So we head back to the Louvre first thing in the morning, to catch some of the pieces before the crowds. Most of these you should recognize from your high school history class.
This is what a lot of the original Louvre looks like, since it was previously the royal palace. Super ornate- the ceilings were just remarkable.
Felt like being in a Roman temple
Rick and Ceasar
Another of our favourite sculptures
Sorry to have so many pictures of marble sculptures (we have tons more)- but they are just so soft and realistic, it is amazing.
The obelisk and fountain is a big center at the other end of the Champs-Elysees. The center is called La Concorde- it is the mark for the main guillotine from the French Revolution. Where all the famous people got there heads loped off. Yippy!
La Madeline- a church that was built in the Greek/Roman style
View of the city from the steps of la Madeline
Next stop- The Grand Parisian Opera House. Cool unto itself, but I am a nerd, and was all giddy thinking of Phantom of the Opera
The grand staircase- so incredibly detailed
Just holding myself back from singing 'Masquerade'
Inside a box seat looking at the stage
The Grand Foyer- where all the ritzy people would strut inbetween acts
Classic view of a Parisian street
The Pantheon- originally a very ornate church commissioned right before the beginning of the French Revolution- bad timing. So it was taken over during the Revolution and turned into a secular center- so religious art on the walls, with statues of the revolution. We also got to go in the crypt where the great men of the France are buried- Voltaire, Hugo, Dumas, Rousseau...to name a few
Statue to the Revolution- the inscription in the middle says "Live free or die"
Quick stop at the Sorbonne- the oldest university of France
Went to La Cluney to a medieval museum- had original ruines of Roman baths and beautiful tapestries (unfortunately not able to get pictures)
The Luxemburg Palace. A palace originally built for Marie deMedici, is now the Senate. But it is surrounded by a huge beautiful garden, which is a favorite hang out place of Parisians. One small observation- they are really big on planting trees in straight rows (as seen above)- I don't know how in the world they get them sooo straight.
Sailing toy boats in the pond
Last stop of the day- the Eiffel Tower! The lines to get up are ridiculously long (took about 2 hours)- but you got to do it once, right?
View halfway up
View from the top- we took a picnic with us and enjoyed a wonderful dinner on top of Paris
1 comment:
I didn't know that the opera house in the movie was a real opera house! So cool!
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