River views......

Troubled times..................

These are the towers where Marie-Antoinette was kept until she was taken to the guillotine.

The towers are covered with a "screen" now as the outside is being cleaned.

 This is now a hospital.

The tall obelisk behind the trees is a marker to show where the guillotine was placed and used during those dark days.

Here's lookin' at you, kid.................

Isn't this fantastic!  What a great advertisement.......for what?.............I don't know.....but I love it!  As the boat goes by the eyes look as though they follow you. 

See..............there she goes "lookin' at you"!  LOL

Sights along the Seine

Our closest view of the Eiffel Tower yet.  Judi, Jan, Barb and I took a trip to the tower later in the week.

Another one of the carousels........evidently an attraction close to any of the major sights.  I'm sure lots of locals go there just to give their children a day out and a ride on the double-decker amusement.

This is a broader view of the cityscape along the Seine.

Love the tops of these rotundas and those little teapot -like knobs on top.  ")

Along the Seine...............

What a varied skyline................I was so wowed by all the windows, roofs, turrets, etc.  I probably missed a lot along the way, but this is what interested me.

Isn't this incredible?!  Love those chimneys.....and those tiny round windows to the attic rooms.  All that decorous trim makes it look more like a cake.

In between these two buildings sits the tiniest house in Paris......two rooms.  ")

Marvelous structure!  I especially like that the end building has a curved roof line.  I really like the shorter building to the right, too.......more of the old-French architecture.

Crusin' down the Seine....

 Wed. evening Pat, Jan, Judi, Barb and I took the cruise down the Seine River.  What a marvelous opportunity for taking some great pics of many of the sights around Paris.








There are many great styles of architecture in the buildings standing on both sides of this river.  This same style is seen on the Ile de la Cite.

Bridges, bridges, bridges.............I couldn't believe all the various styles of bridges that cross this river in the city proper......crossing over to Ile de la Cite and Ile Sainte Louis, of course.

Scarves, scarves and more scarves....

Susan and Pat found this beautiful shop in the neighborhood and we all just had to go shop there.  On our day out, Judi and I each bought a scarf.  The colorful array of scarves lined up on the walls was such great eye-candy.  You can see some of the just beyond Judi and the cashier.

Look at this chandelier in their shop!  It was so perfect for them.  The colors really blended well with all their scarves and jewelry.

St. Etienne Church

This church was a few block up the hill from our hotel and very near the Pantheon.  The stained glass windows were magnificent.  I was pleased that I was able to capture this one in such detail.  (A full view of the church can be seen on Wikipedia:  Saint-Etienne-du-Mont).  This church actually started as a chapel around 1222 but was soon too small to hold all the worshippers and visitors due to all the surrounding colleges being built in that area.....the Sorbonne being one of them.  An enlargement was done 1328 but still not large enough.  The monks donated land for a new church in 1492.  To read more of the history of this amazing building see the Wikipedia article.   

 I could find no documentation of these beautifully carved bannister walls and panels that led up the stairs.

What an amazing lectern!  I have seen these in churches in Wales, but none so intricately done as this one.  Such a masterpiece.....but, again, I could find no documentation on the artist(s).

The crypt of St. Genevieve...the patron saint of Paris.  Also entombed here are:  Blaise Pascal and Jean Racine.

A day out for Judi and Sharon

Well, I'm afraid this is where it all started......the slowly unfolding revelation of Judi's addiction......this was just the first time I was to see it on this trip.

Yep, a shoe fetish........there's more to come!

We had more or less set Wednesday aside to rest or venture out.......each to chose for themselves.  Judi and I decided we would get more acquainted with our neighborhood and do a little shopping.

Leaving Versailles..............

Here's Jan at the foot of the stairs coming out of the apartments.  The diamond shaped flooring (known as "Versailles pattern") was the waiting area for those wanting to see the king or queen.  They could not go up the stairs until they were summonded.

Here is Pat, Barb and Jan as we are leaving the palace.  The photo below shows one of the wings of the palace.

Ah, the golden gates.  ")   I'm sure at one time they really were covered with gold.  Finally off those cobblestones......very easy to turn your ankle on those.....it felt like we were trying to cross a creek.  Susan had to be especially careful of her ankle.

The Opera House and Chapel at Versailles

I took several photos in the Opera House, but it was so dark they didn't take.  Almost all the opera house has been reconstructed because it was so wrecked by the people during the revolution who came in and tore things out to take back to Paris with them.

I was barely able to snap this photo of the chapel as we left.  It had been so crowded when we came in that it was impossible to get a good photograph.  Now it was time for Versaille to close.

Windows, doors and art....

This was the first round window to be put into any building in France.  I love the work around  the window.

These really tall windows are as big as doors.   You know why?  Because it's so hot in Paris in the summer (esp. August) and there's no air conditioning!   It was the end of September when we were there and it was miserable.   The humidity was as high as the temps.  I'm telling you, it was a two-shower day every day.  ")

There were portraits in almost every room and paintings on the ceilings.  Everytime I tried to take a photo of the ceiling, someone would bump into me and knock me around and my picture would end up blurry.  It was incredibly crowded.  Pat has been several times and she said it didn't matter what day she's gone, it's always been that crowded.  I'm sorry, but I can't remember who the ladies are in these portraits.  I'll have to do some research and edit this post later.

This set of doors (sorry for the tilt :) was in Marie Antionette's room, but there were many sets of doors like this throught the apartment.

Gardens at Versailles

 I had really wanted to tour the gardens, but there were hardly any blooms left.  So I just took photos from the windows of the palace as I toured it.  ")
This small pond is part of the fountains when they are on...............only on weekends.......

This larger pool has numerous fountain spigots as you can easily see in the cernter of it.

 I love the layout of this pool and the longer one further down in the garden.  Louis XIII started the gardens about 1632 by appointing Claude Mollet and Hilaire Masson to work on the planning of these beautiful gardens.  By the 1660's, Louis XIV had appointed Andre Le Notre to make additions.  And then later, Louie Le Vau to plan the Orangerie, which allowed the palace to have oranges even in winter.


                                  I love this heart-shaped bed.  Too bad all the blooms were gone.  I'm sure it is quite gorgeous when all the flowering plants are in high season.                                                  

These little cone shaped trees look like little soldiers standing in a row.  Everything about these gardens are so symmetrical and so manicured.

Room at Versailles

This is the state dining room.   Kings and queens from around the world were invited here to dine with the kings Louis and their queens.

This is the bed where the kings slept.  This one is in the bedroom.  There was another bed closer to the chamber where important decisions were being made and the king could be summoned from his sleep if his signature was need immediately.

This is the bed of the queens.  Chambers for her ladies-in-waiting were close by so they could be at her majesties bidding.

 It was amazing how much gold and gold leafing was used throught the palace during the reigns of these kings. 










This is the breakfast room for the king and queen.  Naturally this room was close to their bed chambers.  Only those closest to the king or queen were allowed to enter during their meal.  The small red velvet covered seats lined up in the forefront were reserved for those invited into the breakfast room.

This is the famous Hall of Mirrors.  The windows and the chandeliers reflecting in that wall of mirros really make for a room filled with light.  The gardens seens from these floor-to-ceiling windows are beautiful to look at.  The gardens had already finished with their beautiful array of blossoms by the time we visited.