Weekend in Paris

With only 4 more months left in our time here in Germany, I realize there are things I haven't done - lots of things I haven't done, but time to do only a few more. Though we've been to Paris, we haven't visited the Louvre. So I booked Emily and I on a weekend trip. We boarded a tour bus at 6 am Saturday and headed slightly southwest across the border.

As we arrived, the tour took us on a loop around the city to see the main sites. First stop, the Trocadero for a view of the Eifel Tower. Among the tourists and trinket-hawkers was a large protest demanding a stop to the violence against the people of Libya. That same day, across town at the Presidential palace, a long line of black sedans were depositing coalition representatives and Libyan opposition leaders (rebels) to discuss military intervention.

Next stop - the Arc de Triomphe with it's beautiful and intense detail work.

Traffic was being re-directed all around the meetings. Look to the very center of this photos, though. It's a giant soap bubble floating peacefully through.

Saturday evening Emily and I went for dinner (a French, Troil family favorite - a croque madame), then a walk around the courtyards of the Louvre.

Then we took a boat tour along the Seine. Paris really is the City of Lights.

On Sunday morning we got to Notre Dame before the crowds, in time for the 9am service.

The priest at the bottom center gives you an idea of the scale of the building.

This is a bridge behind Notre Dame where couples leave love locks.

You place your lock, then throw the keys into the Seine.

Next stop, the Louvre. You can't possibly see it all in one day, as it goes for miles. But here are a few highlights. Above is "Winged Victory" by Samothroce.

If you're only looking at the walls, you're missing out. It is a palace, complete with splendor all around.

This is just a small portion of a painting, called "The Intervention of the Sabine Women" that was at least 10 by 20 feet, every inch just this intense (in fact, you might think I cropped it to delete the nude soldiers - soldiers in 17th century paintings tend to be nude, holding sword and shield - but there was a really creepy baby staring out from the bottom of the painting, and it was him who I was cropping out). In contrast, I went looking for a Vermeer called "The lacemaker," and found it to be only 6 or 7 inches tall. I almost missed it. We also saw the Mona Lisa. It is on a wall that sits in the middle of a room, behind glass and roped off, with a guard. Interestingly, it doesn't compare to a lot of the other works. But, there you go. It's the Mona Lisa!

The Venus de Milo

Emily getting the full story from an ancient Greek.

"Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss"

Who's that peeking through the fish's mouth?

There were lots of artists sketching, but I'd never actually seen anyone do this thing where they hold their thumb up. I thought that was a cartoon move.

Hamurabi's Code. What, you can't read the Akkadian language?

This was a photo for Eric whose dream house includes a plant wall. It was a building near the Eifel tower.

Since we'd been to the top of the tower before, we skipped the trip up. The weather had been cold and overcast Saturday, but was unusually warm and sunny on Sunday, so it was a perfect day for a walk by the river and people-watching before we headed back to Heidelberg.

I am so grateful to be able to have shared this trip with Emily and to share these memories with her. I love her, but I also just really enjoy her company. It was a wonderful experience. Next stop Barcelona for Spring Break. I've gots to see some Gaudi!