Category Archives: France

Europe, France

Iconic

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Charles de Gaulle étoile Paris
*Not my photo; I can’t remember where it is from.

One night we started walking the Champs-Élysées with the intention of ending up at the Arc de Triomphe. There is so much traffic on the roadways of the Charles de Gaulle étoile that there is an underground pathway to get to the Arc.

Word on the internets is that motorists are not always insured for accidents that occur on the étoile. Insurance companies might cover each parties losses regardless of who is at fault as long as each company agrees to pay for their own client. So confusing. (ps: I stole the ariel photo from the internet, and can’t remember where to give credit to the photographer.)

We had to climb stairs to the top of the Arc. Surprise Surprise! The view was pretty good, but limited with some haze in the sky. The sparkly Eiffel Tower still looks gorgeous. I could have taken a hundred photos of just the Tower. Sadly, I wasn’t able to take any good photos of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, but did get a few of the Arc itself.

Arc de Triomphe
Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower
Arc de Triomphe
Eiffel Tower
Europe, France

Paris: Musée du Louvre

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Edmé Bouchardon's Barberini Faun, Louvre Paris
Edmé Bouchardon’s Barberini Faun

The Louvre was phenomenal! It is the largest and most visited museum in the world, and after spending an entire day there, it is easy to see why. Yes, it seems odd to take photos of art, but it would have been impossible to remember everything we saw. The building itself is unbelievable. Even the elevator is interesting. But, it isn’t just the walls, or the paintings, or the sculptures–the ceilings are elaborately decorated, and even the very rooms for displaying the works are perfectly set. Loved it, would go back in a heart beat.

There were tons of people in the museum, a lot were on speedy little tours to the Nike of Samothrace, the Venus de Milo and the Mona Lisa and then off to their next touristy destination. We had a good 8 hours at least to wander around. I know whole-heartedly that I didn’t see everything the Louvre has to offer, but I did make a good dent in it, and saw exactly what I wanted to which was perfect. I found the sculpture and European art most aesthetically pleasing. The detail in some of the pieces was insane.

Nike of Samothrace
Venus de Milo
Vénus de Praxitèle
Napoléon 1er en costume du Sacre
Philopoemen
Philopoemen
Sleeve detail
Detail – Le Comte Stanislas Félix Potoki et ses deux fils
The most ironic room I found was the room with the Mona Lisa. Obviously, the Mona Lisa is one of the most famous paintings in the world. It is small, walled off by ropes, and covered with thick bullet proof glass. At the opposite end of the room is a MASSIVE painting maybe a half dozen people were looking at. Literally hundreds of people were jostling for a glimpse of the Mona Lisa. I didn’t fight with the sea of people to take a photo. (That one is Jon’s).
The Mona Lisa, Musée du Louvre Paris
Fighting for a glimpse of The Mona Lisa
La Noces de Cana, Musée du Louvre Paris
La Noces de Cana – opposite the Mona Lisa, and no on is even looking. It is the largest painting in the Louvre’s collection!
Europe, France

Versailles: I love Paris in the spring time!

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Palace of Versailles, Paris FranceOne of the best parts of our vacation was the two days we went to Versailles. We went more than once because it was so amazing. The Château de Versailles is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it is well worth the 30 minute train ride outside of Paris.

The first trip we toured through the Château and part of the grounds. It wouldn’t be possible to tour through the entire grounds even if you had a whole week. The second trip we managed to cover more of the gardens. Thanks to the interwebs, I have Versailles vu du ciel for you. Gotta love satellite imagery.

One of my favorite movies was filmed at Versailles. So before you start shuddering, I too, do not like Kirsten Dunst, but I LOVED the movie Marie Antoinette. I suppose it helps if you like the history of it all, and know some background of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.

The weather was cooperative, so we ended up with some great photos, several hundred at least. Obviously I’m not going to upload all of them; you only get a few.  If only we’d been able to see the fountains and gardens at their peak.  Even during the winter/spring the palace grounds were gorgeous, and meticulously maintained.

See for yourself,
~j

Europe, France, Italy

European Graffiti

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I started collecting photos of graffiti in Paris. There was no shortage for the rest of the trip. My preference is for the stencils–not that it takes as much effort to spray a stencil as it does to spray a huge wall of street art; I just like them better. Parisian graffiti was pretty mellow for the most part. Italian graffiti had some serious anti-Bush sentiment. See if you can tell the difference.
Europe, France, Italy

Panthéon

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The Panthéon, Paris France
The Panthéon, Paris France

The first Panthéon of the trip was in Paris. The second in Rome. Both awesome!

When we arrived, the Panthéon had just closed for the day, but the sun was shining which made for some alright exterior photos. I knew it wasn’t an option to miss out on seeing the inside, so we made a point of going back.  If you’re in Paris, check it out.  You won’t be disappointed.
The Panthéon, Paris France
The Panthéon, Paris France

The Panthéon made me feel very insignificant for several reasons. The size of the building itself is magnificent. There are incredible figures buried in the necropolis–famous authors, philosophers, and scientists. The likes of Victor Hugo, Voltaire and Marie Curie to name a few. To see their tombs was both unnerving and enchanting at the same time. And then, you have Foucault’s Pendulum which is fascinating.

Foucault's Pendulum, Paris FranceFoucault’s Pendulum shows the rotation of the Earth as the pendulum swings. I’m no physics buff, so I won’t try to explain the science behind it. You do your own research!

I’ve have a short video clip I took when we were there. You can tell it was between noon and 1:00pm simply by how the pendulum swings.

“In 1851 it was well known that the Earth rotated: observation evidence included Earth’s measured polar flattening and equatorial bulge. However, Foucault’s pendulum was the first dynamic proof of the rotation in an easy-to-see experiment, and it created a sensation in the academic world and society at large.” (Thanks Wikipedia!)
England, Europe, France, Italy, United Kingdom

The order of things…

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First, I’m sure you all suspect that I’ve lost all hand function in a tragic typing accident, not true. I’m just overwhelmed at where to start with the whole travel recap. It would have been much easier to have kept an accurate journal, or have used the internet each day. Moola doesn’t grow on trees and internet access was 2£ for 15 minutes in places.

I’ve given up trying to repost the stories that come to mind, in the order that the countries were traveled. My mind isn’t that organized.   So now you get a random hodgepodge of travels. LUCKY!

Here’s the travel route, you put your own sequence together!

Vancouver, London, Paris, Milan, Venice, Orvieto, Civita di Bagnoregio, Rome, Vatican City, Pompeii, Naples, Rome, Frankfurt, Toronto, Vancouver.

England, Europe, France, United Kingdom

Tube & Metro Scams

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Who knew it was easy to figure out the Tube or even the Metro?!? (It was easier than this fricken keyboard!)

Every book has about a trillion beware of pickpocket warnings; nothing can prepare a person for the amount of scams on the metro. In London there were warnings, but everything seemed kosher. The police/bobby presence was pretty crazy. At most stations there were sniffer dogs and officers or transit police–not to mention closed circuit cameras everywhere.

Paris is a whole other ball game! First day some dudes tried to offer an “African tradition” by which they occupy both of your hands in some ridiculous friendship bracelet making crap with coloured thread. All the while one of the other ones pats you down and takes your shit. Obviously we did not fall for it. Then there are the pathetic looking gypsy girls who approach with a “do you speak eenglish?” and then they hand you a printed card with a sob story on it asking for money. These chicks are EVERYWHERE!

And you also have the metro beggars who put printed cards on the empty seats asking for money because they are out of work and raising a family etc etc. Then you have your run of the mill pick pockets. I busted one who was trying to get into a woman’s purse. He was none too impressed. True story.

The Paris metro is the dirtiest grossest transit system ever. Read on my friends…
Europe, France

Bonjour!

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I have a ton more to update for London, but this computer is not the usual qwerty keyboard. It is the azerty keyboard and it is making me angry trying to hunt and peck for the keys.

Anyway, we have made it to Paris! The Chunnell ride was uneventful and much less exciting than we thought, but cool none the less. Navigating the city has been pretty smooth. We have seen TONS of stuff and taken over 1500 photos. Jon is outpacing me 2 to 1 for photos.

Tomorrow morning we leave for Milan on the way to Venice. I’m really looking forward to the 13 hour train ride just so I can relax for a while. We are averaging about 400 stairs a day. Pretty sure 1/2 of the people who visit Paris need knee surgery when they get home!

Happy Travels
~j
Europe, France, Update

Il dort dans les choux-fleurs

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When we were looking for accommodation in France, one of the places that made the short list was in Montmarte near the actual café that was in the movie Amélie. If you know me, you know that I LOVE that movie! Eventually, we decided not to stay in Montmarte after all, and choose a location closer to the sites that we’re going to see. After reading a ton of reviews, and looking for location and price, we ended up booking a hotel that has a few sketchy reviews about the area it is located in.  Let’s hope it doesn’t turn into a nightmare.

Tomorrow, I’m going to re-read the travel books and make a list of places that are a must see, places that are a hopefully see, and places to fill the time if we have any left over. I’m sure between the Eiffel Tower and Versailles we won’t have much spare time. After re-reading the travel books, will be movies–Amélie for sure, and Marie Antoinette. Even though Kirsten Dunst is moderately annoying, I’d like to see more of Versailles.