The Richardsons: Paris? Don't mind if I do!

As most of you know, the hubby and I recently took a trip to Paris. He started out there for work and then a few days later I met up with him for our little vacation. We were able to rendez-vous there for 6 days. 6 very cold days. Regardless of the sub-zero (OK, not that cold, but still cold), it was an amazing trip and I am so thankful that we are able to do these kinds of things together. We did all the touristy things...Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees, Chateau Versailles, and of course ate like crazy. We may have had a glass of wine or two as well ; )

The hubby did a great job indulging me and letting me "teach" him a little about the history of Paris, art, and architecture. I wish I had retained a bit more of my French because that would have come in handy, but through the use of Fringlish, hand gestures and a translation app, we survived.

Obviously we didn't leave Ryleigh at home by herself. Yaya was gracious enough to come stay with our little munchkin while we were gone. I had to really twist her arm and pay her lots of money, but she eventually caved and headed our way for the long stay so we could take our trip ; ) I'm pretty sure she took just as many pictures of Ryleigh as we took in Paris, so I'll be sure to post as many of those as possible pretty soon.

But first things first....pictures from Paris : )

the view from the window of our hotel room

this is pretty much all I could get of our hotel room...I was literally up against the opposite corner. Talk about small!

the view from the front door of our hotel

kissing smart cars

L'Arc de Triomphe

Champs Elysees

Napoleon's bridge over the River Seine

how I ended every night : )

I may have a slight obsession with the Eiffel Tower, so you will be seeing a lot of pictures of it. At night it lights up and every hour for 5 minutes it sparkles. In trying to capture a picture of it, I attempted pretty much every setting on my camera. Here are the results:

Sacre Couer

obviously the place to be on a Saturday afternoon

the view of Paris from top of Montmatre

and my night cap : )

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Our day at The Louvre

we saw these books in the shop & had to snap a photo for Yaya : )

clearly he's in awe

The Coronation of Josephine by Napoleon

The Oath of the Horatii

I remember learning about this painting in art history, but what makes it important, I have no clue now. Probably something to do with juxtaposition or lighting or the symbolism of the number 3.

Winged Victory of Samothrace

La Joconde aka The Mona Lisa

Venus di Milo

the "underbelly" of the Louvre

This next set of pictures is from the apartments of Napoleon. At one point he lived in a section of the Louvre while the rest of it was a museum.

Da Vinci Code fans should recognize this

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Notre Dame...see, we went to church on Sunday

this is amazing

from the banks of the River Seine

French Parliament

This was taken on our dinner cruise down the Seine River. They had a photographer come around and take them, but we had to pay 15 euro to get the photo...so I just took a photo of the photo (the couple next to us found that humorous). It was such a nice evening, especially since the cruise was given to us by the hubby's European co-workers. They said he has taken such a brunt of the traveling lately, they wanted to do something nice for us. It's nice to know that people can still be so generous & caring : )

I took this picture of the Eiffel Tower from our dinner cruise. There was a window there, so it created a glare and it also captured the hubby's reflection when the flash went off. I love that he is laughing and smiling and so candid next to the Eiffel Tower. Probably one of my favorite pictures from our visit.

me in front of my favorite architectural structure : )

the only picture of the two of us that isn't an arm-distance away

so.amazing.

twinkle twinkle twinkle

This next set of pictures are taken from the different levels (etages, if you're French) of the Eiffel Tower.

Champs de Mars

At this point of the trip I was SO happy I invested in a camera with the panorama sweep! These pictures and breath-taking...even in clouds!

Clearly he knows how to have a good time. At least he's staying hydrated!

I think you can grasp what this sign is telling you...poor cartoon baby : (

traveling down the Eiffel Tower from the second level to the first

going down from first level to ground level...it takes me a minute to realize my camera isn't seeing what my eyes were seeing...but I get it eventually

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Our day at Chateau Versailles

I was super excited to spend some time at Chateau Versailles. It's the only thing that I didn't get to see my first trip to France in 2003. Chateau Versailles is where Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette lived until the French Revolution began and they were forced back into the Paris city limits. It is probably one of the most ostentatious displays of architecture and wealth, especially considering the welfare of the county at the time, but it is by far one of the most beautiful pieces of architecture and decor in history (or at least, I think so). I mean, would I decorate my house in this style? Heavens no...but I can still appreciate the beauty and history of it.

Hubby did a lot of sneaking into photos this day...it was a weekday, so there was a lot of email checking going on. See if you can spot him as the day goes on, it'll be like Where's Waldo!

Ahhhhh, feels just like home.

Everyone should have gold gates guarding their front door, right?

I'm not sure what this sign is all about but I saw a lot words that I like...Hennessy, Louis Vuitton, Moet et Chandon...hmmm, yes please!

This mural was on a rounded wall and was from floor to ceiling...when I used my panorama sweep, it flattened it out!

When we turned the corner to the Hall of Mirrors, the hubby stopped and said "Oh Wow!" I warned him about it, but clearly he wasn't prepared for it's magnitude.

The Hall of Mirrors

The King's bedchamber

The Queen's bedchamber

Oh that? It's just my backyard, no biggie.

Courtyard entering Le Petit Trianon. The Trianon is a small chateau on the Versailles grounds that Louis XIV had built for his mistress Madame de Pompadour. She died before she could enjoy it, so it was then given to Marie Antoinette and a "get-away" from palace life.