Pâques in Paris

On our first night, we went down to the Vigile Pascal at Notre Dame (Easter service and bonfire), followed by a quick walk around the Hotel de Ville and the Seine, and a fantastic dinner at Latin-Saint Germain.

Hôtel de Ville at night

Richard and I on the Seine

Shakespeare & Company bookshop (we recently watched Before Sunset again)

The next morning we went to the Champs-Elysees

Arc de Triomphe

Le Metro

Catedral Notre Dame

Easter at the Notre Dame

Pâques

I love the rose windows

Hotel de Ville

Hotel de Ville in the daytime

Le Tour Eiffel

Under the railway bridge

1/4-scale replica of the Statue of Liberty

The plaque says "4 Julliet 1776" just like the American one, but it also says "14 Julliet 1789" for Bastille Day

Another classic Metro stop

We didn't actually go to Starbucks, but we did see a few of them--the last time I was in Paris, they were more unusual. This one was on the Boulevard Saint-Germain (we had dinner every night in the Quartier Latin)

Polidor--absolutely fabulous atmosphere and food! Long queues, but worth it!

Somebody's happy to be here!

Just brilliant--I think the fact it was in Midnight in Paris has increased its popularity, but its reputation is deserved. Our waitress was very nice, the food was amazing, and we were sat next to a lovely older gentleman (we like to think he's a prof at the Sorbonne). The only downside was the "lavabo"--a pit toilet that you have to enter through the courtyard. No wonder the guidebook said that the toilets were "legendary"...

Classic Mini, just the right size to fit down this little alleyway

Tour Eiffel at night

Looking up from underneath the Eiffel Tower

Carousel

We had crepes and watched the light show

The next morning bright and early we went to the Louvre--Richard & the Mona Lisa

My favorite part of the Louvre--Napoleon III's apartments. This is the Grand Salon

I love the chandeliers

Richard's mom took us on a sightseeing cruise on the Seine--here's the Grand Palais

Palais du Louvre

Palais du Louvre

Notre Dame

Chatelet

Musee d'Orsay

Assemble National--there's an election coming up in a couple of weeks!

In the evening we went up to the Sacre-Coeur

There was a lovely service for Easter Monday

The view from the top of the Butte Montmartre

Back at the Louvre, on our walk after dinner

Our hotel had this funny little vending machine--you can get a French-English dictionary, playing cards, adaptors, etc.

En route to the airport this morning--Richard's reading "20 Minutes"--their version of the Metro paper

Au revoir, Paris!