More Paris

There is much to see and do in Paris...it would take weeks and weeks to see it all.  There are monuments everywhere and there are museums for virtually every subject:  from French Impressionist to Modern Art to well, just about everything...!

We also visited the Military Musuem which is located adjacent to Napoleon's Tomb.  Here lies France's greatest hero (arguably) along with many other French heros from WWI and WWII.  The first level has an altar (of glory perhaps?) which is interesting because at the time the French were moving away from religion and to The Age of Reason.  The tomb is under the dome and is located below the first level and is surrounded by crypts with the remains of other French greats.  Of course, Napoleon's tomb is, like him, larger than life....huge!

Check out the size of the people behind Napoleons' sarcophagus.  It's huge!

We finished the day back at Cafe Francis with its incredible view of the Eiffel Tower.  Here we celebrated Monte and Aleta's 30th wedding anniversary with food, wine and the Eiffel Tower which seemed to be sparkling just for them!

Our first few days were spent hitting the "must-do" sights of Paris.  Now, it's time to relax and just enjoy Paris.  We caught a Metro to Place Pigalle (the red light district) and then caught a little train to take us to the top of Montmartre.  There we shopped and cafed away the day.  Ah....Paris!

Then it was time for the one, the only, The Moulin Rouge!  We had tried earlier to get tickets but they were sold for the duration of our trip.  But somehow our conceirge did some magic and got us four tickets and when he gave them to us he said to be sure to ask for Anthony.  We were grateful for the tickets but skeptical of the whole "Anthony" thing so we got in line...way back at the end.  After a few moments I decided to try out Anthony.  I went to the front of the line and talked to Anthony.  He had me get the rest of the crew out of the line and walked us up to the front of the VIP line.  Sweet!   We were then the first seated in the theater with center seats up and far enough away that Monte didn't get pulled on stage by the comic.

It's impossible to describe the Moulin Rouge Feerie show.  Yes, there is the obligatory Can Can, but there is so much more.  Incredible acrobats, hilarious comics, and absolutely wonderous dancing productions.  The four hours passed by in a flash!

Have I mentioned there are a few shopping opportunities here?  Everything is here...from delicious little macarons on Montmartre....

...to the most indescribable footwear on the Champs Elysees...

Yes, that price tag says 1495 Euros and no, Mona didn't buy them...this time.

Speaking of footware....it is amazing how the French women wear high heels and stilettos everywhere.  ...even on cobbled streets.  And the variety of shoes is amazing...even I, a card-carrying shoe dullard, am now into shoe watching!

Our last day in Paris was a relaxing day....no evil Metro doors trying to crush Aleta  (Twice she almost got crunched....she's okay but has bruises to remind her of the Paris Metro.)  We first  visited the Tuileries park, designed by Catherine de Medici.  This park was once the royal gardens and is located between the Louvre and Place de la Concorde (where Marie Antoinette and many others were guiollotined during the French Revoloution.)  Here we strolled the beautiful gardens, enjoying the flowers and the statuary...and enjoyed a bit of wine, crepes and quiche before moving on.

We then took the Metro to the Bastille Plaza.  There we found a local market and bought some wine, cheese and grapes.  We took them to the Place des Vosges for a nice little picnic!  Place de Voges was built during the time of Henri IV during the 1600s and is a square with identical buildings on all four sides.  Today, those buildings are full of little shops on the ground floors and common tenants above.  The inside plaza is a park while Parisians come to relax.  When we got there school had just gotten out so the park with filled with kids just hanging out before heading home.

We ended our Paris visit with yet another meal at yet another wonderful Parisian cafe. (Only because Pam so ordered.)   What better way to end a trip to Paris!