Day 4- Paris, France

Sunday, December 29, 2013

(Last Day in Paris) 

Today we woke up early and had a traditional Parisian breakfast, which consisted of a small cup of coffee, freshly squeezed orange juice, and a freshly baked croissant with a variety of jam (It's just the perfect size). After breakfast, the four of us took a cab to our "official" visit of the Eiffel Tower.  The size and detail is just beautiful as the strips of iron wrap to the very top.  We decided not to go to the top since it was a 3-5 hour wait due to only 2 lifts being in operation.  Instead, we walked to the quiet side of the tower as the sun was starting to rise.  Normally, the iron resembles a dark bronze color, but today it was the brightest gold color thanks to the rising sun shining upon it.  It was very beautiful!

After the million pictures we took, we decided to take another cab ride to the highest point in Paris, Montmartre.

(One of our only group pictures of the trip)

The winding cobble stone streets took us to another world that felt like we were no longer in Paris.  As we approached the city, our view of a beautiful  called,  Sacre-Coeur, which means sacred heart.  This section of Paris absolutely took my breath away and was definitely my favorite part of the entire Paris-London trip. As we got out of the cab we started our walk into the square right when the church bells began to rang.   There was so much life in Montmartre.

(Sacre- Coeur, the sacred heart)

(Classic look of a Parisian- so mysterious)

(The beautiful view of Paris from the top of the city)

Street vendors and artists roamed the streets.  The artists had an amazing display of drawings and paintings.  I was shocked by their beauty.  Richard and I bought two beautiful oil paintings: one of Notre Dame Cathedral and one that was painted of one of the street views of Sacre-Coeur.  We purchased our Sacre-Couer painting from the sweetest old man name Pierre Michigan.  Since we did not have enough cash on us, he ran Richard down the street to pay with the credit card at his studio. Richard said that Pierre rang his studio door bell with extreme excitement as he was overjoyed to show is wife that he was able to sell one of his larger works to us.  He was so grateful.  Best experience yet.

(Buying our first painting of Notre Dame)

(The painting after it has been framed)

(Our favorite painting...Thank you Pierre!)

(Our beloved artist, Pierre Michigan)

That night, out last night, Leslie booked a dinner cruise down the Seine River, which was absolutely beautiful. As we ate our three course dinner, we were able to get a different view of the city from the river.  The best part of the dinner cruise was when we saw the light show of the Eiffel Tower, which consisted of strobe lights flickering all across the tower. Surprisingly, the light show was very short, lasting only five minutes, but it started at 11:00 p.m.

(video of the Eiffel Tower during the light show)