Paxton Visit: Part 1

Two weeks ago (I know, I know, I'm trying SO hard to catch up...), my in-laws came to visit. Most importantly, they got to meet their first grandchild, but a close second was their first trip to Paris.

They arrived on a Saturday morning, and we began their trip with a walk towards the major monuments near our apartment. We passed Les Invalides and Ecole Militaire (the military school, France's equivalent of West Point, for lack of a better comparison):

We continued toward the Eiffel Tower...

And found ourselves amidst THRONGS of people:

But we managed to snap a few pictures despite the crowds.

The next morning, we began with a visit to the Rodin Museum and its beautiful gardens (with the golden dome of Les Invalides peeking over the wall):

While Chris and I sat on a bench enjoying the beautiful weather, Steve and Joy toured the old mansion then came to join us:

From there, we passed a beautiful Neo-Gothic church called Basilique Ste-Clothilde on our way to the Orsay Museum, where we ended the day.

On Monday morning, we began at the Arc de Triomphe...

And made our way down the Champs Elysee toward the Louvre:

We enjoyed the ad for the A-team. It doesn't have quite the same ring in French:

And we took some pictures by the beautiful flowers at Champs-Elysee Clemenceau. Aren't they adorable?!

Finally, we took a break in the Tuileries Gardens where Steve and Joy visited the Orangerie Museum to see Monet's Waterlilies. After the Tuileries, Chris, Oliver and I went home, leaving Steve and Joy the rest of the afternoon at the Louvre. Before we left, however, we snapped these shots... I love seeing Oliver with his grandparents!!

There were plenty more sweet moments with Oli and his grandparents in the course of their trip. He especially loves his Momma Joy!

Mid-week found Steve and Joy sightseeing on their own and Steve and Chris taking a two-day jaunt to Amsterdam. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from that time. But we'll pick up with pictures from the following weekend soon. Come back for more!

iParis

It hit me the other day that I see SO MANY interesting things just wandering around the city. I often bemoan the fact that I do not have my camera with me (but seriously, you try carrying your kid's diaper bag everywhere you go; it gets heavy! Not to mention the fact that I carry my kid, too... oh to have a car...). Anyway, it occurred to me recently that I have a trusty little gadget known as the iphone. A lifesaver. Truly. So here is my first attempt at documenting random yet interesting things. Please forgive the quality of many of these pictures; I am NOT talented at iphone photography, especially not one handed.

Walking through the Tuileries Gardens a few weeks ago (the Louvre in the background) and admiring the highly sculpted French landscaping:

Admiring one of those looks the I could NEVER pull off myself:

Waiting to cross the street and almost being run over by crazies on bikes who were sporting an anti-oil protest:

Enjoying a 10-piece orchestra in the Chatelet metro station:

Pacing a bridge (with a crying Oliver) and watching the sun set behind Notre Dame:

Spotting random occurrences of our son's name, French-style, while on the way to a friend's house:

Peering down a small side street to find this adorable church:

And last, but certainly not least, the main attraction in Paris for two-months running... Oliver (pondering why his mother would want to take such an awkward picture of him):

Bastille Day

Bastille Day: France's celebration of the forming of the Republic. A celebration of liberty, fraternity, and equality. And, like Independence Day in the US, an excuse for food and fireworks. As mentioned in my previous post, the weather let us down tremendously... But it had cleared by late evening, so we made our way (with half of Paris) towards the Eiffel Tower to see the fireworks.

We chose a spot two bridges away because we were concerned the noise might be too much for Oliver (who was asleep in the Moby wrap).

There were TONS of people, even that far away from the tower.

The river boats floating by on the Seine entertained us while we waited for the show (it doesn't get dark until after 10:30 pm...).

As the night sky darkened...

The show began!

The best part to me came when we began walking home (before the show was over... we didn't want to face the crowds). We crossed several streets and realized that all the traffic around the tower was stopped; people had simply gotten out to watch the show.

Not exactly a 4th of July picnic, but a great way to celebrate independence nonetheless.

Explore Ile de France: Moret sur Luong

July 4, 2010: the last day my mother was in Paris... Clearly, I'm a little behind. Regardless, on that evening, we decided to try another suggestion from our One Hour from Paris book, and I was pleased with the result. For what it's worth, though, the book seemed to suggest that the town was just ok, while the river was particularly picturesque and interesting... But I found myself feeling the opposite.

Anyway, we visited the little village via train from Gare d'Austerlitz and entered via the medieval gate:

Which Chris pointed out for us:

The streets were charming - a mix of medieval buildings and modern signage:

This particularly beautiful building was for sale. Tempting, non?

We entered a little courtyard off the main drag:

Where we found this fabulous Renaissance facade:

Further off the main drag was a charming church:

Across the street from which stood one of the crookedest buildings I've ever seen:

And in the shadow of which stood the former home of Alfred Sisley, impressionist painter:

As we exited the main drag through another medieval gate (and after a fabulous crepe dinner, by the way), we found this gorgeous scene:

And took a picture sporting our red, white, and blue in honor of the homeland:

A bit further on down the river, we were able to look back to this view of the church:

Although the commercial scene along the river seems to have dried up long ago:

We did gain access to some beautiful views along the canal as we left the town: