Tuesday

We did the tourist thing today and rode the open air bus through Paris.  Here are some pictures I took; I will tell you more about each site and some others in later posts.
Ms. Mary Pat

This, of course is The Eiffel Tower.  Lots more about that later.

This is the front of Notre Dame Cathedral.  The two towers on the top are the bell towers made famous in the book, and of course Disney movie, "Hunchback of Notre Dame" . 

This is the square in front of the Louvre Museum.  The museum is the old building in the picture and extends several blocks in a giant "U" shape..  It was built in 1190 as a fortress to protect Paris from Viking raids.  In 1360 King Charles V transformed it into a Royal residence.  It was remodeled by King Francois in about 1515 to make it a more lavish home for French Royalty.  Subsequent kings made additional changes and it was the childhood home of King Louis the XIV (The Sun King) before he moved to Versailles.  After the French revolution it fell into disrepair and even became a gambling house. (Pretty big for a casino!)  It became a musem in 1793 with a colection of eight pieces of art.  Now it has over 30,000 pieces!   The glass Pyramid was built in 1989 as the main entrance.  It is very controversial.  Many people think it is too modern looking and does not fit in with the rest of the museum.

We will be going to the Louve on Sunday, when admission is free and will send you pictures from inside.

This is a very bad picture of the Obelisk in the center of the Place de la Concord.  It has a great story, which I will add tonight.

Saturday

We ventured outside of Paris Saturday night for a trip to the Chateau Versailles.  Versailles was originally a hunting lodge used by French royalty when they wanted a break from their royal duties.  However, King Louis XIV had a grander plan.  In 1661 he began construction of a huge Palace, spending a enormous amount of money.  Eventually Versailles included a spectacular main castle, two smaller castles, almost 2000 acres of gardens filled with statues and fountains, a long canal, and a small hamlet, where Queen Marie Antoinette pretended to be a shepherdess and took care of sheep!  The site is truly magnificent, but the French citizens were not happy that Louis the XIV and the next two kings spent so much tax money on Versailles when the people of France were starving.  In 1789 a mob of angry citizens invaded the castle and forced the royal family back to Paris, where they were imprisoned and eventually beheaded!  This was one of the first events in the French revolution.  Now Chateau Versailles is an opulent museum.  When you walk through it and see the extravagence and excess, it is easy to understand why the ordinary French citizen was outraged.

On Saturday night we watched a demonstration of music and dancing as it would have been done by the Royal Court in the seventeenth century.  Then we went outside to  see a spectacular sound and light show that showcased the many statues and fountains throughout the garden.  It was a fantastic evening. 

Here are two of the dancers in period costume.

Looking down the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles.

Here is a link to a video of the Chateau

Here is a sample of the French dancing done at the Chateau

Fountains, lights, fireworks - even better than Disney!

Part of the Outdoor light show.

Our First Full Day in Paris

Today was spent walking around the neighbor and doing a little exploring.  After buying breakfast at a "patisserie", which is a French bakery, we sat at a bench and watched all the city activity around us. We decided to do a bit more exploring, so decided on a bus trip across town.  We had trouble finding the desired bus stop, and watched with dismay when the bus we wanted pulled away from the curb while we were still half a block from the stop.  The good news is that the buses come by about every 10 minutes, so we didn't have to wait long for the next one. 

We noticed that some buses, but not all, have wheelchair access.  The bus pulls close to the curb and a hydraulic system lowers the right side of the bus to bring it closer to the curb. A small ramp extends from the doorway to the sidewalk. The driver raises the bus before pulling away from the curb.  It is much faster than having the driver get out, lower a lift, then raise it back up.  We saw a similar system on buses when we went to the Hong Kong Transed conference.  Maybe this is the wave of the future!

I have learned an expensive lesson today.  I asked for water in a restaurant and was served a small bottle of water that cost almost $5!  A soda costs the same! No refills either, guys!  If sodas were that expensive in the US, we would all be much healthier! 

I am looking forward to seeing artwork from today's Seaturtle class.  Keep meet posted on the activity of the CLSC.

We are here!

Hi everybody!

We have arrived in Paris after a long day of traveling.  Our flights were very smooth - just like riding the Bay Town Trolley!  We left Wednesday morning from the new airport and flew to Orlando with no problems.  We then caught a flight to Montreal, Canada.  We were supposed to wait about an hour in Montreal for our flight to Paris, but our plane was delayed in arriving from Vancouver, which if you check the map you will see is on the west coast of Canada.  The reason for the delay was that there was a medical emergency on board and the plane had to change route to take a sick passenger to Alaska!  By the time it evacuated that person and got back on track, the plane was almost three hours behind schedule.  It did not make a difference to Mr. Jay or me, since we were in no hurry.  Other people on our flight, however, had connections to make in Paris to go on to someplace in Russia.  When our plan landed in Paris, they had to rush off.  I don't know if they made their flight or not.  But isn't it interesting to think that somebody got sick near Vancouver and it affected people almost half way around the world?  You just never know what "ripples" you send out.

We are now in our apartment on the Left Bank of Paris.  We are across the street from Notre Dame Cathedral, although we cannot see it from inside our apartment.  We are in a neighborhood Mrs. Mccauley would love - apartments, stores, cafes, and lots of people walking around.  We are very close to a Metro stop, so we will be using it quite a bit.

We can hear live music from a cafe down the street and we feel as if we are in a movie.  Wish you all could be here with us. 

This is the courtyard we overlook.

Ms. Mary Pat

The black door is the entrance to our apartment
building.  If someone buys the "I love Paris"
t-shirt hanging out front, I might not find my way
home.

The view from our front door.
Notre Dame Cathedral

Getting Ready to Go

Hi Chautauqua!

This is just a test to make sure this blog is up and running.  I am busy packing and planning.  Watch this space for updates from Europe!

Ms Mary Pat