Saturday, July 11, 2009

Day 18 - Champs Elysees, Pont Neuf, River Seine

I changed the size of my pictures on my camera, so I'm hoping they'll upload for this post. Thanks, Nate! It seems to be working some of the time, but the Internet connection keeps going in and out. I'll post pics as soon as I am able. (The numbers you see represent the picture I have yet to be able to post. I don't want to have to go through 500 pictures AGAIN!)

We were on our way to the Metro this morning when I noticed that cars were parked on the sidewalk. How cool is that?




Walking up the Champs Elysees (the avenue leading to the arch) to the Arc de Triomphe, we passed by beautiful homes with statues and gardens in their yards. The homes were gorgeous and well represented the wealth in the area. This assumedly homeless man sleeping on the park bench in front of one of these homes was quite a contrast. So sad.




This is just an example of one of the outside cafes that are all over the streets of Paris.






And this is one example of several guys we saw dressed in drag for whatever reasons. They all were having a great time....probably hoping to be the next YouTube star.




Again with the clocks. I thought this cute little clock outside the Swatch store was adorable with the little bunny rabbits on it. Upon seeing an enlarged view on my computer, I realized it wasn't just cute, it was oo la la!

Great concept car by Citroen! Got several detailed pictures of this one. I didn't ask the price though. Hey, that's something else to talk about. Once you pass the gorgeous homes, you enter a long stretch of shopping. Scattered among Cartier, Louis Vitton, I Love Paris (a tacky tourist shop), Kids' Gap, etc., are all these car dealerships. Mercedes, Toyota, Citroen. You just walk in the store and do your shopping for a car. There are no car lots (that I know of). 239 219

After leaving the Champs Elysees, we headed to the River Seine to walk along the River Walk. To get there, we went through the Jardin des Tuillieries, which is a garden surrounded by the Louvre, the Seine, the Place de la Concorde, and the Rue de Rivoli.

We stopped for a while at the fountain to feed the baby ducks and try to absorb all our surroundings. Simply gorgeous. I took loads of pictures in this area. I thought this picture of the birch trees was interesting because people had actually used the trees to write their names or draw hearts with their initials in it. I thought it looked like a work of art. The third picture shows an area where street vendors display their goods, some of which are original pieces of art. Here is an artist we came across on the bridge as he was painting. I couldn't make a connection because he speaks French and I don't. Sacre bleu! 261


Jeannie and I shared a creme brulee for dessert! Yummy! OOPS! We were so anxious to eat it we forgot to take a picture! It was much prettier before we broke the sugar topping!

Funny story...
When we were leaving the cafe, Jeannie's security alarm/key chain went off. Three waiters came running over, but they were laughing because they knew what she had done. Jeannie got so flustered that she first forgot her Metro card laying on the table, which the waiter brought to her. Before walking out the door, we were talking to a group of Floridians from Gainesville. Lucky for Jeannie, because this time the waiter brought over her sweater. He was still laughing and told her that she was cut off from wine and she should stop smoking those funny cigarettes. LOL! You had to be there!


On the way home we happened upon this memorial. Not only can I not speak French, but I can't read it either. The plaque said something about the liberation of Paris: La Liberation de Paris, 1944.

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