Paris - Part 4

Shakespeare and Company Bookstore

After five hours of walking, viewing the beautiful artwork, dealing with the crowd and enjoying the experience of being surrounded by the history of the Louvre, we left, for our next stop of the day. 

A visit to Paris must include a trip to this world famous bookstore. It's facade and interior has been seen in many movies. It is renowned for being the best English language bookstore in Paris. Deanna and I took our time, taking in the smell of the place, the laid-back feel of it and the history of it. This place reminded me of the Berkeley vibe, of my youth.

Saw this store
along the way 

 The staff was helpful.  During our conversation with a staff person, he pointed out a few books by Thich Nhat Hanh. The book that immediately caught my eye, SILENCE, The Power of Quiet in a World Full of Noise. Since I'd recently had a conversation with Deanna about her dislike of quiet. I suggested we both get a copy, read it and discuss our thoughts and learnings. She agreed. 

Photos of the bookstore interior, are not allowed. 

The Eiffel Tower 

With our book purchases tucked away, we

decided to grab a bite to eat. We looked at the menu for a number of places, but settled on a little place near Notre Dame. This restaurant,  had fixed price three course meals and mussels were an option. Remembering the delicious mussels we had in Nice, we were in.

Here are some images of what we saw in the area:

Bike rental 

The restaurant was cozy and the wait staff were great. While waiting for our food, an Australian family came in and couldn't find an available table, to seat their family of five. We moved over a table and they were then able to get the necessary seating, by pushing a few tables together. 

We struck up a conversation with the Australians and discovered the parents and three children were on holiday in Paris, but would be leaving the next day, for the U.S.. They planned to travel from the East to the West Coast, seeing sights along the way. Disneyland, in Anaheim, would be their final stop.

Conversation came to a halt, when our entre arrived. Unfortunately, the mussels didn't live up to our expectations. They weren't as fresh or as flavorful as the ones in Nice. However, generally speaking, the meal was good and worth the 10 euros. 

We said goodbye to the Australians and set out for the day's final destination. Our goal was to reach the Tower, before dark. We wanted to be there when the lights first come on. To get there, would require riding two Metro trains and a bit of walking. 

On the way to the Metro, we saw this square:

Saint-Michel Square

More about Saint-Michel Square: https://travel.sygic.com/en/poi/saint-michel-square-poi:21543

Made our Metro transfers and started the walk toward the Tower. Dusk was upon us. As we approached, we could see a few lights appearing, on the Tower. Just as we reached the Tower, the entire structure lit up with flashing lights, from the base, to the tip top. It was absolutely beautiful! There were hundreds of people in the area and all eyes were on the Eiffel Tower. 

After a while, the lights stopped flashing and the Tower was bathed in gold light. We stood in awe. We were standing and looking up at a structure we'd read about in books and seen in pictures and movies, but we were actually standing in front of it. What a blessing, to have this experience. 

Here is what we saw:

History of the Eiffel Tower: 
https://www.pariscityvision.com/en/paris/landmarks/eiffel-tower/history

Here are a couple of additional pics:

The Seine River
dock area

Then, our sightseeing for this day, was done. We made our way back to the hotel. Deanna packed and prepared for tomorrow's trip home.

Next stop, Notre Dame.

Paris - Part 3

The Louvre - The Museum 

Our entry time to the museum was approaching. Since we purchased our tickets in advance, the ticket instructions were to go the the pyramid and get in the appropriate entry line. Find additional information about The Louvre here: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Louvre-Museum

Here's a note of caution. If you order your tickets online and plan to being up the ticket on your phone, bring it up before you get in line. The internet service sucks, outside of the museum. It took us some time to get a good enough connection, to open the app and get our tickets. 

We made it into the museum area. The next step was, get a map an decide on a starting point. Then, we had to decide if we wanted to get the audio guide. 

We got the audio guide. It also has a navigation aspect to it. 

Here is another caution. The headphones provided, end up making your ears and head very warm. Many people stop using them and plug their own earbuds into the audio device. I did this and it was a much more pleasant audio experience. 

Also, the navigation on the device, was not very good. We found it to be pretty unhelpful. However, once we were at a particular piece of art, the audio was very informative and educational. 

I've heard, it can take four days to see everything in the museum. This was to be our only day. Here are some of the highlights:

The Sphinx 

Venus de Milo

Hanging out w/Venus

 

Mona Lisa

                         

Galerie d’Apollon ceiling

Before you visit The Louvre 

Here are a few additional things to know, before you visit. 

1. Wear extremely comfortable shoes. There will be a lot of walking. 

2. Eat before you go. On premise food is available, but pricey.

3. It can be extremely crowded. Try visiting at night.

4. There are many stairs to climb. There are elevators, but we usually found them to be crowded with wheelchairs, with no room for additional passengers.

5. Bring your own headphones, for the audio guide device. 

6. Bring cash, to pay for possible visits to the toilette. 

7. The Mona Lisa painting is smaller than you'd expect. 

8. If you plan on visiting more than one day or want to visit other museums, buy a Museum Pass-If you plan on going to at least 2 museums a day, than a pass is a no-brainer and you cut through the lines. 

Passes are good at over 60 museums & monuments in Paris & surrounding areas.

2 day Pass- 42 euros 
4 Day Pass-56 euros 
6 day Pass-69 euros 

Available at most museums.  Also available at the Tourist Information desk at the airport. 

Next stop, The Eiffel Tower, at night.

Paris - Part 2

The Louvre - Tuileries Garden 

We arrived at the Louvre nearly two hours before our ticketed entrance time. The Metro takes you to a station connected to a Louvre entrance.  We used the additional time to browse the shops and take a convenience break. There was a 1.50 euro fee, to use the toilette.

Though the morning had been a bit chilly, when we emerged from the museum, the sun was shining and we were greeted by a beautiful day. 

We found ourselves at the Place du Carrousel. The Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, stood beside us and hundreds of people milled about. More info: 
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arc_de_Triomphe_du_Carrousel

The sculptures atop the arc
"Quadrige of Peace"

  
            

A short walk took us to the Tuileries Garden.  More info about the garden is here:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuileries_Garden

Here are some of the lovely garden sights:

 

 

Nymphe

Cain
After killing his brother 

Cincinnatus 
w/a
perched bird on his head

 

A replica of the Louis XIV statue
at Versailles 

Of course, I can't forget the Pyramid:

Next stop, inside The Louvre. 

Paris - Part 1

Sunday - 9/23 - Cont'd

We tried going out for a bit, but it was really cold, wet and windy. Also, because it was Sunday, many places were closed. We walked around for a while, but got wet and chilled. Finally, we found an open boulangerie, grabbed a couple of sandwiches and headed back to the room. 

Later, the rain stopped, but it was still windy and cold. We used this downtime, to do laundry. Then, we were in for the night.

Monday - 9/24

Our plan for the day, go to a countryside-looking neighborhood (Rue de Mouzaïa), The Louvre and the Eiffel Tower, in the evening. 

We found the Paris train (Metro) system to be very easy to navigate. We used it extensively, during our stay. First stop, Rue de Mouzaïa. 

Once we got off the train, the signage led us to the exit. We hit the first two flights of stairs leading up to the street. Then, the next two flights. Then, the next two flights. Followed by another two flights. Our thighs and calves were aching. 

This is how each double
flight looked

After eight upward leading flights, we got to a landing and saw this, on the left:

We looked at each other and start laughing. Neither of us saw an elevator, when exiting the train. 

We saw this, on the right: 

By the time we looked back toward the elevator, the doors were closed and both elevators were headed to other floors. So, up the stairs we went. We reached the street and after taking a breather, headed to the neighborhood.

The houses in this part of Paris are lovely. There were a number of them with construction signs. Renovations were apparent, on nearly every block. The narrow streets, between rows of houses, with fences and gates, laden with vines and foliage, were striking. Here is some of what we saw:

 

 

 
Here is more info about this area: 
https://en.parisinfo.com/transport/73231/Quartier-de-la-Mouzaia

Next stop, The Tuileries Garden.