Near the Pompidou Center

These are various pics of galleries around town and also some work by street artists. It is Paris, so you see quite the variety of work!

Paris art gallery exhibit

Painted on a building in the Montmartre area - watched them do this one

Gallery by the Louvre

Gallery located on Rue de Rivoli across from the Louvre

Oh la la! - Temporary exhibit near Louvre

Wake Up!! On building near a major flower market.

Boats on the canal in Bruges, Belgium

I decided to take a day trip to Belgium! I took a train from Paris and then a bus to reach my final destination. I went to a place called Bruges. It is the capital and largest city in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is located in the Northwest part of the country and about one hour from Brussels. The population is around 120,000 in Bruges but with the surrounding towns included the population of the area jumps to around 256,000. It is sometimes referred to as the “Venice of the North” because of the famous canals that are located in the city.  It was certainly worth the visit!!!

One of the canals in Bruges with a weekend market across the way

Located in the park at Bruges

Look at those flowers!!! Gorgeous!

Market Street- Bruges

It is quite beautiful at night!

I decided to walk to the Louvre tonight so I could take some pictures of it at night. It is only about a 10 minute walk from where my apartment is located. I will be moving to my final apartment here in Paris on Saturday. It is kind of bittersweet because I am excited to move to another area of the city, but I have truly enjoyed the area that I am in right now. It is a terrific location! However, my new apartment has the Eiffel Tower right out my door. I guess I can’t go wrong with that view. So that means I will be spending every evening hanging out under the Eiffel Tower starting Saturday night! = ) Ok, enough rambling…back to the pictures.

Evening at the Louvre - peaceful

The Pyramid lit up

Looking down the Champs-Elysees at the Arc de Triomphe

The first day I was here I walked down the Champs-Elysees and got my first glimpse of the Arc de Triomphe way at the far end. I was so excited to see it again that I walked an hour from my apartment in horrible shoes to reach it, then realized that I had obtained some very painful blisters. Guess what? It then occurred to me that I had to walk back because I had absolutely no money with me for the Metro or a taxi. I hadn’t planned on walking to it that day, but in all my excitement I just took off and headed that way. Live and learn, right???

View across the street from the Arc de Triomphe

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The Arc de Triomphe is located at the end of the Champs-Elysees. It is the world’s biggest triumphal arch! It is 161 ft. high and 144 ft. wide.  There are a dozen streets that radiate from the center of the Arc, which makes it Paris’s busiest traffic hub! The roundabout has been called “vehicular roulette” by many. It is quite a site to watch people driving in this area. They just drive all over…swerving in and out of traffic. There are no lines (as you can see in pic) on the streets around this area (or in most of Paris for that matter) so people just go like crazy. It is entertaining to say the least!

Looking up at the Arc de Triomphe

The Arc de Triomphe was commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 to celebrate the victories of his Grand Armee. It wasn’t completed until 1836.

To reach it you have to walk through an underground passage.  No pedestrian traffic is allowed to cross on the street. Trust me when I say that you would not survive!!

Underground passage to the Arc de Triomphe

Sunny day at Sacre-Coeur

The view from the butte where the Sacre-Coeur is located offers an amazing view of Paris! On a clear day, you can see 30 miles in the distance. It is quite the site! On a rainy day you can barely see past the hill where it sits. I have experienced both occasions. In reading about the Sacre-Coeur, I discovered that it has been the subject of much controversy here in Paris. Some people believe it is a beautiful, sacred church while others have called it “a lunatic’s confectionary dream.” Here are the pics. You decide?!

Cloudy, rainy day at Sacre-Coeur

View of Paris from Sacre-Coeur

Christine- arrival in Paris via Metro

My friend, Christine, has been here visiting for a bit but flew back to the US today. We had so much fun and covered some miles (walking) in Paris! We visited some interesting places, ate great food and laughed a lot! What this means for me is that I have to get re-focused now after having some playtime. I have several projects and classes that are needing my attention. I plan to get up early in the mornings and put in 5-7 hours of work…then go play for the afternoon into the evening, come back and work a few more hours. That is the plan. I will let you know how it works! : )

Christine riding the escalator in the Pompidou Center

Au revoir, Christine

Dinner last night. German restaurant...really!!!

I know! I know! I am behind in updating this and I am hearing about it!! You people are sure demanding! = ) It is actually fun to know that people are reading this and following along on the adventure! I am going to try to be a bit better about the updates. I said I would try…no promises!

We have had some really great and varied food choices in Paris, so I am going to start off with pictures of various lunches and dinners for you to view. As you can imagine in a place of millions of people the food options are so diverse and abundant that it is difficult to choose. There have been a few times that we have had no idea what type of restaurant we are going into to have dinner but do it anyhow. That has actually been a lot of fun and has turned out quite well! One evening we were looking for a restaurant only to find that it was closed. Instead we ducked into a restaurant that looked interesting. To our surprise, the food was influenced by Madagascar. It was very tasty. Then last night we were headed toward the apartment but only made it a block because it was pouring rain. We ended up at a restaurant that served more German types of food…it is always a food adventure here!!

A type of fondue that is inspired by northern French regions- there were little grills built into the table where you cooked your food....very interesting!

Gazpacho & Salad w/ Cheese Tartine : )

Lemon hummus, avocado, white bean & tomato tartine....yum!!

Peeking through the flowers at the Tour Eiffel

Today started out a bit slow which was good. It was fun to lounge around and drink cafe creme, respond to email and complete some work. The weather was really nice today…only a little bit of rain and plenty of sunshine throughout the day. It was a lovely walk to the Tour Eiffel. I am in awe every time I see it!!! There were so many people around today that it was a bit distracting. There is a French holiday tomorrow and so we were told that many people form the countryside take a long weekend and come to Paris. The lines at the tower were incredibly long to ride to the top…even the lines to walk up several levels were quite a wait. One of the elevators is currently out of commission so the wait is around 2 1/2 hours! We did not wait….instead we walked all over the park that surrounds the tower and had a great picnic lunch in the park.

My feet are showing the amount of walking that we are doing. You should see my blisters! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! We walk probably a minimum of 6-8 miles most days and sometimes up to 10. It is great though. That is it for tonight…need to go soak my poor feet because tomorrow is a long day. Moulin Rouge tomorrow night at 11pm! FUN!

Wow! Incredible view of the Tour Eiffel!!

More pics…

From a distance

Bridge - Des Invalides

I did see the Place de l’Opera -Opera Garnier today. What a stunning building! I just stood there starring at it in the rain. It is truly a magnificent sight. The pictures that I post do not do it justice. From there I walked to the Eglise de la Madeleine. It is well….amazing! The structures are just so truly awesome to see. Another incredible day for which I am TRULY grateful! This area of Paris is home to tres chic fashion designer boutiques as well as some of the most famous jewelry names in the world like Cartier & Tiffany’s….I have a ring picked out!  = )

I think I am going to post a list of things I have learned in Paris so far…stay tuned.  : )

Opera Garnier -view one

Opera Garnier -view two

Monet's studio & gardens

I worked most of yesterday so I could go play for some time today. I decided to take a bus to the lovely village of Giverny. It is about 1 1/2 hours from Paris. It also happens to be the village where Claude Monet created his works of art. The gardens are absolutely beautiful. It was great to see his studio, home and gardens. To know this was his primary inspiration for the amazing work that he created was a bit surreal for me. The countryside on the way way so green and lush already…tres belle!! What a perfect day!

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