Boat Tour on the River Seine

Bonjour, all!

Care to join me on a cruise of the River Seine in Paris?

Oui?  Then come aboard the Bateaux Parisienne for an early evening ride!

Hubby and I decided to spend our last night in Paris on this one hour tour.  We had taken the tour several times over the years, but it never grows old!  From the river, you get a totally different perspective of the city, and night time with the twinkling lights seems extra magical.
I didn't think to get a picture of the boat before we boarded, but I did snap this afterward.

My very favorite church, Notre Dame.  It looks quite different from the water!

One of the many bridges in Paris.

This is Muse d'Orsay.  It used to be a train station many years ago, but was converted to a huge museum.  It's full of beautiful impressionistic art, including my favorite, Claude Monet. 

Below is  the Conciergerie.
I just love the turrets.  Behind the beautiful walls, it was a prison during the French Revolution.  Marie Antoinette was imprisoned here before she met her fate.

Sorry, I have some of the pictures out of order.  You can see now it is getting a bit darker.  Here we are about to go beneath a bridge.  I just love the way the lights shimmer on the water, and the way the bridge is illuminated.

Sigh!!!  I miss it already!

A not so great pic of moi.
The millions of twinkly lights on the Eiffel Tower hadn't been turned on yet.

Oooh, la, la!

It is such a romantic city, even more so in the evening, I think.

Now we are approaching my favorite bridge, the Ponte Alexandre III.

Coming back toward Notre Dame, where our boat ride began.

Well that concludes our tour:)
Thanks so much for joining me!

A Visit to Versailles

Bonjour Mes Amis,

How is your week going so far?

Today I wanted to share with you our trip to Versailles.  Hard to believe we were there a week ago today!

This was our third trip there, and let me tell you, the place is amazing!

Versailles is just a short 30 minute train ride from Paris, making it super easy to reach.

If you ever have the opportunity to visit, go!

But be prepared for lines, very long, long lines!

 We thought we were being oh so smart and bought our tickets on line.  We figured that would cut our wait time to get in.  Well, weren't we in for a surprise when we got there and found this?  Yikes!  Yes, that is the line for people who already have their tickets!

We later heard that Tuesday is not the day to go!  It wasn't nearly that busy on our previous visits.  If we hadn't already paid for our tickets, we seriously would have hopped right back on the train for Paris!

 Thank goodness it wasn't raining or anything, as we stood outside waiting to enter for nearly 2 hours!

 And once inside, it was elbow to elbow.  Geez, you would think a place this huge couldn't possibly become crowded, but it does!

Can you believe that it's more than 721,000 square feet, and 700 rooms???

 I snapped so many pics, I'll let the photos do most of the talking.

 To say the palace is sumptuous is putting it mildly.  No surface was left bare and unadorned.  The ceilings were amazing!

Below is the chapel.

 It was so crowded that I had a hard time getting some good shots.

Below is a painting of the young Louis XVI.

Just look at that amazing wallpaper, which actually is fabric!

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 I was drooling over the chandeliers!

 One of the most fabulous rooms in the palace is the Hall of Mirrors.
Note the crowds?

 How would you like to clean all of those chandeliers??

 At the time it was built, most people didn't even own a mirror. They were a rare luxury item.

So to have a huge room lined with floor to ceiling mirrors was unheard of.

 Imagine waking up in this bed, below.

 Marie Antoinette's bedroom, below.

Did you know that the queen had to give birth in front of the public?

Yes, that's right!  As was the custom of French royalty back in the day, public births were a way to prove the new baby was actually of royal blood.  Can you imagine????

 Below is the Hall of Battles.  Huge paintings depicting French wars lined the enormous room.

   

A goofy picture of me, below.

 The grounds were equally amazing, and provided a welcome relief from the crowds inside!

Lots of fountains.

 The Orangerie, below, was one of my favorite gardens.

Amazing topiaries, huge potted lemon and orange trees, and perfectly groomed grass.

 I can only imagine the work involved maintaining it all!

 Thanks for joining me on my little tour.  Hope you aren't getting tired of my trip pics, I have more to share in future posts!

Au revior!

Baby it's Cold Outside!

With another arctic blast upon us and temps in the single digits (for a high, and not including the wind chill factor!), I am longing for spring!  (I know, I said I wasn't going to complain anymore about the cold!)  Tonight's low is supposed to be minus 8 degrees, brrr!

So today I stayed warm by snapping these photos from the comfort of inside, looking out the window!

We really enjoy watching the birds at our heated bird bath. It's a treat when the blue birds swoop in for a quick drink.  There were 7 today at once, but of course all but 3 of them flew off when I ran to get my camera.

Aren't they beautiful? 

 We have several bird feeders as well as suet feeders, which are always a hit.  I was so excited to see this yellow bellied sap sucker (he's huge!), on the right, and a hairy woodpecker on the left.

 As soon as the hairy woodpecker flew off, a red headed woodpecker flew in for a snack!

 Ok, I just had to share these next two pictures of our Katie, staying warm and cozy inside!

 Here she is, playing with an early birthday gift, a stuffed squeaky chipmunk.

(Yes, she is more than a little spoiled!)

 I just had to tease you and share with you these lovely shots of Giverny, Monet's gardens!

I was hunting thru photos that I'd saved and came across them today, and thought they would be a good antidote to our subzero wintery blast!

This was our second trip there, in 2008.

 Ever since art appreciation class in high school 

(and I won't even tell you how many years ago that was!) 

I've been in love with Monet's work.  I had dreamed for years of some day visiting his gardens, but never thought I would actually get there!

 What a treat, and a surreal moment, to be standing at his famous pond, the setting for his gorgeous water lily series of paintings!

 This is his home,above.  I just love the green shutters, and how the ivy has taken over the peachy pink stucco walls.  We toured the inside, but weren't supposed to take photos.

 Tons of rhododendrons and azaleas (sigh!).

 Another view of his pond.  Notice the pretty green bridge in the background?

Here's hubby on the bridge.  Isn't that wisteria gorgeous?  I remember it took quite awhile for me to get a shot of this, as the gardens were packed with other tourists the day we were there.

If you ever get a chance to visit Giverny, do so!

Just looking at these photos from the past makes me feel a little warmer:)

Have a great day, keep warm and cozy!