Anniversary in Paris- Days 1, 2, and 3

So we made it through Amsterdam and to Paris with no problems. We checked into our flat at 2, got settled and took a nap. Around 6 we woke up, and went out to see the area around us. We are just a block away from the Tuileries Gardens so we took a stroll through there, over the Seine and back to the Louvre. This all took a couple of hours and by this time we were too tired to sit in a restaurant for supper so we settled on a street vendor and got 3 different kinds of crepes. Here is our little dinner back at our flat.


We started out our first full day, and our actualy anniversary at a cemetery. Yes, that is morbid but it was actually kind of cool. It is the Pere Lachaise Cemetery and it is practically a small city. There are so many people and families buried here and in an array of tombs. This also includes some famous people including, Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, and Chopin. This picture shows how they are just stacked on top of one another.

Next was a trip to Notre Dame. It is just a grand and beautiful as imagined.

Gorgeous stained glass.


We walked up north to see the Pompidou Museum (it is an architecture thing). We did not get to go inside but might try to later in the week.

We finished off the day with the Eiffel Tower. Ben wants it to be noted that this picture is not photoshopped.

Here is the view on the river from the 2nd floor.

Looking up from the 2nd floor.

This is us from the top, unfortunately you can not see the city behind us.

This is at night at the top of the hour, when it "sparkles" for 5 minutes. We were up at the top when it did it at 8, and we made it down to the bottom just in time to see it at 9 (yes it took us an hour to get down). I have to admit that the Eiffel Tower is so much bigger and more impressive in person than I ever imagined and we both loved going up to the top (despite the freezing temperatures, massive crowds and hurricane like winds).

Today began a city wide strike so a lot of the museums were closed and the Metro system was packed (had a major claustrophobia moment this day), so we did a self guided walking tour of Montmarte, major area for artists. Here is one the the famous Guimard's Art Nouveau signs.

We trudged up hills and alleys no wider than the two of us (yet cars managed to maneuver it just fine). We arrived at Sacre Couer, the Byzantine Basilica at the top of the hill, with majestic views of the entire city.

This is also the area where the Moulin Rouge is located. This is kind of a seedy part of town but one we can now say we have been too (and will probably never go to again).

We went to Les Deux Moulins, which is the restaurant featured in the movie Amelie. Here I had a hot chocolate and Ben had a super dark cafe which he loved.

We took 2 cramped Metro trains down to the Latin Quarter, which is where the university is located. Here is St. Severin's. It is basically a smaller, not as touristy or taken care of Notre Dame, but still nice.

Here is a fantastic view of Notre Dame from across the Seine in a park.


The Palais Du Luxembourg and gardens is basically a gigantic park, but where it differs from our parks in the US is that there are some benches but most people are sitting in chairs that are scattered around. Some people are by themselves and others in large groups.

See the chairs and the people just hanging out, despite the chilly temperature.

Finally we went to dinner at a cafe. We had wine, cheeses and beef bourguignon, just as we should in France.

Now we lay in bed exhausted after a day of walking at least 6 miles (and no clue how many miles the first few days). We are praying that this strike is over and we can visit some museums and not sit on overly packed subway cars.