Paris, France
January 12 - 18, 2005		 Other Albums
 

We took a week-long trip to Paris in January: part research trip for the restaurant, and part vacation. Despite coming down with the stomach flu for the last half, we still managed to fit in a lot of the sights. For our first full day in Paris, we went to a small little neighborhood restaurant for lunch. The cheese course consisted of this wooden cabinet, from which you could pick and choose whichever cheeses you liked. Greg contemplates which of the cheeses he should try first. After all, we need to keep our energy up for a full afternoon at the Louvre... After lunch, we made our way to the Musée Louvre. This view shows the contrast between the palace that houses the museum and the I. M. Pei-designed pyramid that covers the entrance. (See the separate Louvre album for more pictures from the museum.) Just after leaving the Louvre, we saw this in a shop window. Of course, who doesn't need a 3,000? crystal-studded designer robot? Nighttime view down the Champs-Elysees, with the Arc de Triomphe visible off in the distance.
We managed to make it to Ladurée, a pastisserie on the Champs-Elysees, before they closed. On the way we passed a restaurant that was under heavy guard because (according to one of the guards) President Chirac was eating there. After a couple of nights in a hotel, we upgraded to our friend Renaud's apartment on the Ile Saint-Louis. The apartment is on an amazing street, full of shops, cafes, creperies...it was picture postcard perfect. Amy and Greg pose on the bridge overlooking the Seine and Notre Dame, on the way to have lunch at Pierre Gagnaire. A panoramic view of the Seine from the Pont Marie bridge. Later that night, we visited the Eiffel Tower. We were lucky enough to have clear weather, but as it turned out, the upper levels were closed for renovations, so the view from the top will have to wait until next time. Amy and Jordi pose where countless tourists must have taken photos over the past century.
The tower currently carries a sign advertising Paris's bid to host the 2012 Olympic games. Also, every hour 20,000 sparkling lights go off for five minutes at a time. Greg and Amy may look superimposed over a backdrop of the Eiffel Tower, but it really was taken in front of the actual tower. Honest. From below, the tower truly is imposing...steel and light rocketing up into the sky, to paraphrase one guidebook. From underneath the tower, you get a real sense of the 10,000 tons of metal rising above you. Because of the design, though, the average weight on the foundation is roughly the same per square inch as a normal-sized person standing on one foot. The night that we visited the tower was perfectly clear...here you can see the moon silhouetted underneath one leg of the tower. A view of the tower from directly underneath.
The following day we had several food stops to make, starting with Pierre Hermé. These macaroons came in a dozen different flavors, from pistachio to coffee to white truffle. Up close and personal with a cannelé from Pierre Hermé...firm on the outside, but soft, moist and vanilla-y on the inside. After filling up on dessert, we made a stop at Mariage Frères, a tea shop with an unbelievable variety of teas. Here you can see the movable shelves, with each shelf hiding another wall of canisters behind it. Amy and Jordi spent some time picking out three special and unusual teas to offer in the restaurant. After smelling dozens of different tea varieties, we decided to try a cup of the ones that we had selected, so we went upstairs to the tea room. They say that the French aren't big proponents of tea in the way that the British are, but you certainly wouldn't guess that while sitting in the tea room at Mariage Frères.
On the way home, Amy stopped at one of her favorite stores, Diptyque, to sample some scents and candles. On the bridge outside the Notre Dame cathedral, two skaters were practicing with a series of cones. They both had unbelievably fast feet, and one of them was even talking on his mobile phone as he ran the course. A nighttime view of the main entrance to the Notre Dame cathedral. "Kilometre zero" of the French road network is located in this square in front of the cathedral. The Notre Dame cathedral sits on the Ile de la Cité, in the middle of the Seine. At night, blue, green and red lights line the riverbank. A more distant nighttime view of Notre Dame. The buttresses on the near side reminded us of a cross between the Barcelona cathedral and the Sagrada Familia. That night, we made what may have been a fateful decision, and did some shopping to have dinner in the apartment. Here Jordi and Amy brandish their baguettes, not suspecting that 24 hours later we would all be sick.
A selection of cheeses in a shop window. There are over 400 types of cheese in France, so this is just a very small sampling of the possible variety. A poulty shop window on the Ile Saint-Louis. Notice the row of award plaques, as well as the ribbons on some of the birds. This is clearly a place that is serious about poultry. A view of our night's dinner purchases. It's not clear if it was the stomach flu or something in this picture that brought us down, but after this it would be water and crackers for a few meals. On the last day in Paris, Amy and Greg managed to get across the bridge to visit the Notre Dame cathedral. Figures climbing the steeple of Notre Dame cathedral. The interior of Notre Dame cathedral. The scale of the cathedral is impressive, with the high vaulted ceilings framed by stained-glass windows.
As in most cathedrals, there are many areas set aside for lighting candles and leaving prayers. The central altar of the cathedral. One small sample of the hundreds of stained-glass scenes within the cathedral. The stained glass windows date from different periods, so there's a considerable amount of variety in the styles. The 14th-century statue known as "Notre Dame de Paris" ("Our Lady of Paris") is one of the most important statues in the cathedral. Within the cathedral's treasury are many relics of the church's history. The center container in this picture is a reliquary, designed specifically to carry the alleged crown of thorns originally placed on Jesus's head. The crown is only displayed on certain days of the year. Another stained-glass window, this one located in the central chamber of the cathedral's treasury.
This reliquary claims to hold a piece of the cross on which Jesus was crucified. A closeup view of the cross reliquary...if you look closely, you can see the contents of the glass vial at the center. All along the outside wall of the cathedral are the famous gargoyles of Notre Dame. A closer view of two of the gargoyles along the exterior wall. After walking around for a few hours, Amy and Greg decide to try to fit in one last crepe before heading home. There's still a lot left to see, but there's always the next trip...
Want to see the photos a different way? Try viewing the Flash version.
Musée Louvre
 December 31, 2004
New Year's Eve 2004
 December 31, 2004
Greg and Amy's Wedding
 July 2, 2004
 

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