Final Paris Post: The Sights

Oh, Paris... Seriously, if you ever have the chance to go, GO!!! There's so much history and detail and truth in this city. This city is a celebration and they know it and do it well. What I really miss right about now are the amazing baked goods and baguettes. I'm a carb kinda girl and having good crusty bread all the time? Sign me up!

 One of the semi-unexpected favorites that Ben and I visited was Sainte Chapelle. I cannot repeat how the history is amazing in this city. This church was getting ready to celebrate it's 800th anniversary! Anywho, I had seen pictures and kinda knew what to expect, but when we walked in and saw this, I was perplexed. It was not what I was expecting...

 You really can't see much of the church from the sidewalk. It's actually housed in the courtyard of the current courthouse for Paris. This is about all you can see.

 But we kept wandering and looking around. The colors in this area were so rich and royal looking.

 Then we spotted it! This teeny tiny spiral staircase led us up to what I was looking for...

 The most gorgeous and tall stained glass windows I had ever seen! This ceiling is massive and to think, this is the second floor of the church! They are currently renovating the glass to restore it and give it a proper cleaning (hence the construction barrier wall in the left of the photo).

 The colors and the ceiling and the lights shining in and the stories depicted in the windows! I could spend a ton of time here. The floors were really neat too and who am I kidding?! This whole building and every single detail about it was mesmerizing!

 This is a view of the outside of the church, but while still in the courtyard of the courthouse.

 From there, Ben and I strolled along and took more and more pictures of the outside of the Louvre.

 Did you know there's a mall underneath the gardens of the Louvre? Here's one of the entrances.

 Inside you can find this scale model of the grounds of the Louvre and everything that's housed underground. Aside from the mall where this model is kept, there's parking garages, a road, theaters, and much much more. It's crazy to think of how much of this city is actually under the city.

 But that's where you can see the upside down pyramid. And shop. And eat. And stroll around with your hubby :)

  Here's another shot of the Opera Garnier that I spoke about here. LOVE this place. Would love to go see a show here some day...

Just behind the Opera Garnier is the Gallerie Lafayette. This is a huge mall comprised of three different buildings, one of which has this amazing glass ceiling. That's the whole reason we went inside. Just so I could take this picture :)

 Then down the way a bit, at the end of the Champs Elysees, is the Arc de Triomphe. Ben and I made the horrible mistake the first time we came to Paris to go to the top of the Arc within hours of entering the country. I blame it on the lack of sleep.

Seriously, we just landed, we've been in the country maybe four hours, we hadn't slept in almost two days and we decide to climb this thing. There's tons of signs warning you it's 284 steps to the top. Yeah yeah yeah, no biggie. WHATEVER!!! I made it about 3/4 of the way to the top and thought I was going to die. I hadn't eaten, hadn't slept, really needed a shower now, and thought a lung might pop out at any moment. We made it to the top and it was a gorgeous view, but now this sight is a been there - done that kinda sight.

 Seriously, it's 284 steps to the top. See all the people at the top. Yeah, all of those specs are people... It is pretty though. And if you're in shape, you're well hydrated and don't have claustrophobia, you should try it. Just don't do it within hours of arriving in the country, please. Take my word for it.

 And then it wouldn't be Paris without the Eiffel Tower. I have only seen it from the ground. No I do not want to stand in line to go to the top or even the first level. And yes I watched several people climbing the steps to get to the first level to take a cart to the top. No, it didn't look like fun. I'll just take tons of pictures from the ground thank you very much.

 And then there's the carousels. They are mostly these elaborate double decker huge carousels and this one just happens to be across the street from the Eiffel Tower. I really like the one outside of Hotel de Ville too.

 And then there's this cool building across the Seine from the Louvre. It's next to the bridge that Ben and I put our lover's lock on. I have no clue what it is, but it's pretty!

 And then after all the walking and sight seeing, Ben and I would come back to our hotel room and crash and listen to the music being played in the courtyard here. Oh, and the traffic. It's kinda loud and crazy, but not irritating (as long as you're not driving in it, I don't have the guts to try it, no thank you!). It was so nice being able to just lay down with the breeze blowing through the window and listen to the city.

But before you knew it, our time in Paris was up and it was time to come home. The sunsets here were amazing and much different than what I'm used to at home. Granted I don't live in tall buildings that are practically on top of eachother, so that could have something to do with it :) That concludes my tour of Paris and I hope you liked it. I started a list before we even left of what to do and what to see the next time we make it back. Do you have anything you'd recommend?

Also, I had this wonderful wine from this little grocery store you can kinda see in the last picture. It's a rose wine with orange in it. It was sooo good and I can't get it here. If anyone is going to Paris, find it for me and send me some, pretty pretty please!!!!!! I'm serious, it was that good. Okay, now back to reality and quilts, although this has been fun to go back down memory lane since I didn't post about this trip right away. Toodles!