Upon arriving Thomas saw the love of his life...a couple rows of Mustangs. So, we stopped there before we entered into the park. I think it was the highlight of Thomas' day.
I let him take some pictures. I like the shadow reflections on the cars.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Disneyland (part 2)
While we had visitors we went to Disneyland again. It was pretty uneventful. It was warm out and extremely crowded. I think that we learned our lesson to not go on a Saturday in the summer. We did end up buying a year pass, and we will plan days to go when hopefully it won't be so crowded.
Upon arriving Thomas saw the love of his life...a couple rows of Mustangs. So, we stopped there before we entered into the park. I think it was the highlight of Thomas' day.
I let him take some pictures. I like the shadow reflections on the cars.
Upon arriving Thomas saw the love of his life...a couple rows of Mustangs. So, we stopped there before we entered into the park. I think it was the highlight of Thomas' day.
I let him take some pictures. I like the shadow reflections on the cars.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Les Tourists
Last week we had visitors and we were tourists along with everyone else. It was fun and exhausting. I don't know how families with small children do Paris in one week. You need to prioritize and then pick one big thing per day. And then pick one relaxing thing per day. Because otherwise, it's not much of a vacation. Anyway, in the interest of time, I will post a bunch of pictures with little explanation, cause we did A LOT in one week.
I have to warn you, there are a lot of pictures to follow.
I have to warn you, there are a lot of pictures to follow.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Arrête, c'est ici l'empire de la Mort.
(Translation: Stop, this is the empire of Death).
Today Doug went down the catacombs. Here's what he has to say about it:
"It was a very odd experience, since it is about 60 feet underground and goes through a series of tunnels.
This is the entrance down into the depths...
There are a bunch of tunnels that were dug out over a couple hundred years as the Paris government was trying to figure out what to do with the overflowing (sometimes literally) cemeteries. So the solution was to use the stone quarries under Paris to stash the bodies. Except they didn't just dump them in piles, or even in holes.
No, instead they took a great deal of time and effort to stack up the bones in careful patterns and arrangements. They mostly used skulls and tibias.
Keep in mind that these are all real bones, from real dead people, from up to 200 years or more ago.
It goes on for tunnel after humid tunnel.
There were skulls in heart formations, and skulls in lines, and skulls and other bones in various shapes and pillars and everything else. It's dark and damp (no flashes allowed with photos) and really just kind of weird. There are also a lot of stone plaques with various statements about the ephemeral nature of life and inevitability of death, etc.
All in all, it was quite the unique experience, but not for the faint of heart. (And it only cost a few bones!)"
Today Doug went down the catacombs. Here's what he has to say about it:
"It was a very odd experience, since it is about 60 feet underground and goes through a series of tunnels.
This is the entrance down into the depths...
There are a bunch of tunnels that were dug out over a couple hundred years as the Paris government was trying to figure out what to do with the overflowing (sometimes literally) cemeteries. So the solution was to use the stone quarries under Paris to stash the bodies. Except they didn't just dump them in piles, or even in holes.
No, instead they took a great deal of time and effort to stack up the bones in careful patterns and arrangements. They mostly used skulls and tibias.
Keep in mind that these are all real bones, from real dead people, from up to 200 years or more ago.
It goes on for tunnel after humid tunnel.
There were skulls in heart formations, and skulls in lines, and skulls and other bones in various shapes and pillars and everything else. It's dark and damp (no flashes allowed with photos) and really just kind of weird. There are also a lot of stone plaques with various statements about the ephemeral nature of life and inevitability of death, etc.
All in all, it was quite the unique experience, but not for the faint of heart. (And it only cost a few bones!)"
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Versailles et Murakami
Today we went to Versailles. It was a beautiful day outside and we were excited to go in the palace and see all the wonderful history. Well, we got history...and a little bit of modern as well. Apparently there is a Takashi Murakami display of modern art alongside with the rest of the palace. It is quite controversial and I imagine there are thousands of tourists who are extremely disappointed. I was shocked that they would be allowed in the first place. Let me show you what I mean.
This is the famous Hall of Mirrors. It's absolutely beautiful. It overlooks one of the best gardens in the world. People come from all over the world to walk down this hall. It is truly a work of art.
And when you get to the end of the Hall of Mirrors you find this...
"Welcome to Versailles, "she says as she's popping out of her waitress outfit.
Ah, beautiful gold engraved doors, so nice, so...um that was weird. That's a nice statue. So appropriate for this setting, then there's...What in the world is that?! This does NOT belong anywhere close to Versailes!
Nice old painting above a beautiful fireplace...
in front of um...a boy and a dog on a mushroom.
Marie Antoinette's bedroom. Fit for a queen....
and apparently she might needed that can of Pepsi to get her through the day.
We also walked down to the canal and down to Marie Antoinette's estate. At least there it was beautiful and no weirdness.
"Feed me Seymore." Does anyone else think this looks like Audrey in gold?
So, if you're planning on coming to Paris in the near future, you may be interested to know that this is going to be around until December. Maybe you should save your 18 Euros and get a a Versailles tourist book instead.'They may offer you fortune and fame
Love and money and instant acclaim
But whatever they offer you
Don't feed the plants"
-Little Shop of Horrors
Love and money and instant acclaim
But whatever they offer you
Don't feed the plants"
-Little Shop of Horrors
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
le Louvre
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e
The Louvre used to be a fortress before a big palace.
We decided to go on a DIY Masterpiece tour. There are all sorts of thematic trails you can follow from their website.The Mona Lisa or La Jaconde (in french).
The boys didn't get what's so special about this painting.
The boys didn't get what's so special about this painting.
Venus de Milo
Crown Jewels from Napoleon
The Winged Victory of Samathrace or 'Nike' in Greek
The Raft of Medusa.
The Coronation of Napoleon I and the Crowning Empress Josephine in Notre Dame
The boys really liked the Ancient Egypt..
The Louvre is absolutely gigantic. There is no way anyone could do it in a day. Plus, while it is a very beautiful building, it is very easy to get lost. Even with a map. The boys claim that they never want to go back, but that may have had something to do with the fact that we went in the evening after a long day at school. We'll see. Maybe we'll go back someday and find something cool for them to draw.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
La Tour Eiffel (at night)
Tonight we visited the Eiffel Tower. At night it's all lit up and for the first 10 minutes on the hour, it sparkles.
I tried to get a reflection picture. The mist was getting on my camera.
I tried to get a reflection picture. The mist was getting on my camera.
Sacre Coeur
Today we visited Sacre Coeur. It is situated high on a hill. It is a very beautiful chapel.
Since it was raining we decided to walk up to the top tower. "We'll stay dry!" we thought. And so we paid our 5 Euros to hike up all 300 stairs. Now, there needed to be a sign at the bottom of the stairs saying things like, "If you don't like feeling claustrophobic, then don't come up" or 'If you have large hips, you won't fit through the staircase" or "If it's raining beware of slippery stairs" or "If you have a child, then hopefully you're in good shape". Needless to say, these are all things we discovered on our way up. Doug was a trooper and carried Timmy all the way up. I watched my footing and prayed I wouldn't slip down the skinny spiral staircase. Once at the top, we caught our breath, and looked around. We found Gargoyles,
churches,
the Eiffel Tower,
and this sign.
Hee hee. Ok, I'll admit that I edited this a bit, but I thought it was funny.
Since it was raining we decided to walk up to the top tower. "We'll stay dry!" we thought. And so we paid our 5 Euros to hike up all 300 stairs. Now, there needed to be a sign at the bottom of the stairs saying things like, "If you don't like feeling claustrophobic, then don't come up" or 'If you have large hips, you won't fit through the staircase" or "If it's raining beware of slippery stairs" or "If you have a child, then hopefully you're in good shape". Needless to say, these are all things we discovered on our way up. Doug was a trooper and carried Timmy all the way up. I watched my footing and prayed I wouldn't slip down the skinny spiral staircase. Once at the top, we caught our breath, and looked around. We found Gargoyles,
churches,
the Eiffel Tower,
and this sign.
Hee hee. Ok, I'll admit that I edited this a bit, but I thought it was funny.
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