my french lessons are a bit late. .. .

My trip to Paris late last year was so enjoyable.   I initially wanted to go to as many European countries but twas a good thing my travel agent warned me that  i may be on the move all the time considering the very brief period (7 days) i had so my husband and i just decided to visit Paris and Rome and i'm glad we did.

Paris has a certain appeal - one gets to see the old and the new in this city of lights.  Here are some of the places i had fun in. . . 

Musee d' Louvre

One day is not enough for this repository of great works of art.  Two,  maybe three days would allow one to leisurely go through this museum and absorb the different stories behind some of the great works.

A visit to the Louvre will not be complete without dropping by to check in on her.  If the Eiffel Tower was larger than life,   i was surprised to see that La Gioconda's photo was not as big as i thought it would be.     Tip to would-be visitors:  Go there in time for the opening of the museum, then make her your first stop,  so that you can really go near  (as far as the cordon will allow)  and her visitors would still be manageable.

We also went to see the Palace of Versailles,   this used to be the seat of power when King Louis XIV moved to this place from Paris. Suffice it to say that this place is SOOOOO HUGE!   Not only that,  the palace grounds  includes the humongous Garden of Versailles.  It will take a village of gardeners to tend to that place.

We dropped by the  Basilique du Sacre Couer (Basilica of the Sacred Heart) where one can see the Parisian skyline from the steps of the Basilica.

A few blocks from the Basilica,  we had our first taste of French coffee,  in this market-like square full of small coffeeshops,   and in the middle,  there are stalls selling souvenirs and dainty paintings and drawings of Parisian life.

So you see,   my french lessons would have been put to good use,  if only i took it before my trip last year.  Oh well,  i'm sure i can still use it when i go back with the fam,  which i hope will be real soon.

Will blog about Rome next. . .

i fell for Eiffel. . .

the first time my husband and i laid our eyes on this unmistakeable French landmark,  we were so awed,  and in the hubby's words,  "it took my  breath away".    I am sure part of that is due to the fact that we  couldn't believe that we were actually in Paris.   And the bigger part is how the Eiffel Tower is so larger (literally and figuratively)  than life.   It has a whole lot of history attached to it being 121 years old.  Hence,  in our short stay,   we managed to drop by a number of times and we couldn't resist taking photos each and every time.  We had photos taken  amidst a morning drizzle . .

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and on one lazy afternoon . .

and at night  where  the sight was simply unbelievable

Oh,  we also had a shot from under the tower,  while on queue to go up. . .

and while on the second level (too bad that's the highest point we were allowed to go to),  

with a view of the River Seine,   and the shadow of the mighty Eiffel.

While we were on the queue,   we saw slices of Paris society,   like a diorama  -  

There are tourists from various countries  (including European countries)  and  there are also locals accompanying their visitor-friends,  Eiffel being a mandatory stop for sightseeing .  France, specifically Paris  has such a large Tourism industry.

I also noticed a group of women,  who do not look like locals,   dressed uniformly in long skirts and layered tops,  some of them have veils,  and they would approach people  as they say "Speak English?" and if someone acknowledges,  they would show a piece of paper with something written on it.   I actually don't know what they wanted  as i also did not acknowledge them -  my friends who visited Paris in the past have given me a lot of reminders,   and that was one of them.     

I also saw a number of street vendors selling a multitude of souvenir items,    laid out on a blanket and it included all sizes of the miniature Eiffel Tower;   apparently,  they were unauthorized to do so,  as a French policeman would later chase them away . . hmm, so like Manila.     

All these just added to the mystique that is Eiffel.     My visits were  certainly not enough,  hence i hope to be able to do a Douglas MacArthur soon.