Some of us went to the Louvre. Kathy mostly wanted to shop at the gift shop, but we wanted to hit the highlights first. Winged Victory was cool. Trying to find the Mona Lisa, we walked up and down the Italian salon several times. There weren't that many tourists at the time, so we were able to get close to it. Next we looked for Venus de Milo. Quote from Kathy: "The Louvre is big."
While the others were looking for the Mona Lisa, Cindy and Kim wandered around the Tuileries Gardens adjacent to the Louvre. We saw some perennials, but were disappointed that there were no annuals planted. We had fantastic weather and there were plenty of joggers doing their thing.
This is a view of the Arc de Triomphe (way in the distance) from Place de la Concorde.
Judy took a lot of pictures of us at the Metro stops.
This is the original hunting lodge of Louis XIII in Versailles, which was greatly expanded by his son, Louis XIV.
The Hall of Mirrors - as you can see it was way too crowded. The man in profile in the foreground was our guide Felipe. He wasn't a great guide, but we didn't intentionally forget to tip him. There was a McKonly communication breakdown with each of us assuming the other took care of it.
The fountains at Versailles were spectacular. Judy and Cindy ventured into the maze inspite of being told not to. As you can see below, even Bruce was there!
Later that evening, we dined at La Maree Verte (the green tide) near the left bank of the Seine. It was a three course prix fixe and everything was wonderful. Kathy continued her culinary adventure with an escargot appetizer and rabbit main course. The waitress who spoke little english, would say 'don't touch' with each plate she served. But that didn't stop Cindy. Ask her for the full story. Kim was seated next to the dessert station and couldn't resist ordering the floating island - meringue surrounded by creme anglaise. John needs to learn how to make this.
I kept ondering who that french woman was in all your pictures, then I remembered it was Phyllis.
ReplyDeleteMon dieu, you are having quite an adventure.
ReplyDeleteLooks like wonderful weather for sightseeing. Versailles is always fun, although it looks like lots of tourists. The media keeps reporting that there are no american tourists anywhere and that everything is a bargain. Can you verify? Please conduct a study and report on that for your american audience.
Sort of curious about the Dont Touch story, but sort of not. Not sure that can end well ...
Glad Kathy is conducting a personal survey of all consummables. This is an excellent application of scientific method. We will all be getting copies of the Final Report "Eating My Way Across Paris and Environs?, I hope.
Today is Memorial Day here Aux Etats Unis. I'm performing a uniquely american function ... drinking coffee and writing work product. Oy vey. Need a life. The Debster
Forgot one other comment:
ReplyDeleteThe Louvre is big?
I feel that way about the Catherine de Medici rooms there and all those humongous, I mean horrible, Titians, not to mention the giant naked people in them and the awful red walls ... scary.
By comparison, the venus de milo seems teeny and the Mona Lisa positively miniscule ...
That's all for now. Back to work for me.
Because it was a holiday weekend, there are more Americans in Paris than Parisians. Our tour guide today told us that this past ski season had the most tourists in the last 8 years.
ReplyDelete