A Weekend in Paris 2006
 
 

A shot of Laurel and I outside The Louvre as we walked

toward the Tuileries Gardens.

The upside down pyramid inside the Louvre that was made reference to in The Da Vinci Code.
 

One of the restoration workshops inside the Louvre and the only one that most visitors will ever see.
   
Notre Dam as seen on a summer day from both the front and the left side.
 
My favorite book store in the whole world: Shakespeare & Co. It is located in the 5th arrondissement of Paris's Left Bank – just across from Notre Dam. In addition to being a bookshop it is also a lending library, specializing in English-language literature. The upstairs serves as a makeshift dormitory for travelers, known as "tumbleweeds," who earn their keep by working in the shop for a couple of hours each day – though one has to be a published writer of considerable talent to live so cheaply... The history of the shop (In a different location) began in 1917 with Sylvia Beach, one of the leading American expatriate figures in Paris between World War I and II. She was interned for six months during World War II, but kept her books hidden in a vacant apartment upstairs at 12 rue de l'Odeon. The shop was symbolically liberated by Ernest Hemingway in person in 1944 but never re-opened in the original location. In 1951, American George Whitman opened a bookshop using the name of Le Mistral. Much like its predecessor the store was a focal point for literary culture in bohemian, left-bank Paris serving as a base for many of the writers of the beat generation like Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso and William Burroughs. Upon Sylvia Beach's death, the store's name was changed to Shakespeare & Co. Whitman's daughter, Sylvia, now runs the shop.
 

One of the many statues in the Tuileries Gardens.

“The Archer” in the Muse d’Orsay. The d’Orsay is an amazing place if one is into Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art and furnishings.
   

The Eiffel Tower at night. Once an hour it puts on a light display that is amazing and the best view is from the platform of The Tracadero.

The Arc de Triomphe, at the head of Avenue de Champs Elysees, where we found $10 Chapstick, $7 Coke-Cola, and $35 crepes. NEVER, EVER eat on the Champs Elysees!

   

No trip to Paris would be complete without a viewing of a Van Gogh. This is one of his more famous Self-portraits in the Muse d’Orsay.

Marble on Bronze. There are three of these pieces in the main gallery of the d’Orsay and each is amazing in detail. Notice how the colors of the stone make a perfect pattern for her shawl…
   

A print of Monet’s Londres, le Parlement… is beautiful, but the original is both spooky and stunning.

This is another piece from the d’Orsay. It was painted n 1849 by Rosa Bonheur and is a huge piece, maybe four feet tall and ten feet wide. It was very detailed, which you can see if you click on the image.
   

One of the tour boats on the Seine as it flows near Notre Dam.

This marble statue was carved in 1871 and is so detailed that it looks as if the figure could, at any moment, take a breath, rise up, and walk away.

   
The tombs at Pére Lachase Cemetery line the “avenues” of the City of the Dead as if they were ornate office buildings. Narrow paths wind their way around and through marble, granite, and cement tombs that have stood for hundreds of years and even the most decrepit and fallen in among them has a certain beauty. Many of the tombs have altars and stained glass windows that allow light into their interiors. In addition to the ornate stone carvings, the grounds are littered with bronze figures coated in a protective patina of green and black. The coloring only dramatized the grief, cast into the faces of the statues a century or more ago, for the dead which they stand guard above.

 
A picture of what Jim Morrison’s headstone looked like (Left) before it was stolen by thieves and a shot of his grave in 2006 (right). The bottles of wine, candles, mementos of fan worship, and flowers remain, but the graffiti covering the walls of the tombs around his have all been cleaned up.
   
 
France 2002
   
A timber frame house in Strasbourg near the cathedral. The bottom floor is a restaurant with stone arch doorways.
   
A very large timber frame multi-family house with funky little balconies and dormers. Shops are located on the ground floor.
   
A view of some of the homes and buildings on the bank of one of the canals.
   
Looking down the length of a Strasbourg canal on a beautiful sunny day.
   
A coworker’s house in Mulhouse during a 4th of July party. All of the Americans at Jet Aviation and their significant others were there along with maybe 15 Brits, 25 Frenchmen, and 5 or 6 Germans. Good times!
   
One of the Germans at the party brought his own crystal and pewter stein to drink out of.

   
All of the Brits got together before the party and had shirts made for the event. They read: “Unable to come to terms with their actions, The United States continued to fly the combined colours of the Patron Saints of England and Scotland within their flag until June 1777 (almost one year after their declaration of independence on 4th July, 1776). The US has attempted to include the British in most of their plans and arrangements since the signing of the Articles of Peace on 30th Nov. 1782. Even today, America is unable to celebrate its independence without displaying a level of remorse and frequently include the British in their 4th July celebrations. A small tear is often shed as they reflect on their monumental blunder.” I love the Brits.
   
Fireworks the night of the party.
   
The alter of the cathedral in Strasbourg.
   
One of the stained glass windows above the front doors.
   
   
The central archway in the middle of the cathedral.
   
Stained glass.
   
Stained glass.
   
The clock in the Strasbourg cathedral is two stories high, is incredibly ornate & beautiful and apparently it keeps marvelous time as well. The man who built the clock did such an outstanding job that he was rewarded with a death sentence... Apparently, it was so breathtaking at the time, that it was decided that it might be better to send him to the promised land so that he couldn’t built something like it or better somewhere else.
   
A view of the high pulpit