July 25th - 26th - Paris, France

We have now returned to Paris, France to visit all the sights of Paris. This is where we spent our last two days of our European trip.

The morning started out with a visit to one of France's most important Roman Catholic shrines, Sacre-Coeur. It sits on the hillside and can be seen from all over Paris. The view of Paris from there was also spectacular.

From there we drove to down town Paris. This was a busy and fun day for Paris in that it was the finish day for the “Tour De France.” There were many streets we could not drive down but the excitement was fun to see. We parked and then begun our walk around the city.

We visited the famous “Notre-Dame.” They started the building of this in 1163AD and it took two centuries to complete. There has been some great events of French history taken place there, including the coronation of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1804. Again, another spectacular Cathedral.




































From there we walked to a building completely opposite in architecture from Notre-Dame, called “Centre Pompidou.” What a contrast to these two buildings. There are pipes, ducts, struts and a tubular escalator that scale the outside of the building. Inside are six floors of multiple exhibit areas, too big to see it all in a couple of hours, but we managed to enjoy one exhibit on the 6th floor.




















From there we headed back toward the main part of Paris. As we walked across the Seine River we notice people already standing in areas to see the bikers ride in. There was still about 3 hours before the first one would arrive but we could feel the excitement growing.














As we headed for the Eiffel Tower, we went passed the building that housed the tomb of Napoleon. It is still guarded, even though you can go in and walk around.


Can you tell which one is Napoleon?






Around the outside the grounds were beautifully landscaped.











You can also see the remains of a moat all around the building and grounds. (Tawni, here is what an unused moat looks like).










We finally reached the Eiffel Tower. We hoped to go up on top by the time the racers would come in so we could see them ride around the Arc de Triomphe but the line was really long that we had to waited in. We did make it up on top and we took pictures down at the Arc but we figured the winners had already arrived. It was still great to go to the top.




The Second day in Paris we went to the “Musee du Louvre”, which contains one of the world's most important art collections. It was first built as a fortress in 1190 and thereafter, four centuries of kings and emperors improved and enlarge the palace. It was first opened as a museum in 1793 and major renovations have been completed since then.












We spent the majority of the day there and still only saw a portion of it all. The famous “Mona Lisa” (c.1504) by Leonardo da Vinci was a must to see. Todd taught us how to run from place to place to see all the highlights, and that is just what we did.

What a day of culture we enjoyed and still had a little fun.



From there we drove down “Champs Elysees” to the “Arc de Triomphe” and drove around it. The Arc de Triomphe was first started a year after a great victory, the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805. Napoleon promised his men they would “go home beneath triumphal arches.” It was not completed until 1836 and now it is the customary rallying point for many victory celebrations and parades (including the Tour de France).

Back to our nice hotel to relax and prepare for our flight home tomorrow morning. I have really, really enjoyed our European trip and hope you all have enjoyed it with me. Love to you all. Over and Out!