an american in belgië : PARIS!

We recently spent a few days in and around Paris with our new American/Scottish friends, Steve and Carole.

We spent the first night in a little town north of Paris called Le Thillay - nice and way less expensive than Paris.

The next morning we headed for the city . . .

These photos are taken from atop Montparnasse Tower. As Ross mentioned . . . it's the best view of Paris because you can't see the Montparnasse Tower :-)

Some might call it a '70's mistake since the first brick was laid in 1970. It's just a huge skyscraper and it really could be described as an eyesore.

Then, after 9 previous trips to Paris, we finally made it inside the Louvre (pronounced loo-vruh) Museum. In case you were saying it wrong, like me. Construction of the Louvre Castle began in 1202. It has evolved since then serving as the royal residence and . . . now a museum.

It was just as spectacular as we imagined with 555,000 square feet of art, but the architecture is a work of art in itself.

There were a few people there that day :) Here's the Mona Lisa. Pretty small, huh?

Close up

The original of Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon I and Coronation of the Empress Josephine in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris on 2 December 1804 by Jacques-Louis David. Huge - 20 x 32 feet.

Close up

This is The Winged Victory of Samothrace. It's also called the Nike of Samothrace because it's a sculpture of the Greek goddess, Nike. The artist is unknown, but it's from the 2nd century B.C.

Did I mention there were a few people visiting that day?

And no shortage of these - the obligatory Asian tour group.

Here's Jim and Carole . . . blending in with one.

This is, of course, the famous sculpture known as the Venus de Milo. It's actually of the Greek goddess, Aphrodite and is from around 100 B.C.

This was also our first time inside Cathedrale Notre Dame de Paris. The Veneration of the Crown of Thorns just happened to be on that very day. That just means they bring out the relic of the actual crown of thorns and walk around with it, I think. Anyway, we were an hour early for it, sat around and waited and decided we'd rather go have a drink . . . so we did.

Then we headed over to Musee d'Orsay.

I just love this picture.

You probably know this is Whistler's Mother, but you may not know that it was painted by American painter, James McNeill Whistler. It is one of the most famous paintings by an American outside the U.S.

Probably one of Pierre Auguste Renoir's most famous paintings, Dance at the Moulin De La Galette.

One of my favorites. This is Plage Etretat by Claude Monet.

Here's a photo I took at Etretat last Spring. Same place, just 135 years later.

This is the Sacre Coeur Basilica (Basilica of the Sacred Heart). It sits atop Montmartre, the highest point of the city (Paris).

Steve and Carole striking a pose.

This church is old, but not nearly as old as most Roman Catholic churches we've visited. It was completed in 1914.

This entire ceiling is a mosaic of little tiny tiles.

Then we headed to the city of Versailles. This was our second visit there.

It just happened to be the day of their street market. The flower market was really something. This bouquet was being assembled for a man. Some lucky lady got a big surprise!

I always like the flower market best, while Jim . . .

prefers the seafood market.

Then we headed over to the Palace (officially Chateau de Versailles). Since we'd already toured the palace, Jim and I walked around the gardens. The fountains were on at the Palace and classical music was playing all over the grounds. It was a nice distraction from the heat :) It was actually pretty warm that day.