A CURE FOR THE VILLAGE BLUES
For Marc and I, the quiet village life was just what the doctor ordered. The late night, busy rhythm of restauranteurs had taken it's toll on our life in many ways and the past four months in our little village haven has been a welcomed retreat. HOWEVER!!! We do still have the task of raising children, and three teenage girls, "caged" in the "old, dead village" is a REALITY, that cannot be ignored...
Therefore...
A QUICK ZIP THROUGH PARIS!
Paris is electric, even from "le peripherique". Driving the freeway around the city, looking for Porte Maillot, the heart starts to beat at a different frequency. The magic begins. It doesn't take much to flip the switches on-a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower, one lap around the Arc de Triomphe, down the Champs Elysee over the Seine, and the lights of Prada, Chanel, Louis Vitton, We are not in Venasque girls.
This is Paris... just what the TEENAGERS ordered!
LE PERIPHERIQUE...
Circle the city to find the right "Porte" or door to enter the city
PARIS BY DAY
ART DECO METRO
A gift from Egypt, the red granite column was part of the Luxor Temple and is 3,300 years old. It is the oldest monument in Paris. It was given during the reign of King Louis-Philippe (1829), who had it placed in the square where the guillotine stood that beheaded Marie-Antoinette and King Louis the XVI, & many others. It is decorated with hieroglyphics exalting the reign of the Pharoah Ramses II.
ARC DE TRIOMPHE
The Arch of Triumph honors those who fought the french revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. It was begun in 1806, but not finished until 1836. Although it doesn't seem that large, imagine that in 1919, Charles Godefroy flew his Nieuport biplane through it, to commemorate the end of WWI.
It stands at the Place Charles de Gaulle on the Champs Elysee.
LE TOUR EIFFEL
How many steps led to the top of the tower? Find the answer at the end of the blog...
The tower was designed by Gustave Eiffel and took two years and two months to build. It's main purpose for being built was the Paris Exhibition of 1889 to celebrate the hundred year anniversary of the French Revolution. About 20 years after it's completion, the contract was up and many people wanted it to be demolished and used for scrap metal. It's fate was saved by idea to use it as a radio tower. It is the most visited paid monument in the world. Marc and I walked the steps to the top in 1989, the summer we met. We had an ice cream and took a picture "kissing" in the photo booth. When I get back to California, I will dig that photo out. If you've climbed to the top, please share you story.
OVER THE SEINE
Famous fountains of the Place de la Concorde
PARIS NIGHT LIGHTS!
LES CHAMPS ELYSEE
A VISIT WITH "TANTE" FLORENCE
who lives in Paris
EAT, CHAMPAGNE, AND BE MERRY!
EATING IN PARIS IS DEFINATELY AN ADVENTURE!
FOUQUET'S
Founded in 1901, at the corner of Les Champs Elysee and Avenue George V, this luxury Hotel & Restaurant has charmed many a celebrity over the years and is the place to be seen.
PLACE CLICHY
The Moulin Rouge
A SLICE OF AMERICA...ALWAYS A WELCOMED COMFORT!
AND FASHION... TRES CHIC...HAUTE COUTURE
THE FRENCH ICON-BRIDGET BARDOT
FASHION * LA MODE * FASHION
AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE GYPSY KIDS!
STEPS TO THE TOP OF THE EIFFEL TOWER: 1665 is the officially agreed number.
Hello Monica:
ReplyDeleteI have been reading your blogs all along but the program wouldn't allow me to comment. Glad for the updated version. LOVE your blogs and being an armchair time traveller. Caitlin and I went to England in October and blogged every day: exhausting but a great way to remember it all. I would love to tell you all of my Paris stories, but alas, I have none. Zut alors! That will be remedied within the coming year. Keep the stories and photos coming- it's lovely that you are being my French History instructor.
Love to all!