see Invalides on the left, The Thinker in the middle, and the Eiffel Tower on the right in the distance.
Three museums was all we could handle for one day, but the next morning we headed out early to get to the Louvre right when it opened. We came across this cool sculpture on our walk to the Louvre.
Like I said, everywhere we turned there was some beautiful building to look at!
Here we are on arrival at the Louvre. The courtyard was pretty empty and it was incredible to stand between the fountains, admiring the beautiful architecture of the Louvre.
By the time we came out of the museum, the courtyard was packed. So it was really nice to enjoy the peaceful environment in the morning.
When we got into the museum we went straight to the "Big Dog," La Giocanda. We figured it was best to approach it like Disneyland or Sea World...go see the biggies first before the lines get too long :) So there she is...the Mona Lisa...maybe the most well known painting of all time and certainly the most famous we have seen. Apparently, da Vinci was never quite finished, but she is still responsible for being a foundational piece for the Louvre and the object of quite a number of acts of vandalism.
The Louvre was huge...and very impressive. One of the things that surprised us most is that you could take pictures of whatever you wanted. Many times, the venue or hall the art was displayed in outshined the art itself.
This was our next main attraction to get to... the Venus de Milo (Aphrodite). She is beautiful...arms or no arms...and check out those abs. She was pretty fit for an ancient Greek.
Just one of many spectacular rooms in the Louvre.
We really liked the Ancient Civilizations section of the museum as well. Cisco was particularly impressed by the Assyrian gate guards.
And I loved seeing Hammurabi's Code of Laws. I used to teach it to my 6th graders, so it was extra special to see it in person. Hammurabi's Code was from ancient Mesopotamia and contained close to 300 laws...most of which if broken were punished with death.
The Louvre also contained furniture from Napoleon's apartment. Here's what his dining room once looked like.
After spending a number of hours at the Louvre, we headed home for a rest and in the evening headed to the Arc de Triomphe. The structure itself was beautiful...covered in sculptures representing different battles throughout French history.
But even more spectacular were the views from the top of the tower. About 10 minutes after we reached the top, the Eiffel Tower started to sparkle with a light show. Click to enlarge to get a better view. It really was beautiful.
Another cool structure in Paris is the large square building you see at the end of the main road here. It's called the Grande Arche, and sits in the western business section of Paris called Le Defense.
When the sparkling light show ended, the Eiffel Tower went back to it's normal night time lighting...and it was still beautiful. Again, click to enlarge.
The next morning we headed to Notre Dame. It was, to my surprise, not as big as I was thinking. And certainly not as big as some other cathedrals we've seen in recent years. And we looked for the hunchback swinging about the bell towers, but couldn't find him.
Here are the famous "Eyes of Notre Dame," the many saints that watch over the cathedral. Again, not as big as I was expecting. I think Disney has skewed me.
Inside the cathedral there were many beautiful stained glass windows. It's always difficult to really capture the beauty of stained glass on film, but we gave it a try anyway.
And here's the famous rose window.
A view of the flying buttresses from the back of the cathedral on our way out.
It is a beautiful building...and you can imagine what it must have been like when it was built in the 1100's towering amidst the small shops and homes.
Our next stop was a walk through the Holocaust Memorial. It's a memorial to the 76,000 Jews who were deported from France to Nazi death camps. In this hallway, each light is a crystal symbolizing all of those who never came back.
And this outside is meant to represent the feeling of being in captivity. Even though it was a small memorial, it was very powerfully done.
Later in the day we made it to the Centre Pompidou, the Paris museum of modern art. Though I was pretty museumed-out by then, we did make our way through sections, and made sure to go up the escalators that go along the outside of the building (pictured).
The views from the escalators were stunning, despite the gray weather.
But some of the art was...how do I say...lacking something. What would you pay for 3 pieces of white canvas? Keep in mind...it's art :)
The next day we headed to Sacre Coeur. It's a beautiful church on a hillside overlooking Paris.
The most exciting part of the morning was seeing a big police bust of the vendors selling fake bags and tourist trinkits. There must have been nearly 20 undercover police officers (here are a few) that busted about 10 vendors and confiscated all of their products.
The neighborhood around Sacre Coeur made for a great walkabout. We stopped for a crepe, and I had a little sparrow land on my hand when I offered a piece :)
We also came across the Moulin Rouge. Again, I was a little skewed by Hollywood version I expected, but nonetheless, there it is!
We also walked down Champs Elysees, the most prestigious shopping avenue in Paris. At the end of Champs Elysees you can see a nice shot of the Arc de Triomphe.
We continued to wander through Paris and came across a lovely park...
and saw another of the 29 known ancient Egyptian obelisks. We've seen a few of them in our travels and it's always fun to add another one to the list. Maybe someday we'll have seen them all!
Another cool stop was at the Palace of Justice and Sainte Chapelle.
The chapel of Sainte Chapelle was small, but grandiose. The chapel was originally built to house precious relics including the crown of thorns Jesus wore on the cross. It no longer houses the relics, but has been restored over the years so that it still looks as it did when it was originally built.
Though the buildings have changed, justice of the state has taken place at this site since medieval times. Including the imprisonment and execution of Marie Antoinette.
Well...last but not least...when in Paris, you must visit the Eiffel Tower. It is MUCH bigger than I was expecting. It's a very intricate structure. We didn't go up...because (call us crazy) we just weren't willing to wait in line for 3-4 hours with the rest of the tourists. Plus, we figured the city view of Paris should include the Eiffel Tower...and if you're in the tower, it's not included in your view :)
Just next to the tower is a large European Union exhibit. Here I am, standing in Prague :)
Another great trip in a new location. We really had a wonderful time and saw about everything we could in 8 days.
Our first day back from Mt. St. Michel (and our first full day in Paris) we decided to hit a couple of museums. First stop, Musee d'Orsay. This museum is in a beautiful building that used to be an old train station.
It has beautiful sculptures. Here's Hannah being crowned by some ancient Greek goddess.
And Cisco spending a little time with his own Greek goddess.
One of the things we saw at Orsay and several other museums, were artists making replicas of different paintings. Some were better than others, and some you could(n't) photograph. We were trying to figure out if they were hired by the museum to do this, or if they were just working on their own. Anyone know the answer to that?
Here's one last view of Musee d'Orsay.
As we walked the streets of Paris, we saw beautiful buildings everywhere we turned.
Our next stop was Hotel des Invalides, which houses the Musee de l'Armee and Napoleon's tomb.
Our favorite part of the Army Museum was the armory. We were particularly intrigued by the armor built for the short, fat men of the time :)
We also liked these ones...they remind us of something from Star Wars. The extra pad on their left side was helpful in jousting.
Here is Napoleon's tomb. It is gigantic (3 caskets nested together)! To us he may have seemed a brutal war-monger, but he is a national hero in France.
Here's the beautiful domed ceiling directly above Napoleon's tomb...
and his famous coat and hat. It was funny to see the actual size of these items. They would have fit me when I was in about 7th grade.
Here's a view of Invalides from a small park across the street. This is the same dome you just saw the inside of.
Our next stop was the Musee Rodin. Most of the sculptures were located outside in a beautiful garden. This is Rodin's most famous sculpture, The Thinker. It really was beautiful, and the attention to detail was unbelievable.
Rodin was a very talented sculptor...don't you think? I sure appreciated his work :)
Here's a view of the grounds of the Musee Rodin. The building also held hundreds of his smaller sculptures.
One last view from the garden. You can see Invalides on the left, The Thinker in the middle, and the Eiffel Tower on the right in the distance.
Three museums was all we could handle for one day, but the next morning we headed out early to get to the Louvre right when it opened. We came across this cool sculpture on our walk to the Louvre.
Like I said, everywhere we turned there was some beautiful building to look at!
Here we are on arrival at the Louvre. The courtyard was pretty empty and it was incredible to stand between the fountains, admiring the beautiful architecture of the Louvre.
By the time we came out of the museum, the courtyard was packed. So it was really nice to enjoy the peaceful environment in the morning.
When we got into the museum we went straight to the "Big Dog," La Giocanda. We figured it was best to approach it like Disneyland or Sea World...go see the biggies first before the lines get too long :) So there she is...the Mona Lisa...maybe the most well known painting of all time and certainly the most famous we have seen. Apparently, da Vinci was never quite finished, but she is still responsible for being a foundational piece for the Louvre and the object of quite a number of acts of vandalism.
The Louvre was huge...and very impressive. One of the things that surprised us most is that you could take pictures of whatever you wanted. Many times, the venue or hall the art was displayed in outshined the art itself.
This was our next main attraction to get to... the Venus de Milo (Aphrodite). She is beautiful...arms or no arms...and check out those abs. She was pretty fit for an ancient Greek.
Just one of many spectacular rooms in the Louvre.
We really liked the Ancient Civilizations section of the museum as well. Cisco was particularly impressed by the Assyrian gate guards.
And I loved seeing Hammurabi's Code of Laws. I used to teach it to my 6th graders, so it was extra special to see it in person. Hammurabi's Code was from ancient Mesopotamia and contained close to 300 laws...most of which if broken were punished with death.
The Louvre also contained furniture from Napoleon's apartment. Here's what his dining room once looked like.
After spending a number of hours at the Louvre, we headed home for a rest and in the evening headed to the Arc de Triomphe. The structure itself was beautiful...covered in sculptures representing different battles throughout French history.
But even more spectacular were the views from the top of the tower. About 10 minutes after we reached the top, the Eiffel Tower started to sparkle with a light show. Click to enlarge to get a better view. It really was beautiful.
Another cool structure in Paris is the large square building you see at the end of the main road here. It's called the Grande Arche, and sits in the western business section of Paris called Le Defense.
When the sparkling light show ended, the Eiffel Tower went back to it's normal night time lighting...and it was still beautiful. Again, click to enlarge.
The next morning we headed to Notre Dame. It was, to my surprise, not as big as I was thinking. And certainly not as big as some other cathedrals we've seen in recent years. And we looked for the hunchback swinging about the bell towers, but couldn't find him.
Here are the famous "Eyes of Notre Dame," the many saints that watch over the cathedral. Again, not as big as I was expecting. I think Disney has skewed me.
Inside the cathedral there were many beautiful stained glass windows. It's always difficult to really capture the beauty of stained glass on film, but we gave it a try anyway.
And here's the famous rose window.
A view of the flying buttresses from the back of the cathedral on our way out.
It is a beautiful building...and you can imagine what it must have been like when it was built in the 1100's towering amidst the small shops and homes.
Our next stop was a walk through the Holocaust Memorial. It's a memorial to the 76,000 Jews who were deported from France to Nazi death camps. In this hallway, each light is a crystal symbolizing all of those who never came back.
And this outside is meant to represent the feeling of being in captivity. Even though it was a small memorial, it was very powerfully done.
Later in the day we made it to the Centre Pompidou, the Paris museum of modern art. Though I was pretty museumed-out by then, we did make our way through sections, and made sure to go up the escalators that go along the outside of the building (pictured).
The views from the escalators were stunning, despite the gray weather.
But some of the art was...how do I say...lacking something. What would you pay for 3 pieces of white canvas? Keep in mind...it's art :)
The next day we headed to Sacre Coeur. It's a beautiful church on a hillside overlooking Paris.
The most exciting part of the morning was seeing a big police bust of the vendors selling fake bags and tourist trinkits. There must have been nearly 20 undercover police officers (here are a few) that busted about 10 vendors and confiscated all of their products.
The neighborhood around Sacre Coeur made for a great walkabout. We stopped for a crepe, and I had a little sparrow land on my hand when I offered a piece :)
We also came across the Moulin Rouge. Again, I was a little skewed by Hollywood version I expected, but nonetheless, there it is!
We also walked down Champs Elysees, the most prestigious shopping avenue in Paris. At the end of Champs Elysees you can see a nice shot of the Arc de Triomphe.
We continued to wander through Paris and came across a lovely park...
and saw another of the 29 known ancient Egyptian obelisks. We've seen a few of them in our travels and it's always fun to add another one to the list. Maybe someday we'll have seen them all!
Another cool stop was at the Palace of Justice and Sainte Chapelle.
The chapel of Sainte Chapelle was small, but grandiose. The chapel was originally built to house precious relics including the crown of thorns Jesus wore on the cross. It no longer houses the relics, but has been restored over the years so that it still looks as it did when it was originally built.
Though the buildings have changed, justice of the state has taken place at this site since medieval times. Including the imprisonment and execution of Marie Antoinette.
Well...last but not least...when in Paris, you must visit the Eiffel Tower. It is MUCH bigger than I was expecting. It's a very intricate structure. We didn't go up...because (call us crazy) we just weren't willing to wait in line for 3-4 hours with the rest of the tourists. Plus, we figured the city view of Paris should include the Eiffel Tower...and if you're in the tower, it's not included in your view :)
Just next to the tower is a large European Union exhibit. Here I am, standing in Prague :)
Another great trip in a new location. We really had a wonderful time and saw about everything we could in 8 days.
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