My original introduction has been removed, so if you read the comments you might be a little confused. Maybe someday it’ll be back.
I have another couple of posts from France that I’ll put up, but this is the last one of a general nature. In a few days I’ll be posting about French street art and will also do a “best of” post. Until then, I hope you enjoy this last big set.
The two staircases at the Arc de Triomphe are arduous to say the least. Don’t want to go down? Sneak into the semi-hidden disabled persons elevator next to the gift shop.
Local flora at the Jardin des Plantes. In addition to the gardens, there are a number of great museums here, as well as a zoo. I don’t recall its name, but if you go skip the greenhouse/botanical museum thing. Boooooooooooooooooring.
A friend of mine is obsessed with chandeliers, so I was on the lookout for photos I could take for her (this one is at Versailles). Curiously, I’ve always found them interesting too, likely the result of staring at my grandmother’s large crystal chandelier for most of my childhood. It bugged me to no end that the candles were so crooked on this one.
Toy moulins (windmills) in a shop window near my apartment in the wonderful Butte aux Cailles neighborhood.
The Louvre is an amazing place, but: it’s unimaginably massive, and as you can see below, it’s also insanely crowded at times. Most museums in Paris close on Mondays, so on this particular rainy Monday, that meant everyone wanted to get inside the one museum that seemed to be open.
Sculpture at the wonderful Parc de Bercy.
Something about the woven mask on this mummy haunts me. I don’t know if it’s too many horror movies of monsters with missing faces, or if it’s my brain trying to figure out why there are no features. Either way, I think the funerary garments are beautiful.
The beautiful interior of Sainte-Chapelle.
Iya Traore performs in front of Sacre Coeur. Watch a video of his awesome skills here.
Sculpture at Église Saint-Louis des Invalides.
One of my favorite locks at Pont de l’Archeveche.
Disneyland Paris is awesome, but for someone who grew up within miles of the original park in Anaheim, it feels like some strange doppelganger. It seems…sterile in comparison. Nevertheless, jump on the RER and head out if you get a chance. It’s a great place with a lot of really fun rides (make sure to go on Big Thunder). This is a shot of “Phantom Manor,” a “scarier and darker” version of the ride than at other parks (as seen from the steamboat landing).
The animatronic dragon beneath the castle. Sorry for the junk picture; I didnt have a tripod and it’s about negative one-thousand dark in the cave.
Scary “Small World” doll is scary.
I don’t normally colorize my images much, but it’s been more than 30 years since I’ve had a “first time at Disneyland” experience; I don’t have any photos from the first first time, so I thought it only fitting I have one that looked like it.
My mom and aunts visited for a little while. They visited the souvenir shops for long whiles. Here’s two of the three in their natural habitat.
In the crypt of the Pantheon.
The Elizabeth Tower (home of “Big Ben“) in London.
Resting place of a young Parisian.
The roof and chandelier in the beautiful Palais Garnier (also called Opera Garnier)
Mass at Notre Dame de Paris.
My daily view as I left my apartment.
Parisian sparrows hold court at Parc de Bercy.
Sacre Coeur, as seen from the Belvedere of Sybil at the delightful Parc des Buttes Chaumont.
The centerpiece of the park is the lake and artificial island pictured here. The so-called “suicide bridge,” near the left of the picture, gets you access to the Corinthian-style Belvedere on top of the island.
Prayers drift in the dark of Notre Dame.
Ghost fish at the Paris aquarium.
Play time, as shot from the top of the Centre Pompidou.
Sacre Coeur near sunset.
Late night traffic at Mont Saint-Michel.
Long exposure of the Moulin Rouge. If you want a unique experience, get off the metro at Pigalle and walk to the theater. And by “unique,” I mean be the object of attention for adult store workers or drug dealers. Unless you want to be (literally) robbed, don’t go into any of the clubs here unless you’re fluent in French.
My last photo of the post, dedicated to Andrew. Thanks for stopping by, and thank you to Paris for being so good to me.
The introduction to this post is beautiful.
Jake,
You really captured the essence of France! Your pictures are awesome!