My Favorite Photos of France – Part 5

The Arc de Triomphe
The Arc de Triomphe

In my previous 4 posts, I have shown 71 photos from the first 9 ½ days on the French Waterways vacation that we went on last July. This post will show 20 more photos that were taken over the next 3 ½ days. All of these photos were taken within the city of Paris.

We arrived in Paris aboard the high speed train; the Train à Grande Vitesse (TGV). It was Saturday, July 26th, which was the day before the Tour de France bicycle ride would end near the Arc de Triomphe on the Champs-Élysées.

The opening photo was taken at that location The bicycle riders in my photo are not the racers, but are some of the bicycling enthusiasts that pay for the privilege of riding the entire distance of 3,664 km (2276 miles) of the course – one day ahead of the real racers.

Reminder: You can always view any photo at a larger size by just clicking on it. You will then need to use your browser’s “Back Button” to return to my story.

Barb and I walked from our hotel the 10 blocks or so to the Arc de Triomphe (with 2 other ladies who had signed up for the 3 day extension in Paris). This monument was completed in 1836, and its size is truly astonishing! It stands 164 feet high (50m), and the large vault is 95.8 feet high (29m).

At the Arc de Triomphe
At the Arc de Triomphe

After dinner that same evening, others in our Vantage Travel group thought it would be fun to strike out on our own to see if we could get to the Eiffel Tower and go on a river boat ride in the “City of Light”. That would involve using a subway system in a land where we didn’t know the language very well….

The Eiffel Tower at dusk
The Eiffel Tower at dusk

As we waited to board the boat, I managed to get a couple of photos during twilight.

The Eiffel Tower at dusk
The Eiffel Tower at dusk

Darkness quickly came upon us as we started up the Seine River.

Boat ride on the Seine River through downtown Paris
Boat ride on the Seine River through downtown Paris

The Palais Bourbon is where the French National Assembly sits, and is illuminated at night to look like the French Tricolor (flag of France).

Boat ride on the Seine River through downtown Paris
Boat ride on the Seine River through downtown Paris

I carried my tripod that evening. After the boat ride, I put it to good use.

The Eiffel Tower at night
The Eiffel Tower at night

It was late – very late – when we finally made our way back through the subway system to our hotel that night. We were up early the next morning, and on the bus for a City Tour of Paris.

The Eiffel Tower in the morning.
The Eiffel Tower in the morning.

We were let off the bus on the Champ de Mars for about 15 minutes to get some great photos of the Eiffel Tower.

The Eiffel Tower in the morning.
The Eiffel Tower in the morning.

About an hour later we were walking toward the Notre-Dame de Paris, and this was our view of it from across the Seine River (we were on the south shore).

Notre-Dame de Paris
Notre-Dame de Paris

Note the flying buttresses and those two large round stained glass windows. The bottom one is the south “rose window”.

We crossed the bridge over the Seine, and waited to enter the church from the west (left side in the photo above). This is some of the elaborate stone work above the entrance on the west side.

Notre-Dame de Paris
Notre-Dame de Paris

And here is a view of that south “rose window” that you saw earlier from the outside.

Notre-Dame de Paris
Notre-Dame de Paris

Since it was late Sunday morning, there was an actual Catholic church service going on while we were inside this spectacular building. (Our tour guide whispered into his microphone that we listened to over our radio receivers.)

Notre-Dame de Paris
Notre-Dame de Paris

Afterwards, as we waited outside, I took this photo of the archway above one of the two main entrances on the west side of the church.

Notre-Dame de Paris
Notre-Dame de Paris

About 3 hours later, we were walking around in the Montmartre area when I found this colorful display of cooking aprons that were for sale.

Walking and eating in the Montmartre area.
Walking and eating in the Montmartre area.

Montmartre is a hill in the north of Paris, primarily known for the white-domed Sacré-Cœur Basilica (Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris) on its summit and as a nightclub district.

The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris
The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris

From virtually the same location that I took that photo, I turned around and took this mini-panorama photo of Paris. (The Eiffel Tower is located further to the right.)

View of Paris from the base of  Sacré-Cœur Basilica
View of Paris from the base of Sacré-Cœur Basilica

The next day, we joined about 20,000 of our fellow man and went on a tour of the Musée du Louvre (Louvre Museum). There were so many people in that building, that the only photos that you could get without people in them were photos of the ceiling.

Artwork on the walls and ceiling at the Musée du Louvre
Artwork on the walls and ceiling at the Musée du Louvre

Fortunately, it was a beautiful ceiling!

Artwork on the walls and ceiling at the Musée du Louvre
Artwork on the walls and ceiling at the Musée du Louvre

On our last day of our 3 day stay in Paris, Barb and I went all by ourselves from our hotel, using the Paris Metro (subway), walking across the Tuileries Garden and over the Seine River to the Musée d’Orsay (Museum of Orsay). This art museum was originally a railway station.

The Musée d'Orsay behind the Grand Bassin Pond in the Tuileries Garden
The Musée d’Orsay behind the Grand Bassin Pond in the Tuileries Garden

We saw some incredible works of art at that museum, but unfortunately photography of the artwork was strictly prohibited.

OK, so now I’ve shared with you 91 of my favorite photos that I took while in France this past July. Although I showed them in chronological order, there are too many gaps between some of them to tell the full story. In my next blog post I intend to “fix that” for those who are interested in seeing a more complete story of this fabulous trip.

Thank you for visiting my blog.

One thought on “My Favorite Photos of France – Part 5”

  1. Gregg,
    You have truly captured the dramatic qualities of these architectural feats of the old masters!

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