We dropped our kids off on Thursday night and stayed overnight at their house, then took the TGV from their house in Metz, France to Paris. The TGV is quite the experience, it starts out just like a normal train but before you know it you're going 320 km/hr or 200mph/hr.
So going that fast, within an hour and twenty minutes you're in Paris ready to see the sites. Thanks to busy season I had accumulated some hotel points so we were able to stay right in downtown Paris just a few minutes away from everything. We got settled in at the hotel, went and grabbed some lunch, and then headed over to check out the Louvre.
We absolutely loved the Louvre. It was HUGE... We totally put our pride aside and decided to rent the audio walking tour which was really nice because it had personal GPS to help guide you through the museum, and we honestly needed it. We looked like tourists, but eh, whatever.
There she is, the most popular painting in the Lourve - Mrs. Mona Lisa. It was very interesting to hear all the facts about the painting from the audio guide. It took DaVinci quite a few years to actually finish the painting, and the most interesting thing we learned was that it is actually painted on a wood board, not canvas or anything like that. Back in the 50's someone threw a rock at her, and then she was stolen and missing for a few years, so now she's behind bulletproof glass and you really can't get close to her. But even 10 feet away it was really amazing to see it in person. We both agreed that she was prettier in person that any of the pictures or copies of her that we've seen.
After visiting the Mona Lisa, we went and saw the Venus De Milo. We had both seen the statue before in books, but never really appreciated all the interesting facts about it. First, it is estimated that she was sculpted between 100 and 130 BC and also she's an original sculpture. We were surprised to learn that a lot of the sculptures in the Louvre are reproductions of sculptures that have been lost or destroyed. And even most of the originals have had missing "body parts" recreated and added back on. Not this lady though- her age alone makes her impressive. It was very amazing to just look at it and see all the different chisel marks and effort that went into making the sculpture. It really made us appreciate how special of a piece it is.
After visiting our friend Venus we went over and visited the other old and famous statue of the Greek Goddess of victory, Nike. She was a gift after a large naval battle. We'd both seen the pictures of her before, but to see it in person was really cool because the whole sculpture is actually three separate pieces of stone and it is incredibly huge. The tour kept discussing how difficult of a task it must have been to have everything end up in perfect balance given the weight of her wings and the large size of the whole statue and base. It was really a neat thing to see.
After Nike we just walked around a little bit more and looked at some other painting and sculptures. There was soo much to look at that there was no way we could have done it in one day. We stopped and looked at the two biggest paintings in the collection and man they were huge! Quite incredible the level of detail involved in making such a large work of art.
The Wedding Party
The Coronation of Napoleon. This painting has a lot of family baggage in it. In the end it really isn't a true representation of the actual event, but more so a very rosy picture of how Napoleon would have wanted the event to look like. Basically it was photoshopped but 19th century style.
After taking in about 5% of what the Louvre had to offer we went back to the hotel to get ready for our soirée. We bought tickets on Bateaux Mouches for a dinner cruise on the Seine river. It was an experience that we won't soon forget. The food was great, the views were beautiful, and to have a really nice meal without having to force feed an 18 month-old was priceless.
After the cruise we called it a night and headed off to bed. We had quite the day and we were looking forward to a full night's rest.
Day 2
After not rising at the crack of dawn -like little kids love to do- we had a delicious breakfast at our hotel and headed out to visit the Paris Christmas Market. In Europe there are generally Christmas Markets in the majority of all large cities. The markets are set up with lots of little booths and various vendors come and sell food, gifts, Christmas stuff, etc... The Paris Christmas Market was set up all along the Champs-Élysées and it went on forever. A lot of the stuff being sold was definitely made in China, but there was some local artisans and craft makers setup throughout the market.
We bought a few things and headed back to the hotel for a short nap (something that we don't get very often at home). After the nap we went back out and went back to the market for dinner. There were various food vendors and we really were craving some good Thai food. We were not let down and we really enjoyed having authentic curry and pad thai.
We both have begun to really take notice of how American food and culture is perceived in Europe. If you had to think of how to describe America how would you do it?
Well in Europe (at least everywhere we've been) they think all we eat is hamburgers, fries, wear cowboy hats and listen to country music. At this market we laughed at the main food vendor who was showcasing American cuisine.
After dinner we had just enough time to take a walk down to the Eiffel Tower and then it was time to head back to catch our train.
By the end of the trip, we were both glad we had come, but one of us was particularly worn out! Maybe the long stroll over to the Eiffel Tower was just a little too long :)
Location:Paris, France
Thanks for sharing your wonderful trip with us. We're so excite that you are able to have these wonderful experiences.
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