3 days in Paris for my birthday!

When the decision was made that l would be coming to France to learn french l told Philippe that l wanted to send my birthday in Paris! So l started planning my birthday in Paris, so excited!

 A few travel tips for you...... if you plan on visiting another country, check and see if they have Groupon, Deal of the Day etc for the town you are going to.  You can save yourself a lot of money by signing up to these discount websites. I got my hotel deal through Travelzoo, they were offering 4 different hotels in Paris, the one l chose was pretty much centrally located, close to  many tourist attractions that l could just walk to and of course, right in the heart of the shopping district! Another tip: if you sign up to Groupon for France and you want to purchase a deal, once you have filled out your order you will get a message saying that it can't go through and they will send you a number to call. The reason for this is, the system doesn't recognize foreign credit cards,  they have had issues in the past with bad credit cards ( from other countries) they want to make personal contact with you to make sure that everything is ok before processing your order. Might be a bit of a pain on our side but it can be worth it in the long run... One more tip before moving on here.... If you want to see who is playing in concert, etc or to find more deals, then check out www.fnactickets.com, another great site for deals.

Wake up call, 6:00 am but l really didn't sleep much that night, was afraid l was going to sleep through the alarm and miss my train. You see, the train only stops in Beaumont Le Roger a couple times a day and the first train out is 7:13 sharp, arriving in Paris at 8:50 am, milk run! :) Up and out the door l go! The ride was a quite one, a lot of people sleep on their way into work. I didn't have to worry about missing my stop as the train ends in Paris and bonus for me,  turns out it is only a couple blocks from my hotel, got to love it!:)

The  hustle and bustle of rush hour in Paris is like Toronto on steroids.... The population of Metropolitan area of Paris is over 12,000,000 people! Needless to say you don't dare try to go the opposite direction of the pedestrian traffic flow, you just let it carry you and direct you instead. Just follow the people you and you will eventually get where it is that you want to go to...LOL

Emeraude Hotel Madelene Haussmann 

Off to the hotel to see if l can check in my luggage so l don't have to pull it around with me until my room is ready.... Luggage checked and off l go to explore Paris! Found a quaint little Cafe to have a little bit to eat. Not everything is expensive in Paris, was able to have croissant and Cappuccino for less then 5.00 Canadian! The area l am in l visited a little of it before with Philippe and Anna so l kind of have a general idea of what is around me. Galeries Lafeyette, Printemps, Champs Elysees, Place De La Madeleine and many more that you will hear about during this blog.

One thing that you will notice is....... Paris has tonnes and tonnes of little side streets, very easy to get lost if you don't pay attention. Just when you think you are heading in the right direction... you may find out that you actually are not... Had a couple of close calls especially at night, everything looks different at night time:)

While l waited for my room to be ready, l headed down to Place De La Concorde.

Fontaine des Mers

Cleopatra's Needle

In the 19th century the 3200 years old obelisk from the temple of Ramses II at Thebes was installed at the centre of the Place de la Concorde. In 1831, it was offered by the Viceroy of Egypt to Louis Philippe. Three obelisks were offered by the Viceroy, but only one was transported to Paris.
The obelisk - sometimes dubbed 'L'aiguille de Cléopâtre' or Cleopatra's Needle. Pictures on the pedestal describe the transportation to Paris and its installation at the square in 1836.

Roue de Paris (Ferris Wheel)

Vendor selling Crepes along the Marché de Noël

Marché de Noël

Salmon being smoked!

Fontaine des Mers

I don't know if l am to feel safe or l should be worried when l see these guys walking the streets with guns in their hands........

Statue of galloping horse

                              

                          Closer shot of the smoke salmon                     

Even though it is winter here, (hard

to think it as winter when the temps

are on average 8 degrees!) Paris

is still a hot spot for tourists.

After visiting Place De La Concorde
l headed over to Petit Palais.

Built for the Universal Exposition in the year 1900. Originally meant to be just a temporary structure to host a large exposition of French art, this magnificent Beaux Arts-style building - designed by Charles Girault - became a favorite with Paris residents, who refused to tear it down... and it still stands today.
The palace's main function is as the Musée des Beaux-Arts (Museum of Fine Arts) of the City of Paris and it is home to an incredibly impressive array of artwork spanning several centuries.

The beautiful mural ceilings seen throughout the Palais

                

Most impressive is the collection of wonderful 18th and 19th century French paintings including works by such magnificent artists as Delacroix, Monet, Sisley, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec and Courbet.

                                                                                      

Bust of Benjamin Franklin, dated early 1700's

Canada being represented at the market!

Pont Alexandre III

On each end of the Pont Alexandre III are large gilded statues on 17 meters (56 ft) high granite pillars.

Aligned with the Esplanade des Invalides, the Pont Alexandre III bridge connects the Grand and Petit Palais on the right bank with the Hôtel des Invalides on the left bank.

Winston Churchill
It is modelled on a photograph of Churchill marching with France's wartime leader General Charles de Gaulle down the nearby Champs Elysees on 11 November, 1944.

Palais de l'Elysees
Presidential Palace








Headed back to the hotel to get checked into my room, it's ready! Paris standards my room isn't too bad for size, small to what l would be use to but l guess if you ever lived in New York or Paris you know that Real Estate is at it's premium. Small spaces go for outrageous prices.....

My Petit Palace!

Bar Fridge all stocked up and ready to go, if l pay for it of course! :)

 First day has pretty much drawn to a close. I did some more walking around as l tried to figure out where and what l wanted to have for dinner.  Found a lovely little restaurant, enjoyed a couple glasses of wine with dinner as l planned my next day adventures.
Day two found me taking the subway to the area of "St. Paul's", full of antique stores and also the home of Notre-Dame.

Back view of Notre-Dame


If you decide to go to Notre-Dame be
prepared to wait in a line if you want to go up
the towers. I was in line for over 1.5 hrs andto think this is the off season! What a climb it was, no elevator here!:) It was definitely worth the wait and almost popping a lung from all the stairs you climb, no elevator here!:) The towers are 226 feet in height, that's a lot of stairs to climb and it's all spiral. It was definitely worth the wait, the money and almost popping a lung because the view you get once you reach the top............... amazing!

Front View

View of the Eiffel Tower




Construction of Notre-Dame started in 1163
and was not completed until 1345.

One of many Chimeras located on the Galerie des Chimères

Sacre Coeur, on the hill

Gargoyle

Virgin Mary and Child

The Baptistry and the Nativity
It is the day when the Child-God was born in Bethehem. And it is the rebirth in water of baptism where man is entitled to become the child of God.

Inside Notre-Dame

The visit to Notre-Dame took all of the morning but l will say it was quiet impressive and l am not even Catholic.

.Now off to see the Mona Lisa and where some scenes from DaVinci Code was filmed..... The Louvre...

Louvre Pyramid

Inside the Louvre below the Pyramid


Originally a royal palace, the Louvre
 became a public museum at the end
of the 18th century.

 

One of three wings that make up the
Louvre, The Richelieuing Wing

The Denon Wing

Sully Wing

There are about 35.000 objects on display, spread out over three wings of the former palace.Some of the most famous works of art in the museum are the Venus of Milo, the Nike of Samothrake, the Dying Slave by Michelangelo and of course Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa.

 The Palais du Louvre was originally constructed as a fortress, built in the 12th century but was ruined in the course of the Hundred Years War and demolished in the 16th century. Construction began in 1546 and was to continue until the 19th century.

Roman Tub, what l would to get into one
of those right now! :)

Description of the Statue to the left, dated 1685

Statue to the left, dated 1767

Ajouter une légende

Mona Lisa

Beautiful Ceilings in the Louvre

The Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel

Inside looking out to the Pyramid

It cost about 12.00 Canadian to go to this Museum, well worth the money, Plan on spending at least 4 hrs to see everything becuase l was there for at least 3 hrs and only saw a portion of it. I was asked was the Mona Lisa all it was cracked up to be, my answer is, depends on whether or not you are into history, art of both. I am glad l got to see it, now l can actually say.... I have seen the real Mona Lisa.. Another thing l can check off my "bucket list"!

My next stop was to be Musée d'Orsay but the line up was too long and l had enough

of lines by this time so l opted to go and visit, Place Vendôme.

Colonne Vendôme

 Place Vendôme (Vendome Square) was laid out in 1702. The buildings on Place Vendôme serve today as residences as well as retail stores, including those belonging to two famous jewelers and a number of well-known dress designers. The very expensive Hotel Ritz and Hotel Vendôme are also located on the square.

The Ritz Hotel. The hotel that Princess Diana
 had stayed at just prior to her death..

One of the richest places in Paris.

Thought that l might buy myself
a "little" bling for my
birthday and l heard this was the
place to do it!

Couldn't decide on which one so l didn't end
up buying anything! :) But it doesn't cost
anything to look or to dream.....

It was time for me to head back to the hotel and rest my poor tired feet. I had been walking at this point 8 hrs and l am not kidding when l say..... walking!

Tonite l was going out to officially celebrate my birthday. Philippe told me about "The Great Canadian Pub" so what better place to celebrate but there with a hamburger and a beer or two! Hey l couldn't help it, l hadn't had Canadian food in a month and l was dying for something from home so burger it was and boy did it ever tasted..yummy!

 If you ever get a chance to come to Paris, make sure you put this on your list to visit. Food is really good, prices are as well and the staff are great! I had a really good time there. Hopefully l will make it back there before my time is up here!
                                    http://www.tgcparis.com/en/about.html

Few pictures l took along my travel to the Pub.

Notre-Dame at night

Roue de Paris

My last day in Paris was devoted to shopping and seeing some more things before l had to catch my train.

You can find deals in Paris, if you
take the time to research
but also simply but just walking around.
If you check out the stores on the little Rues
off the main streets you can generally find some
great little treasures there

I did do some shopping on my last day and l even had time to visit a hair salon.  Visiting the salon was interesting as the women didn't speak a word of English and with my limited french ability it could of been a hair raising experience. It all worked out just fine,  l am very happy with the job she did..

 






Few other stops l made before heading back to Beaumont Le Roger.

 La Madeleine
Église de St-Marie-Madeleine
Started out orginally to be a temple but
became a church instead.

View from the front steps of the La Madeleine

View of the apse, to the right

So after 3 days in Paris, this my friends concludes this trip! I walked a lot of kms during my stay here and to think that l have only seen a fraction that there is to see here. I have enjoyed every moment of my stay and l know l will be back, got to finish sightseeing!

Paris is "The City of Lights"!