France, je t'aime

I think it's about that time I share with you my time spent in France.  Why haven't I shared this with you since I returned?  I would blame my jet lag but it has been two weeks since I returned and I no longer consider that a valid excuse.  :)

I had the absolute pleasure of accompanying Kira, for her high school graduation present, to France!  The time Kira, Joy (Kira's mother and my JOYful aunt) and I spent overseas was amazing and I wouldn't trade the experience for anything.

Joy, Kira, and myself flew to Paris on Sunday, May 25, and landed in Paris on Monday morning (Memorial Day) at 9:10 AM.  As soon as we arrived we knew where we needed to go but spent an hour of time (and $60 euros) trying to find the correct and easiest way to get to the flat we rented for the entire time spent in France.  Let me tell you, do not second guess yourself.  When you second guess yourself you spend more time and money worrying if you are where you need to be, and in our case - the RER.  Oh boy, by the end of the trip, I think we had mastered the Metro in it's entirety!  By the time we arrived at the flat, I was exhausted and needed at short nap.  After my nap, I felt rejuvenated and ready to see the Eiffel Tower.  We hopped back on the Metro and voila(!) we found it on the first try!  We than decided to go to the Arc de Triomphe which is a magnificent piece of art stuck right in the middle the largest roundabout I've ever seen.  Twelve roads converge at this roundabout so you can only imagine (unless you've seen it) utter chaos!  I'm honestly surprised we didn't see an accident!  On our way back to the flat we stopped and gathered a few tarts and ended up having wine, cheese and crackers, and our pastry tarts for dinner before we called it our first successful night in Paris.

Arc de Triomphe

Tour de Eiffel

Tuesday was one of my most favorite days of the entire trip!  We set out early to tour the Palace of Versailles - the absolutely most lovely palace in all time!  The palace itself was so beautiful.  If I could compare it to anything, I would compare it to a stunning treasure chest.  Once you look inside the treasure chest, all of its little treasures are revealed and are breathtaking.  There is so much history surrounding the palace and we sure saw our fair share of Louis XIV.  He is sculpted and painted everywhere inside the palace which brings me to believe is was completely obsessed with himself!  I could spend an entire day admiring the artwork, architecture, and gardens.  There is so much beauty at the palace I was so sad to leave it.  I promised myself I would go back to France, even if it's only to see the Palace of Versailles again.  That evening we went to Sacre Coeur (the highest point in Paris) and Montmartre.  So many steps but completely worth it.  The shops in Montmartre were touristy spots but what tourist doesn't love souvenirs?!  I also came across a little shop that had exceptional artwork that included hundreds of painted canvases.  I purchased three canvases while I was there.  I cannot wait to get them framed and hung in my apartment.

Palace of Versailles: By no means does this picture do the palace justice.  It's huge but I was captivated by the gold, and the line we were able to skip right past!  It was a tad gloomy on Tuesday but I was a very happy girl!

Hall of Mirrors

A small portion of the palace gardens, which were vast and covered 2,000 acres.  Unfortunately our time was cut short at the palace but I intend to go back and do a little more exploring.

My favorite room (out of the rooms I saw) was Marie Antoinette's room (pictured above).  The top cover on the bed was her original bedding.  Everything else had been re-fabricated to look as though it did when she lived there.  The reason the top piece of bedding is the only original artifact in the room is because the room was torched from the March on Versailles.  Marie Antoinette escaped through the door on the far left.  Eventually the Queen and King were found and imprisoned before cutting off their heads. 

Sacre Couer: All. Those. Steps.

On Wednesday, the three of us took a stroll to Notre Dame, the locks of love bridge (no, not the one that recently collapsed), and Musee du Louvre!  Notre Dame is a stunning piece of architecture and will stop any one in their tracks.  It's also floating on water! (Okay, it's on an island but it sounds cooler if you say it's floating on water ;) ).  We walked inside the cathedral and lit a candle for grandpa Dennis Harmon.  We marveled at the stained glass windows and strolled around the back of the building to find the locks of love bridge.  My aunt Joy had brought a lock for us to make our wish and throw away of the key.  A couple of blocks away from Notre Dame was Musee du Louvre.  We spent a few hours in the Louvre admiring sculptures and paintings.  One of my favorite pieces was painted by Jacques-Louis David, The Coronation of Napoleon.  The original is on display in the Louvre but there is a story behind the painting.  Napoleon admired the painting so much, he also wanted a copy of the piece for himself.  So David, painted the same painting twice but changed one thing in it.  One of the cousins of Josephine is wearing a pink dress instead of a blue dress (the blue dress is in the original).  I was lucky enough to admire both pieces for the copy painted for Napoleon is on display in the Palace of Versailles where as the original is on display in the Louvre.  I also saw the Mona Lisa, it was the exact size I thought it would be even though I was warned it was much smaller than people thought.  Also, there is way too much hype about the painting and so many tourists trying to get a picture.  I was mostly stunned at how rude the other tourists were rather than intrigued by the painting itself.  When we returned to the flat later that evening, I was feeling a little under the weather so I stayed at the flat while Joy and Kira went back to the Louvre.  Honestly, an entire day can be spent in the Louvre and you still wouldn't be able to see everything it has to offer.  I definitely needed rest because I slept for twelve hours that night and woke up feeling much better on Thursday!

Kira and I in front of Notre Dame

The lock bridge with a view of Notre Dame

Locking our lock on the locks of love bridge!

Musee du Louvre

Jacques-Louis David, The Coronation of Napoleon (the original found in Musee du Louvre)

 We spent our day on Thursday at Musee d'Orsay, Champs Elysees, on a boat tour, and at the Eiffel Tower.  Musee d'Orsay was my favorite musee :).  It contains work from Degas, Rodin, Monet, Manet, Renoir, Cezanne, Van Gogh and many others.  Unfortunately, you are scolded by musee employees because you are not allowed to take pictures.  However, I did sneak a couple of images of famous works by Monet.  I will not post them as respect to the musee but I will have the images of rare treasures forever!  After the musee and purchasing the perfect souvenirs, we walked along Champs Elysees where one can find the most fabulous and over priced shops!  Joy, myself and Kira walked into Swarovski to admire the staircase made entirely out of crystal but ended up leaving with a few small bags.  Everyone needs a little treat sometimes!  After we had our fair share of Champs Elysees, we headed over to the Eiffel Tower and relaxed in a little park right to the side of it.  We were there for a few hours but couldn't stay until dark because we were exhausted from all the walking we had been doing.  Once we got back to the flat we started packing a bag for the weekend because on Friday, we left by train to Cannes, France.

Musee d'Orsay on the left bank of the Seine

Waiting near the Seine for our boat tour, with a view of the Eiffel Tower in the background.

The beginning of our adventure on Champs Elysees.

Friday morning we headed to the train station to make our way down to the South of France, the beautiful city of Cannes.  It took five hours by train from Paris to Cannes.  We checked into our hotel (which was two short blocks away from the beach) and decided to walk around the streets of Cannes.  We found Byron Restaurant and enjoyed us some dinner.  I devoured the fish sandwich but admired the giant burger Kira had ordered, haha.  After dinner, we strolled along the Mediterranean Sea dipping our toes into the chilly water and posting up on the beach, watching the sunset.  Cannes is magical.

The next two days were spent lounging on the private and public beaches admiring the blues of the sea.  We also saw many topless women.  People really like to show their stuff, or do not like tan lines... one or the other, haha.  I finally tried oysters on the half shell at this extremely popular seafood restaurant near the water.  I can't have too many at one time but they were pretty tasty.  After a weekend of being beach bums, we caught the train going back to Paris on Monday evening.  I was sad to say goodbye to the glorious weather and the sea but our time was coming to an end in France all together.

Sun setting in Cannes

So happy to be on the beach!!!

Last day, soaking up the sun, on the French Riviera.

We didn't arrive back in Paris until pretty late on Monday evening so we rested up for Tuesday, our last full day in Paris.  On Tuesday we found our way back to Sacre Cour and Montmartre.  We found Moulin Rouge snuggled on a street between hundreds of sex stores.  It was very interesting to see (all the sex stores, that is).  Moulin Rouge was nothing exciting but I was glad I was able to see it in person nonetheless.  Once we had our fill of Montmartre, we headed back to see the Eiffel Tower for the last time - and headed to the top of the tower.  The view of the city was one of a kind, especially because we went to the top when the city of Paris started glowing from all the lights.  I would not recommend going to the top of the tower at any other time because at sunset is the best time to go.  The Eiffel Tower lit up at night is also a beautiful sight.  It was a fabulous end to a fantastic day.

Another visit to Sacre Coeur.

Moulin Rouge

Right before heading up the Eiffel Tower.

You're unable to see it but at the far end of the island on the Seine is the Statue of Liberty.

View from the Eiffel Tower.

She's definitely a sight when she's entirely lit up!

 Tuesday night after returning to the flat, we packed up our bags and were ready to leave for the airport bright and early on Wednesday morning.  We left Paris at 12:10 PM and we were back on US soil at 2:30 PM (it made for a really long day).

I had a wonderful time and enjoyed it with two very special people - and we will always have France. <3