So we finally made it to Paris, and we brought family and a longtime friend. We are also sporting a new camera, and a friend from work let me borrow a lens, which helped us get all these great pictures (the lens is worth almost twice as much as my camera).
Eiffel Tower - this was taken right before night took over. Honestly, the Eiffel tower is more impressive than I ever would have guessed.
Our hotel was located in a great spot, with a view of the Eiffel Tower, and it was about a 10-minute walk to the Arc of Triumph. Ironically, aliens had taken over the tower and attacked the hotel, it was scary at first, but made for a great picture.
Notre Dame - the cathedral sits on the Seine River. None of us knew how to pronounce Seine - I thought "sign," Ashley and Chris thought "zane," and TJ didn't have an opinion.
This is a picture of one of the two large stained glass windows that flank each side of the cathedral.
The Arc de Triomphe - is located at the convergance of 10 major roads known as Place Charles de Gualle, one of the roads being the Avenue des Champs-Elysees. It was built to commorate Napoleon's victory at Austerlitz. Like the Eiffel Tower, it is enormous.
The Louvre - the glass pyramid was added in 1988 and it does not belong (if I may be so bold).
Palais du Louvre was originally built as a fortress in the 1100's, so naturally it makes sense to add a random glass pyramid - the 80's weren't a good year for art apparently.
Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss - located in the Louvre. I thought this was the most impressive piece in the whole museum.
Mona Lisa - apparently the fellow that painted this knew all of Christianity's secrets, then he wrote a book about them and made a lot of money. The painting is more colorful than most pictures give it justice. It is protected by glass, which is why you can see me taking the picture in the bottom of the reflection.
Aphrodite of Milos (Venus de Milo) - this is probably the most well known Greek sculpture. Created in roughly 100 BC. It is not displayed in a particularly great part of the museum, as all angles leave doorways, windows or bright lights in the frame - especially if you want to see the front of the statue.
Winged Victory of Samothrace (Nike of Samothrace) - this was a striking sculpture, as it was displayed at the top of a very large staircase, imposing itself over the surroundings. Probably created in the 3rd century BC. The details of the wings are very impressive.
Creepy Babies Montage - the Italian Renessaince was not a good time in history for painting babies. Holy crap they are scary. I think the last one is a body-builder, yikes.
TJ likeness - it's always nice when family can come out and see us. We were very happy to have him and to be able to take him to Paris with us. Not too many people have seen both Rome and Paris before they are 21, well done sir.
Chris is Sasquatch
Chris is Teapot - the benefit of carrying the camera all day is that you can catch people in funny poses. Chris was a good sport, and by that I mean he's a goof. I am so glad he came out to see us.
Paintings - frankly I could fill this with 50 amazing pictures of famous paintings, instead we chose three. We took these pictures in multiple museums.
Bedroom in Arles - Vincent van Gogh, the d'Orsay. Van Gogh's paintings are incredible in person.
Water Lilies - Claude Monet, the Orangerie Museum. There are eight paintings in this series, each one the size of a wall. The museum displays four paintings in 2 large oval-shapped rooms. This picture is just a snippet of one of the paintings.
Le Village -Chaim Soutine, the Orangerie.
Moulin Rouge - located in the Red Light district. I have no idea why there is a giant windmill on the roof.
