Our Crazy Life: February 2014

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Lauren started walking

So while we were in Paris, Lauren was figuring out the whole walking thing. She waited until we got home to show us her first steps. It was very nice of her.

The third day had us starting at the Army Museum and Napoleon's Tomb. This is the only museum that we actually paid for and went inside. (We're not big museum people, we'd rather just look at the architecture.) It was actually pretty interesting seeing the French perspective on wars in our history. It covered their entire military history, but we only had time for (and interest in) WWI and WWII.

The front of the Army Museum

I thought these windows were an interesting architectural piece.

The inner courtyard of the Army Museum.

Napoleon

A replica of the museum grounds.
The church where Napoleon's buried is in the back of the museum.

Napoleon's tomb.

Napoleon's tombstone outside.

After checking out Napoleon's tomb, we headed straight for the WWII section of the museum.

Hitler in Paris during WWII

An enigma machine

After finishing up the Army museum, we headed out to stroll around the Latin quarter. We had stumbled into this area the afternoon before, but were so ready to eat we breezed through it. We wanted to check it out some more and get something to eat there, as it all looked so good (and I had seen Escargot on several menus).

A replica shroud of Turin in St. Sulpice Catholic Church.

St. Severin on the edge of the Latin Quarter.

Monday, February 17, 2014

Paris Day 2

Our second day in Paris was supposed to include a leisurely walk down the Champs Elysees and then exploration of the West Bank of Paris, but since we slept until 11 am we only did half of that. We started at the Arc de Triomphe and walked down Ave des Champs-Elysees past the Place de la Concorde, through the Louvre, and around the Ile de la Cite (where Notre Dame is). By the time we finished with all of that, we were ready for dinner and a relaxing evening.

The roof of the Arc de Triomphe

The front of the Arc

A side panel of the Arc

In front of the Arc de Triomphe, looking down the Champs-Elysees.

In front of the Arc de Triomphe

The eternal flame at the Arc de Triomphe for the fallen.

Looking back at the Arc de Triomphe from the Place de la Concorde

The Obelisque at the Place de la Concorde

The Eiffel Tower from the Place de la Concorde

Fontaine des Mers at the Place de la Concorde

Walking toward the Louvre

Eric in front of the pyramid at the Louvre

Christina in front of the pyramid at the Louvre

Behind the pyramid

The front of Notre Dame Cathedral.
The line to get in was too long for us, but we got a lot of pictures around the outside.

Point zero. Considered to be the center of Paris.

One of the spires atop Notre Dame.

The rear of Notre Dame.

This was a memorial to the 200,000 French that were deported to concentration camps during WWII.
It was actually closed during our visit, so we didn't get to see the full scope, but it was still moving to see.

Notre Dame from the bridge.

Notre Dame from across the Seine.

Paris Day 1

A few days after Lauren's birthday, Eric and I were able to escape for a 4 day vacation in Paris. (Thanks Mom and Dad!!) We took a 6+ hour train ride and then hit the city. We walked without a purpose for a few hours just trying to get our bearings and get a feel for the city before we hit the Eiffel Tower.

This picture was taken right next to where Princess Diana was killed,
though we didn't realize it at the time.

Atop the Eiffel Tower.

After we got done with the Eiffel Tower we got dinner and relaxed at the hotel for a bit before getting on a river boat to cruise the Seine. It was nice getting to see everything lit up.