Euro Exploring: July 2013

Friday, July 26, 2013

Paris! July 23rd - 26th

Two days in Paris is not enough to see all the sites and sample the food...

Thursday, July 25, 2013

More on Day Two - The Eiffel Tower - July 25th

The Eiffel Tower is such a popular destination that it is necessary to reserve tickets ahead or stand in a queue for a long time. I did neither... So my viewing was restricted to what I could see from ground level.

Day Two in Paris continues... La Musée d'Orsay - July 25th

Taking pictures is not allowed, but I snuck in a few of the building and the view through a clock.

From Wikipedia:

The Musée d'Orsay (French pronunciation: [myze dɔʁsɛ]) is a museum in Paris, France, on the left bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, an impressive Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1915, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography. It houses the largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces in the world, by such painters such as Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, Seurat, Sisley, Gauguin and Van Gogh. Many of these works were held at the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume prior to the museum's opening in 1986.

Day Two in Paris - Le Jardin des Plantes - July 25th

Today was a beautiful hot summer day which I spent exploring Paris. This would have been my mother's 85th birthday, and I kept thinking that she would have enjoyed this day.

Le Jardin des Plantes we founded in 1626, while the small zoo within the garden was founded in 1795. They are located right next to where I was staying.

"Do you know what the bats of Paris eat? Insects? Yes, I adore mosquitoes. Blood? Blah! I detest blood."

Note: les chauves souris translates literally as 'bald mice'.

Nice kitty?

Nice big kitty?

French lesson... Formation of the egg

What a pretty bird.

Paris, and France, have beautiful trees.

Le Jardin des Plantes

An urban beehive created to help honeybees which are in trouble around the world due to a drastic rise in Colony Collapse Disorder. The pieces of wood in this structure have holes drilled in them that are the perfect size for honey bees.

More Adventures on Day Two in Paris - Lunch and riding Le Métro - July 25th

Lunch! Une Salade Parisienne... I love French salads!

I ordered this dessert because I didn't know what it was. It was fruity and tart and creamy. Yum!

Le Métro

There are some beautiful old stations...

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Random photos of beautiful objects and scenery at Versailles... July24th

Versailles! July 24th

The Versailles Palace has beautiful and ornate murals on the ceilings. It was the home to about 5,000 nobles prior to the French Revolution, after which it became a museum.

The gardens are lovely

Louis XIV at age 63 taking a jaunty pose. He outlived everyone, and was succeeded by his great grandson.

Bust of Louis XIV

The famed Hall of Mirrors

The Hall of Mirrors is also known for its golden plinths.

And many chandeliers

This view of the formal garden from the Hall of Mirrors is stunning.

This magnificent portrait is in the Napoleon Room. It depicts Napoleon at his coronation crowning his wife, the Empress Josephine. He has taken the crown right out of the Pope's hands.