The weather was nice, so we all took the Metro over to l’Arc de Triomphe, and went up to the top. The nearest Metro stop is Charles de Gaulle-Étoile, and when you see the 6 lanes of traffic to cross, you're thrilled to see the underpass to get to the Arc. The Arc was commissioned by Napoleon to commemorate his victory at Austerlitz in 1805. The tomb of the unknown soldier is under the Arc, and this is also the start of the Champs Elysées, the famous, wide avenue that has been host to many military parades over the past few centuries. The view from the top is spectacular. And it's amusing to look down at the convergence of 12 streets flowing into the traffic circle, known as La Place d'Étoile, around the Arc. We were all glad we didn't have a car in Paris!
We continued walking down the street, headed toward the Louvre and l'Orangerie museums. They didn't look so far on the map, but were quite a long walk from l'Arc. In fact, I just read in my guidebook that it's a 2-mile walk. Luckily, the weather was nice, and not hot. The street wasn't lined with fabulous shops the whole way, so we probably could have walked part of the way and taken the Metro part of the way.
We could have spent much more time here. The museum is a little jewel filled with beautiful paintings.
Then we were on to the Louvre.
We visited some of the highlights - Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, Venus de Milo and the Coronation of Emperor Napoleon. We saw plenty of other great works along the way too.
The Coronation of Emperor Napoleon is one of my favorites. It shows the Pope, seated and looking forlorn, while Napoleon holds his own crown aloft, ready to crown himself, while Josephine kneels at his feet. The Pope had traveled from Rome to crown the Emperor, but Napoleon was so egotistical as to think that he, himself should do the honors. From his beginnings as the common-born son of immigrants, to becoming the Emperor of France, was quite a coup.
The nice part about having a museum pass was that we could spend as little or as much time in each museum as we wished without feeling that we needed to stay for two hours to get our money's worth. We could always go back at another time over the length of the pass to re-visit something we really enjoyed, or see some of the things we missed the first time.
We headed back to the Metro, and our apartment, after that. Everyone was tired after our long day of sightseeing.
A souvenir salesman came to our table at the restaurant, selling trinkets. Marchesa bought a toy fish that lights up, plays music and races across the floor. She talked him down from 12 to 8 euros. Principessa bought some little stuff too.
We headed back to our apartment, luckily within walking distance of the restaurant. The Metro is great, but on a nice night, Paris is a great city for a walk.
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| Looking down on Place d'Etoile, where 12 streets come together in a circle around the Arc |
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| The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier below l'Arc de Triomphe |
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| Il Padrino and Marchesa in front of l'Arc de Triomphe. Notice all of the tiny people at the top. |
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| The clouds were high enough that we had a great view of the Eiffel Tower. And just like a supermodel, she's beautiful from any angle. |
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| In another direction, a great view of Sacré Coeur on Montmartre. |
We bought Paris Museum Passes at l'Arc de Triomphe, and had the choice of 2-, 4-, or 6-day passes. For most of us, the 4-day pass worked well, and saved us some money. Additionally, there was always a separate, shorter, line if you weren't buying individual tickets at each museum or site.
We decided to walk down the Champs Elysées to see some of the fabulous shops along the street. There's also a McDonald's along here, but it seems more French than normal with a bakery and espresso counter, called McCafé, which I think we have in the U.S. now too, but maybe not as fancy-looking.
We saw a Swarovski crystal shop, and thought we'd look for trinkets to take home. This wasn't actually a trinket kind of store, but fun to look around in, anyway. The one thing we all loved was the staircase with crystal-encrusted risers. So gorgeous, and a great place for a photo of the girls.
We decided to walk down the Champs Elysées to see some of the fabulous shops along the street. There's also a McDonald's along here, but it seems more French than normal with a bakery and espresso counter, called McCafé, which I think we have in the U.S. now too, but maybe not as fancy-looking.
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| This doesn't look like your average McD's |
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| The ladies are kind of blurry, but the crystals look beautiful |
Continuing down the street, we decided to stop for lunch at a place called Vesuvio. Lunch was good, but Marchesa’s omelet was cooked in the traditional French way, which means a bit underdone. Otherwise the food was tasty, and the service was attentive. No one would probably recommend eating in this very touristy area, but we enjoyed the view, and had a hearty lunch for 275 euros, in Paris, on the Champs Elysées!
We continued walking down the street, headed toward the Louvre and l'Orangerie museums. They didn't look so far on the map, but were quite a long walk from l'Arc. In fact, I just read in my guidebook that it's a 2-mile walk. Luckily, the weather was nice, and not hot. The street wasn't lined with fabulous shops the whole way, so we probably could have walked part of the way and taken the Metro part of the way.
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| Sunshine, crowds, the Paris ferris wheel, and designer hats in the Tuileries garden, near l'Orangerie |
Our first stop was l’Orangerie, a small museum with a great collection of Impressionist paintings. The highlights there are the circular Monets, featuring paintings of water lilies. Click on the link here, to see more info about the museum and the Monets https://www.musee-orangerie.fr/en/article/claude-monets-water-lilies
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| A part of one panel of the circular Monet paintings |
We could have spent much more time here. The museum is a little jewel filled with beautiful paintings.
Then we were on to the Louvre.
 |
| Principessa, Giovanni and Il Padrino in front of the signature glass pyramid at the Louvre. |
We visited some of the highlights - Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, Venus de Milo and the Coronation of Emperor Napoleon. We saw plenty of other great works along the way too.
 |
| What visit to the Louvre would be complete without seeing the Mona Lisa! |
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| The Coronation of Emperor Napoleon |
The Coronation of Emperor Napoleon is one of my favorites. It shows the Pope, seated and looking forlorn, while Napoleon holds his own crown aloft, ready to crown himself, while Josephine kneels at his feet. The Pope had traveled from Rome to crown the Emperor, but Napoleon was so egotistical as to think that he, himself should do the honors. From his beginnings as the common-born son of immigrants, to becoming the Emperor of France, was quite a coup.
The nice part about having a museum pass was that we could spend as little or as much time in each museum as we wished without feeling that we needed to stay for two hours to get our money's worth. We could always go back at another time over the length of the pass to re-visit something we really enjoyed, or see some of the things we missed the first time.
We headed back to the Metro, and our apartment, after that. Everyone was tired after our long day of sightseeing.
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| There's some pretty amazing artwork outside of the museums too, even in the subway tunnels! |
Our landlord had sent the cleaning lady over with a coffeepot, thank goodness, and he also responded to my request for restaurant recommendations in the area. He directed us to Rue Montorgueil, where he said we'd find lots of restaurant options. We headed to that area, maybe 5 blocks away, and stopped at Les Têtes Brûlée (which translates as Burnt Heads!) for dinner. We hadn't actually gotten to Rue Montorgueil when we stopped. We had a good dinner, and the bill was much more reasonable than our lunch on the Champs Elysées. We only spent 216 euros for our dinner. We were drinking carafes of house wine, which helped.
A souvenir salesman came to our table at the restaurant, selling trinkets. Marchesa bought a toy fish that lights up, plays music and races across the floor. She talked him down from 12 to 8 euros. Principessa bought some little stuff too.
We headed back to our apartment, luckily within walking distance of the restaurant. The Metro is great, but on a nice night, Paris is a great city for a walk.
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