Un cochon merde ave mon tete!

Our goal today was to conquer the Louvre. The entire experience was overwhelming, spectacular, and crowded!

After literally elbowing our way through cranky crowds to get a glimpse of the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo, we more calmly wandered the halls filled with the works of the French, Italian and Spanish masters.


We then took a quick glimpse at the Royal Palace, and made our way to Buttes Chaumont. On the way Trevor was the unhappy recipient of pidgeon poop, and he bravely approached a Parisian woman with a large purse. The conversation went something like this: "Excuse moi, mademoiselle, ummmmm.... un cochon, ummm, mierde, avec mon tete!!!! Tissue?".



Complete with gestures and a disgusting stain on his shirt, this was surprisingly effective and Trevor may have picked the only Parisian woman sans bebe carrying baby wipes! She saved the day. On to Butte Chaumont! This large park has a manmade grotto complete with waterfall, island in a manmade lake, and a gazebo overlooking the city from the highest point.




Plenty of Parisians were sunning and picnicking in the nice weather. All of the trees are in bloom, and the tulips are nearly past their peak- such a welcome site after an interminable winter in Chicago!

Best. Cheese. Platter. EVER.

Paris Day 3:


The day began with a trip to the Rodin museum. We were awestruck by the beauty of the museum mansion and gardens, and enjoyed sculptures such as the Thinker, the Kiss, and the Gates of Hell. The latter was a composition made by combining dozens of his previous works into two huge bronze doors.

"No difference between flammable and inflamable? That can't be right. What about invincible and vincible? Can one be vinced?"

That isn't Bettie in the foreground.

Two lovers. And the sculpture ain't bad either.

AFter the Rodin museum we headed to the Musee d'Orsey, a train station converted into an impressionist showcase of Manet, Monet, van Gogh, and many other artists. Photos were not allowed anywhere, but we did manage to sneak a couple shots of the roof to the beautiful station.

After Orsey, we went to the Crypt of Notre Dame and to St. Chapelle, which has some absolutely beautiful gold leaf and stained glass.

Chappelle's chapel... Chapelle's chapel... Ow!

The Arc d'Triomphe came next. We struggled up one flight of stairs after the next to make it up to the roof, but it was worth it.

So many stairs. So... many... stairs....

You could see every landmark of Paris and enjoy the sun, which we've had so little of in Chicago.

A radio tower? We don't know. A circus ride, maybe?

Finally, we had dinner at Astier, a traditional French restaurant with a nice view and THE MOST RIDICULOUS CHEESE PLATE EVER.

Bettie asks that you excuse her red wine teeth. DON'T LOOK AT HER RED WINE TEETH.

This is the last time we let Trevor write captions.

Paris, Jour Deux

The antique market

Day 2 in Paris began with a walking tour through Montemarte, and area with a long history of being inhabited by artists of all sorts. We wandered through an open air market for vintage furniture, jewelry, clothes etc, walked through the tourist crowds to Sacre Couer, a Catholic church built on the highest point of Paris.

 

The dome of Sacre Coeur from the inside.

The road up to Sacre Coeur was filled with tourists, shops, swindlers, and restaurants

After many, many winding stairs we arrive at the top, and could see the entire layout of Paris.

The view from Sacre Coeur. Sacre bleu!

People sunning themselves on the hill in front of Sacre Coeur

Afterwards, we recharged with crepes and nutella, and a bit later had beer and mussels. 

Moules tres bien!

We viewed a few of the old cabarets, including the most famous Moulin Rouge, windmill and all.

The Agile Rabbit, a famous nightclub

Gitchy gitchy ya ya ta ta.

  Much later that evening, around midnight, we visited the Eiffel Tower.  We were lucky to witness the "bling bling" as one Parisian put it of the lights on the tower at the turn of the hour.  It was ridiculously romantic, despite the homeless Parisian peeing into a bush nearby.  He was polite to us about it, at least!

The peeing hobo described the flashy lights as "Bling bling"

Caught in the act

!

Bienvenue à Paris!

After hugging little Olive goodbye at the boarding kennel, our journey began on a Chicago bus (how very classy).  Two flights, three trains and some hoofing it later we arrive! We flew from O'Hare to Logan to Charles DeGaulle without issue.

Customs at Paris were nonexistent, a new experience for us as usually we encounter an inquisition of obnoxious questions and paperwork.  We met up with our host at his very chic apartment in Republique square near the canal St. Martin. He graciously gave us a tour of the area, and recommended all of his favorite haunts.  Our room is small but has everything we need and in a very safe area.  Although we were jetlagged out of our minds, we are in Paris!!! We stop for our first experience at a Parisian cafe with outdoor seating facing the canal and all of the passers by.  Panic ensues when we are greeted as Parisians and forced to respond with "Je ne sais pas" or just shrug and smile. Our embarrassed smiles disarmed our very polite waitress, and we proceeded to order in broken English. 

We set out to tour le Musee des Arts Metiers, a showcase of beautiful inventions and works by Foucalt, da Vinci, and others. We then wandered to Centre de Pompidou with the museum of modern art, on to Notre Dame, St Chapelle, the Capital Building, and then had an early (for Parisians) dinner at 7:30 of escargot and terrine.  Then, barely able to walk another step, we crash at 9pm to reload for another day.  Due to battery limitations of Bettie's laptop, more pictures and posts to come in the future!

The Beginning

You have been invited to experience a taste of adventure with Trevor and Bettie. Adventure #1- packing and preparing for a 15 day European extravaganza, full of last minute realizations, busting-at-the-seams bags, and probably some swear words. I'll spare you the gory details. What we hope to accomplish with this blog is to share some of our better amateur photography, funny stories, and a welcome reminder to our parents that yes, indeed we are still alive and well. Hope you all enjoy!