One of the grand entrances

One of the inner courtyards of the Palais

The Palais des Papes in Avignon

Our campground's cafe and pool, and endless views

The chateau of Gordes

Fontaine des something... The source of the river hereabouts

Outside the Musee du Vin

Gordes, ancient city on a mountain

Musee' d'Orsay after lunch

Lunch with my (fuzzy) friend Eric

On the inside

Wednesday - Notre Dame in the morning

Afternoon at the Pompidou center.
A modern art museum, it was less impressive than all the old "impressive" places we've been seeing, and most interesting for its architecture, with all the systems usually internal to a building on the outside. Stairs, elevators, ductwork. Very open plan inside.

Lunch in the Tuillerie gardens
Between the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde, this is our favorite gardens I think. Very nice to walk around and enjoy the shade and a snack

Could you cut the grass in the yard today? (as far as you can see)
Very amazing place, Versailles. We'd like to go back when the fountains are on.

Feeding frenzy at the Mona Lisa

We made it into the Louvre
The building was amazing. Lots of rooms and different eras. Similar to the Met in NY in many ways, and in the sub basement there is the original dungeon from when it was the palace. Spooky down there...

Another pic in another place.. Versailles!

Top of the Tower

A beautiful bridge over the Seine

Lights like fireworks

The Louvre

Seine at night

in the park

Looking up!

Gena at the Luxombourg Gardens

We arrived Thursday evening, after flying into London Heathrow, taking a break for a film (Batman Begins on the IMAX screen) then riding the EuroStar to Paris. We got to the hotel around 10pm and didn't even explore the neighborhood. The hotel is modest and comfortable and (ta da!) air conditioned (very important - this week is very warm).

We woke up Friday morning and found what was to become "our cafe", a nice place two blocks down the Rue Monge, where we took a table in a sunny open window and were surprised by the great food of Paris! Genevieve had the best croissant she'd ever tasted, along with some fresh squeezed "jus d'orange" that was just delicious!

We walked all day Friday, visited the Luxomborg gardens (where we tasted our first Paris ice cream - WOW it was good!), and walked all the way to the Eiffel Tower, where we cheated (on the walking) and took the elevators to the top. The view was incredible and we got our bearings on Paris.

Saturday was devoted to shopping on the Champs d'Elyse with great success! A beautiful black matching top and skirt and another very nice skirt. Saturday night we took the evening tour of the Seine so we could see Paris with all its amazing night lights.

Sunday we slept in, then went to walk along the parks outside the Louvre, rode some amusement park rides, then had some excellent Chinese for dinner.

Tomorrow the Louvre!