Paris: A little Sunday Stroll?

this actually may be a photo from the night before... oops, but

we passed it on the way in

and on the way out..

see the sign..??

it says

GARE DE LYON

it is the train station that has trains coming from Lyon!

our train station...

I LIKE the clock tower...

a whole lot!

We woke up

with no place to worship this sunny Parisian Sabbath,

and with feet that ached LIKE NOTHING I have known yet...

why?

when I walk everywhere

and own the most comfortable

cushioned birkenstock sandals in the world?

because...

simply put

we are walking MORE than God would have me or any

REASONABLE person walk...

we are BRINKING on insanity I say!!!

and have informed my darling husband

for the health of my feet

and our wonderful marriage

alternative or even additional sources of transportation

NEED to be included

in today's excursions

other than just

THESE FEET!!!!

While I thought the local Metro system would work fine

Paris is KNOWN world wide for it's excellent

public transportation systems..

my Man thought not...

he preferred on his brief weekend "holiday"

(so European I know... )

to enjoy something with more of a

Tourist flare..

What do you think...

Stuffy buses

or

BATOBUS...

The ULTIMATE IN WATER TAXI's.....

can you guess which we picked...

yes

the BATOBUS

Problem is,

you have to walk a LONG LONG LONG way

to get to the first stop...

hmmmm

this does NOT dissuade our fearless leader!

(what's there to fear you wonder?

MUTINY!!!!!!!!)

Isn't this a nice church...

We found it along the way...

this is how he has kept the Mama of the Crew from breaking rank...

"lets walk through the Latin Quarter,

& perhaps we can find that other LIFE GOAL of yours on the way

to BATOBUS"

he is sooo smooth....

it's how he got me to say I DO

smooth this one..

gotta love him :)

IF I remember correctly this is

Jardin des Plantes

very pretty...

but not stopping now..

we have ONE day to see the REST of Paris...

or well, lets be honest...

its highlights

or ...

the Hightlights ON our list..

there are too many to see in a day

let alone in a weekend

or a week....

Paris needs months

like Lyon...

I still have spots of Lyon I want to see

and I am leaving soon!

LIFE GOAL

nearly realized..

I am hear...

that is enough.

it is not open yet..

rob says maybe we can come back..

but...

really

I doubt that..

I am still SO SO SO excited to finally see it with my own eyes..

so many times I see this in books!

In almost EVERY film ever made in Paris

this is in some scene, some small glimmer of a scene,

even if they just walk past it,

drive past it..

I always look for it,

ha!

and now,

I AM HERE!!!!!

perhaps we will come back

and I too can buy a book here

Princess and Caspian LOVE Shakespeare

wouldn't it be fun to buy them one of their favorite plays?...

but guess what is across the street!

DIRECTLY

ACROSS the street...

yes and you can hear it's beautiful church bells far and wide...

NOTRE DAME Cathedral...

where o where is the

HUNCHBACK Mama?

Checkin out those Flying Buttresses!!!!

In case you haven't been following...

We did a study on Cathedrals

and have had fun

disecting each one we come across since!

finding gargoyles

looking for how many rosettes their are...

so fun!

Here is a picture of the Notre Dame Cathedral FROM

the BATOBUS!!!
a slightly different angle
I like to give you options..
makes you feel like you are right there with me..
and aren't you sort of..
I am after all thinking of you all the time!

I liked this one because of how many bridges I can look under!
CRAZY fun!
Batobus is only about 42Euros for our family of 5 for the whole day!
and it will taxi us from stop to stop
we can get on and get off any of the designated stops..
Notre Dame Cathedral being one of them...
getting on...
This tower image is of a woman
she is so tall and erect
it made us remember the grand Oracles in Lord of the Rings that
the characters passed by on the river..
very foreboding...
What a beautiful bridge!
We are off the BatoBus now and are walking again!
I love the intricate work on the bridges,
and the gold makes it so ....
fancy!
Check out the Tops of the Bridge..
Pretty SNAZZY???
I thought so..
We all thought the use of gold to splash up the gray bridge was just so...
stylish!
and so many of these bridges ...
unlike in America,
where the Road over the bridge JUST keeps going..
not here.
Here they lead to something...
the Pont has a Point...
tadah!
So magnificent..
no wonder why people fall "in love"
with Paris...
we think we might be...
uh oh!
Here is that Greek gods wife again

with her horses

she does NOT just reside in Lyon..

and here

if you stand in JUST the right place

it seems she is coming out of the tree tops!

too funny

according to Buddy!

oh... I forgot to tell you

We are in the area of Champs Elysees...

this is the Grand Palais

and this is the Petite palace

(yeah WHATEVER! I'll show you petite!

but compared to the Louvre..

I guess it it...

what do I KNOW????)

There she is again at another angle..

and an important military dead guy....

Rob knows who...

but Rob is sleeping...

so

who thinks they know???

We were not sure what this was...

but we liked it a lot!
There it is!!!!
Yes I am standing in the MIDDLE OF THE TRAFFIC
like a total nut job
but ...
I am not the only one..
other people follow me..
and I highly doubt I am the first to do it :)
What do you think?
The Arc de Triomphe Etoile
as we walk up Avenue des Champes Elysees
this its the eternal fire
lit for all the french soldiers
and all the lives lost...
we took photos also of many of the names
I never knew this was a war memorial
I never knew so many things..
I love home education...
not only are my children learning
but I am too..

I don't know that it matters what tribe
or tongue that you are from
there is something very special
about such places...
places where the dead are remembered
places where their deeds are honored...
the Bible talks about setting up such Memorials
that our sons would not forget...
yet somehow
if we do NOT take them there...
it really is just a notch on the
tourist list of things to do....
this may have beat out the Louvre in my kids books...
they were blown away
utterly moved...
it was hard to leave...
I want to now more...
more about the names,
places
and dates on these plaques...
I hate not knowing ...
and Love when I know enough to know I need to learn! :)
LOOK!
I am at the Arc
They saw their soldiers as Warriors...
and mounted Warriors on the ARC
to show their children
and the world
they were strong...
this is a good thing for any nation to do...

we are really here... touching this place..
It is so bit... I can not fit it in this frame...
but look at the people..
the kids loved it !
Thank you Lord
for letting us see this...
for teaching us
and showing us how much more
there is to learn
while igniting that passion
in us to learn it!
Here we are!
Rob and I!
and Buddy too... he HAD to sneek in the photo... :)
We liked this intersection
because
a) it is nice
b) in the middle is George Washington
an American President by the name of George
that the French liked
honored and revered enough
to make a statue of
and place
in their most beloved city Paris!!!!
great intersection!
I forget the greek godess..
the kids know..
they are sleeping as I do this...
sorry...

you KNEW it was coming!

The Princess!

Yep, Princess KI has arrived at the Eiffel Tower!

Caspians LIFE GOAL

achieved!

YES MAMA we are sooo for sure for sure in Paris

hurray!

can you CATCH Buddy's enthusiasm?

we are all touching the base of the Eiffel tower

looking up!

uh oh... looking around..

look what Princess KI found...

how ever does she do that ?

:)

It really is lovely...

and there are armed guards

and crazy crowds

and people with MJ posters and music

trying to get crowds riled up

...

in my honest opinion..

to pick pocket the people...

and the news are everywhere...

and they do NOT see what is really happening,

they are too busy testing their mikes

and doing what EVER it is they do...

....

but I am just a silly homemaker..

what EVER would I know???

I know I am not going into THAT madness to go up into the tower...

not this day.

so we decide to stroll about the grounds surrounding the tower looking

for the perfect shots of the tower, and

looking for a good ice cream stand

when WHAT should we stumble upon??

no we didn't carve our initials into this tree

but it is sweet that they were there!

awww how romantic!

yes, a little snap happy...

if you walked as much as I did..

you'd get this many

(and 50 more like I did)

and then some

(like I did) too!

Bato bus is ok, but perhaps we need a third mode of transport

Walking in Paris is really exhausting..

especially when your husband is

6'5" and has that LONG stride!

taking after their mother...

getting ready to leave now...

can you tell, we are further away...

???

no this is not BATOBUS

but we saw this guy on another boat down by the water...

I rather liked this guy!

I have another great close up!

I think this is Musee D'Orsay

I am not totally certain..

I really liked the structure of the building...

It is in a half circle

very welcoming and yet the door sort of comes out at you,

like the American Front Porch

and it acts like a Hand Shake,

a bit of a greating...

though in many respects this building

is quite cold and aloof

its actual design is both warm and welcoming...

Epitomising to me the French people in general...

I love it!

St Germain District!

looking for ice cream...

Along many Quai's in the city are these boxes,

and they are filled with books

magazines and such ...

and on certain days

they are opened by the people who

I gather either own or rent them.

and they sell their wares..

But their things are inside,

and then they close up the box and lock it...

I wondered why anyone would not just break in..

but then how many of us book worms are really

that sort of criminal?

probably NOT a big crime issue in Paris...

This place had quite the line,

but it was moving rather swift so we hopped in!

Rumor has it...

(those in line talking at me a million miles a minute)

that this is one of the TWO BEST Ice Cream stops in all of Paris..

HEY HEY

Praisin the Lord for even small things today.

this is probably some little man's prayer answer....

BUDDY!!!!!!!!!

Mama!

"They made my ice cream a FLOWER!!!!!!!

Isn't it so pretty???

should I eat it?"

"yes Buddy! or your flower will melt"

already licked his...

isn't it pretty still???

chocolate and vanilla!

Mango and i think Vanilla (or Citron)

Isn't it lovely???

All Ice cream should be served like this!

I lOVE IT!

and it tasted fantastic!!!!!

a view from where we sat as we finished our soda's

and icecreams

all done!

that was gooooooood!

The Dr. and Mrs....

some nice americans we met sitting at the bar...

yes the bar..

we take our children to bars all over Europe..

just pubbing it

so weird isn't it!

this is so NOT something you do in America..

but...

here if you want something to drink,

you just sit at a bar

and...

grab a coca

and a gini or orangina for the kidi's and ...

technically

they are DRINKIN' in the BAR!!!!!!!!!!!

I tell rob it's ok

I did it all the time as a kid

look at me...

i turned out ok

making our rounds back!!!

we have re hit the Latin District and tadah!

shakespeare and comany is open for business!

while I got oodles of photos of the inside...

this one was my favorite..

so totally ...

ME

what do you think?

that is what i think my house will look like if I just let it grow

at it's current rate...

in 3-5 years..

I so want that ladder thing!!!!!!

LOVE IT!

PINCH ME!!
We are all such Bookworms... too fun!

blow this up and read it in YOUR spare time :)

Tender is the Night..... F. Scott Fitzgerald

Timon of Athens.... W. Shakespeare (for the kids!!!)

The Princess Bride.... Because Rob reads aloud to us, and we need a comedy next!

Time for supper!

French food Parisian Style!

I could tell you all about the sweet young couple

he was German she Australian

they about to marry...

or about the OBNOXIOUS Americans

who we KNEW were from near chicago

and boy were we right...

they drove the waiter crazy....

I could ... I perhaps should...

but I think I might leave it for another day...

a different post

or a cup of tea just you and me..

Sitting by the river waiting for our Water taxi

to take us nearer to our hotel..

but not really NEAR it..

so we can walk our feet raw

but at least sit for some of it...

what a view..

what a day...

how can we capture this..

is there some special way..

something beyond the cheap trinket?

That is when I spotted the artist...

and walked over to look..

JUST the thing... 2 please...

we got 2 paintings of Paris.. and he about fell over..

he looks half starved,

for food.. maybe..

for appreciation of his efforts... maybe..

we find his work fine...

not the louvre.

but charming... imperfect and lovely..

Buddy wanted to shake his hand and tell him

that he wants to be an artist when he grows up...

the man squatted down and hugged him, and then ..

I got that photo...

pretty touching...

we prayed a blessing over him,

and I think again

with the Notre Dame behind us

this soul was touched...

He waved as we left... and so did we..

We have his art, his name...

he'll forever be a part of our Paris experience

a part of our family prayers...

Notre Dame in the evening

Buddy watching the artist

the Cathedral

all of the day

fall away

and the sun go down behind it...

only 4 years old

for 365 days

they sure are flying by fast....

here are the views from the end of the boat ride...

I found them simply beautiful...

I hope you do too

We were all so tired,

this was such a relaxing end to it..

wishing it took us right to our hotel...

Tired

thankful

encouraged

exhausted

hmmm

time for bed??

the sun is gone!

and in the morning ... so are we...

Paris is Lovely