Today's post is going to be short and sweet because we are worn out from walking this beautiful city all day! It's 9:00 PM and I'm going to shower and head to bed soon! Also, quite a few of these pictures are off the internet because all the places we saw were so big that my little camera just couldn't capture anything but a tiny sliver. Also, a lot of places had scaffolding up for renovations, so that doesn't look great in pictures. This is what we saw starting with the first thing this morning:
1. Arene Lutece - this is one of the few remaining Roman ruins in this part of France. It's the well-preserved remains of a Roman amphitheater. It's now used as a playground for local school kids.
2. The Pantheon - originally built as a church for Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris, it was turned into a temple of knowledge during the Revolution. It's also the burial site of several famous French writers and philosophers (Emile Zola, Voltaire, Rousseau, and Victor Hugo to name a few). It's one of my top three favorite places in Paris! It's absolutely beautiful!
3. The Luxembourg Gardens (right up the street from the Pantheon). They are large, refined, and relaxing! I think we love this park even better than the Tuileries because it's bigger and there's a lot more grass so it seems more like our parks at home.
This is part of the old Luxembourg palace which borders one side of the gardens. I'm not sure what it's used for now. It might be for government offices.
We sat in the park for a couple of hours having lunch, and there was a U.S. high school band from Tennessee performing for the lunch crowd. It was wonderful to hear American songs. They ended with Rocky Top and Stars and Stripes Forever! Perfect for yesterday's 4th of July!
4. The Cathedral of Notre Dame - it just doesn't get any more grand than this! The mother of all cathedrals!!! It was jam packed with tourists because of a special exhibition for its 850th anniversary so we didn't go inside this time. (The lines were wrapping around the block on both sides of the church!) Luckily we've seen inside twice before.
5. Pont de Arts (pedestrian bridge) - this is a beautiful little bridge that leads from the book sellers lining one side of the river Seine to the Louvre on the other side.
6. The Louvre - the greatest art museum in the world! AND it's located in a former palace of Louis XIV, the Sun King, so the building itself is pretty fantastic! Love this place!
The glass pyramid is a recent addition that contrasts well with the opulence of the former palace. The entry is down under the pyramid. If you've read Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code, you'll know all about this cool entrance and the amazing museum!
These sights were more than enough to fill the whole day, and we are tired but HAPPY to have spent a wonderfully sunny day in Paris! This is the first day where the sun shone all day and we were actually a bit warm at times. It was a fabulous day!
Posted with Blogsy