Saturday, June 30, 2012

Paris ~ continued

Our last day of our grand adventure was in Paris and we started with the Eiffel Tower.


We went to the top!  What a view!!





Carl & Sandra enjoyed the view

 as did Bill and Trish
 and Jerry and Jan.
 Kirk isn't fond of heights, but did ok.
 This is one of the "must do" activities in Paris, even if it takes 
forever to get back down!

 
 Leaving the tower we took a tour of part of the city
 and saw Notre Dame.

 The gardens are so lovely!

 Our next stop was the Louvre!

Roy balanced the famous pyramid on one finger


And I tried to see what a diamond that size would look like!
I was amazed that we were allowed to take pictures inside the museum.
This is my not so great photo of the Mona Lisa which, of course, is a must see.

 We were very fortunate to have gotten to see the Mona Lisa.  Just as we were leaving the exhibit
there was a bomb scare and the entire wing was closed!  Our guide said it would probably remain
closed for the rest of the day.  There would be many disappointed people.

We also saw the Venus De Milo

The Louvre is massive and we were only able to see a very small sample of artwork.
But we totally enjoyed everything we saw.  Will have to go back someday to see the rest!
Before leaving for Europe I saw a news article about McDonald's creating a new burger only offered in France.  Called the McBaguette, it is two hamburgers on a baguette roll with Dijon mustard, provolone cheese, and lettuce and I wanted to try it.  Believe it or not, there is a McDonald's at the Louvre!
Guess what we had for lunch?

Delicious!!!

No trip to Paris is complete without a visit to the Cabaret.
We went to the Nouvelle Eve for a dinner show.







 We were not allowed to take photos during the show but
needless to say, several of our group (including my guy) were chosen to participate.
I think Roy's face says it all!



All too soon our trip was over:-(
But the experience we had and the friends we made
will last a lifetime!

Monday, June 18, 2012

Paris - Part 1

We arrived at our final destination, Paris!
Just in time for rush hour!

The traffic was incredible but the city was irresistible.

Wide, tree lined avenues filled with little cafes everywhere.



And history appearing at every turn.

Remember the obelisk in the DaVinci Code?



After checking in to our hotel, Le Meridian Etoile, which was near the Arch De Triumph, 
we traveled across the city to have dinner


where we were serenaded

Au Bistrot de la Montagne

After dinner we enjoyed a beautiful evening cruise up and down the Seine river.


 Barb is so cute:-)






As evening settled in, the moon appeared


 and the city became illuminated.


We saw the Eiffel Tower light show!
Hopefully you can see it too.

What an absolutely perfect evening.
Here is my name inspiring boat.
Then back to the hotel.  Busy day tomorrow when we go up the Eiffel Tower
and visit the Louvre.