Pictures as Promised!

Here are a few pictures that I have got ready.

This is the view of the Notre Dame Cathedral in the background from our windows.
 

 

View out bedroom window.

 

The underside of the Pyramid at the Louvre

Dinner at an ooo la la French Restaraunt - right below our apartment.

Around the corner... the Pont Neuf - oldest standing bridge that crosses the Seine River

The Palace of Justice - once the palace for the Dauphine of France. This is what our street was named for and we faced the back of the building.

One of Monet's Waterlilly paintings from Musee l'Orangie - it was the only museum where we could take pictures.

....and a Renoir, also from the Musee l'Orangie

Here is one of the Main Entrence's to the Chartres Cathedral of the Notre Dame. Reuel took all of the Pictures here since I was walking the labyrinth.

 

Here is one of my favorite pictures... walking the labyrinth with lots and lots of Orbs!

Well that's it for now... it takes a bit to format these for the blog, although I think I may have found a faster way...  :)  I'll get the rest up in photobucket soon. Next up... the overnight train and the Italy adventure...

Our Last Night in Paris

The wine glasses are still clinking in the cafes below us as I get ready for bed. It is almost midnight and Mom & Reuel are already asleep. This is slow going because the keyboards in France are configured differently...meh.
Mom went to mass at the Notre Dame Cathedral here on the Isle de Cité, she loved it and they had Gregorian singing. Meanwhile Reuel & I walked around a bit, had a conversation about Harleys (there are a LOT of motorcycle and scooter riders here) with a guy who is excited about coming to the US for his vacation! Then coffee and a croissant... yum...
I will post pictures tomorrow, I think... not sure what were doing because I don't have a clear plan for our luggage - apparently the Paris Bercy train station does not have lockers any more and the one that does is far enough away that it will be difficult to manage, oh well
Today was fabulous!! weather wise it was the best day so far, sunny and warm but with a nice breeze to keep things cool, which was good because we spent a lot of time queuing up in lines for the Eiffel Tower. And it was worth it! It is an amazing structure and the elevators go up fairly quickly so before you know it you are at the top. What a view!
I mostly have the bus rides figured out, but today going home I had difficulty figuring out where the bus to go home was and we had walked quite a bit, so we punted, took a couple of different buses and were assisted by a very friendly Parisian to get us to our stop.
Well tomorrow it is another adventure, the night train to Florence! and Italy for a week. till then, a bientôt

Our Luggage Has Arrived!!

Ok, we weren't going to mention this but our suitcase just got here at about 10:15 or so, what a relief!!!  We were getting tired of running around in jeans and the same shirt for 5 days! We discovered it missing when we landed in Paris. Mom's got here fine...  anyway after several phone calls and very patient and kind people on the other end of the phone, our landlord called us (she was our contact as we had no other phone # at the time) to tell us the suitcase was found and on its way to us tonight. It arrived in a white van and we were waiting outside on the bench having a glass of wine and having a conversation with a local Parisian... yes the people here in Paris are welcoming to us Americans...  most of the time. It is a very busy place for them after all  :)