PARIS

View from our hotel.


Arc de Triomphe


Arc de Triomphe


Arc de Triomphe, Detail


Arc de Triomphe, Detail


Arc de Triomphe


Lunch: French Onion Soup. Oh So Good!


My brother getting his pose on at our hotel.


Heading out for dinner.


Area where we were staying.


The Louvre


Richard and I at The Louvre


Me at The Louvre


Winged Victory of Samothrace, 190 BC, Marble
Depicts the Greek goddess Nike (Victory). The sculpture was created to not only honor the goddess, but also to honor a sea battle. It conveys a sense of action and triumph as well as portraying artful flowing drapery through its features which the Greeks considered ideal beauty.


Winged Victory of Samothrace


Madonna of the Rocks, Leonardo Da Vinci, 1483-1486, Oil on Panel
Two versions of this painting exist, the one at the Louvre and one at the National Gallery in London. The paintings seem to draw on a legend of the meeting between the baby Jesus and John the Baptist on the flight into Egypt. According to the standard interpretation of the paintings, they depict the Madonna in the centre ushering John towards Jesus, who is seated with the angel Gabriel.


The Raft of the Medusa, Théodore Géricault, 1818-1819, Oil on Canvas
This work depicts a moment from the aftermath of the wreck of the French naval frigate Méduse, which ran aground off the coast of today's Mauritania on July 5, 1816. At least 147 people were set adrift on a hurriedly constructed raft; all but 15 died in the 13 days before their rescue, and those who survived endured starvation, dehydration, cannibalism and madness. The event became an international scandal, in part because its cause was widely attributed to the incompetence of the French captain acting under the authority of the recently restored French monarchy.


Liberty Leading the People, Eugène Delacroix, 1830, Oil on Canvas
This famous painting commemorates the July Revolution of 1830, which toppled Charles X. A woman personifying Liberty leads the people forward over the bodies of the fallen, holding the tricolore flag of the French Revolution in one hand and brandishing a bayonetted musket with the other. This is perhaps Delacroix's best-known painting, having carved its own niche in popular culture.


La Grande Odalisque, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, 1814, Oil on Canvas
Ingres transposed the theme of the mythological nude, whose long tradition went back to the Renaissance, to an imaginary Orient. This work, his most famous nude, was commissioned by Caroline Murrat, Napolean's sister and the queen of Naples. Here, Ingres painted a nude with long sinuous lines bearing little resemblance to anatomical reality. It depicts an odalisque, or concubine. This work attracted wide criticism when it was first shown for its lack of anatomical realism.


La Grande Odalisque, Detail


La Grande Odalisque, Detail


Hercules Battling the Hydra, Louvre
In Greek mythology, the Lernaean Hydra was an ancient serpent-like chthonic water beast that possessed numerous heads;the poets mention more heads than the vase-painters could paint and poisonous breath. The Hydra of Lerna was killed by Heracles as one of his The Twelve Labours.


View, Notre Dame in the background


Notre Dame


Stain Glass, Notre Dame


Saint Michel, Latin Quarter


Latin Quarter


Rue de Buci


L'Assemblee National


Storm coming


Les Invalides


Losers posing and taking pictures of themselves in front of the Eiffel Tower.


La Tour Eiffel!


La Tour Eiffel!

To quote the words of Cole Porter (as best sung by Ella Fitzgerald):

I love Paris in the springtime
I love Paris in the fall
I love Paris in the summer when it sizzles
I love Paris in the winter when it drizzles
I love Paris every moment of the year...

... and boy did it drizzle during our visit (my brother and I). Hmm, what is there to say about Paris that hasn't already been said? After my very first trip to the city on the Seine it certainly managed to surprise and enchant me.

Here are some of my favourite moments:
*Enjoying an afternoon cafe creme at a nearby cafe and watching all the beautiful parisians pass by.
*Seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time.
*The Louvre. Finally seeing so many of the beautiful works of art I studied in school. And yes, the line-up to get in IS worth it.
*Eating the most delicious ice cream with my brother in the Latin Quarter
*The stain glass inside the cathedral of Notre Dame
*Walking through the streets and different arrondissements and window shopping the mouthwatering fromage and wine shops, patisseries and boulangeries.
*Getting caught in a torrential downpour with my brother in front of Napolean's Tomb.
*Walking until my feet felt like they were going to fall off.
*The 'ah-ha' moment of realizing that in order to get to the Arc de Triomph, which was located in the middle of an eight car deep round-about of angry parisian drivers, you had to use the underground passage. I would have looked like the biggest tourist if I would have tried to make a run for it.


Shortly after we arrived home from Venice, Dennis and I were back on a plane – he was flying back to work (currently South Korea) and I was on my way to Paris for a days to meet up with my brother, Richard. I arrived in Paris a few hours ahead of him, so I decided to head for our hotel, The Residence Foch, to get checked in. The hotel was great, on a beautiful street in a good location. The staff were great, very helpful. Like all hotel rooms in Europe, ours was small. I didn't stay there long before I was out the door again to check out some of the sights, the Arc de Triomph (our hotel was only a few minutes away) and grab some lunch at a nearby cafe (very tasty bowl of french onion soup). Richard arrived shortly after I got back, we had a good visit about his trip so far and then we got ready and headed out for dinner.

The next day we were up early and out the door by 8:00am in order to try and see as much as we could in one day. We set out on foot and managed to hit a good number of major monuments: the Louvre, Notre Dame, the Latin Quarter, the Invalides and Napolean's Tomb, the Ecole Militaire, the Tour Eiffel and the Palais de Chaillot. It was a lot to pack into one day, the soles of my feet were ready to fall off by the end, but it was well worth it and we had such a fantastic time. I can't wait to do it all again in October when my mom comes to visit. Mom, bring good shoes! They should be comfortable but also stylish.

Venice with Dennis

Venice!! Doge's Palace on the Right.


St. Marks Square, Venice


Gondolas!


Grand Canal, Venice


Grand Canal, Venice




Grand Canal, Venice


Venice Taxi, I Fell in Love With These Boats. The Drivers: Impeccably Dressed Italian Men


Gondola Driver, They All Wore Black and White Stripped Shirts


Italian Goodies


Market Day in Venice


Market Day in Venice


Sharply Dressed Italian Man, One of Many


The Restaurant Where We Had the Most Amazing Tortellini! To Die For!


Beautiful Venice, So Colourful


Dennis Throughly Enjoying A Fine Glass of Valpolicella and a Cigar


Me Rocking the New Shades


Part of Beautiful Bronze Monument


San Marco, Venice


The Horses of San Marco, Venice


Grand Canal, Venice


Enjoying a little Concerto in St. Marks Square


Venice, Night Snaps


Venice, Night Snaps


Restaurant Where we had Dinner with Dennis's Parents


Doge's Palace, Courtyard View


Entrance to the Interior of the Palace


Doge's Palace, Ornamental Bronze Well-Head, Courtyard



Doge's Palace, The Golden Staircase


Doge's Palace, The Golden Staircase, Detail


Best Pizza Ever!

Spent the most amazing 4 days in Venice at the beginning of September with the love of my life. Dennis's parents were leaving on a cruise from this wonderful floating city so we thought it was a great excuse to head down to see them off on their trip and to check out one of the most romantic cities I've ever been too.

We went to a fabulous little restaurant with them not too far from our hotel the first night we all arrived. It was a beautiful restaurant with delicious food. Both Dennis's parents ordered spaghetti while Dennis indulged in savoury lamb chops and some fabulous ravioli. We all shared a plate of cold meats to start. I ordered roasted bass with sundried tomoatoes and olives. They brought the entire fish out for me to see it before they cooked it, I guess to make sure it was to my liking. Talk about fresh! Then they roasted the whole thing and brought it back out to show me, it was still completely intacked, head, eyes, tail, scales and fins. Our waiter asked me if he could fillet it for me and I said absolutely! He did an amazing job because I don't remember coming across many bones, perhaps the two bottles of Chianti we had at dinner had somethign to do with that. It was fantastic. We topped the night off with a wander through St. Marks square and some gelato!

We did so much walking during our stay, through galleries, churches and palaces. Saint Mark's Square was certainly the most crowded and congested place in the city, loaded with visitors and tourists from all over the world. All of the major monuments had line ups had gigantic line-ups. However, once you ventured away from the very popular area there were far less crowds and people. It was fairly busy, lots of tourists, when we were there. The Venice film festival was also going on at the same time we were there, so that may have accounted for some of the people.

We braved the line-up for the Doge's Palace (Palazzo Ducale), which was worth the wait and certainly one of the highlights of the trip. It was spectacular. Opulence like you've never seen it before, inside and out. The Doge's Palace, was the seat of the government of Venice for centuries. As well as being the home of the Doge (the elected ruler of Venice) it was the venue for its law courts, its civil administration, its bureaucracy and its city jail.

The Doge sat on numerous of the committees and thus played a huge role in steering policy; the principle of rule for life was an attempt to establish stability, a mature check on the whims of temporarily elected officials … not unlike Britain’s House of Lords. But the Venetians were wary of the corruptions of lifetime rule and established a similarly complex system of checks on the Doge. All his mail was read first by the censor; all foreign dignitaries were received in committee rather than by the Doge alone.

Transgressions were taken seriously. The palace’s most impressive room, the Sala del Maggior Consiglio (the Hall of the Great Council), has a frieze of paintings of the first 76 doges … with the exception of Marino Faliero (or Marin Falier). The 55th doge was appointed on 11 September 1354 and by 1355 was plotting a coup, after which he would declare himself prince. Perversely this was fired by a hatred for the nobility, and more plausibly by his senility (he was already in his seventies). The hapless Falier pleaded guilty, was beheaded, mutilated and condemned to Damnatio Memoriae, whereby all traces of a person would be expunged from history or memory. His place on the wall of paintings is empty, covered by a black veil.

My favourite part of the whole trip was just being able to wander through all the little streets and admire the shops filled from floor to ceiling with venetian glass, costumes and masks. During our meandering we always found time to stop for a slice of the most delicious pizza and a glass of wine. All the restaurants we went to and food we tried were all amazing, so simple but oh so good. Just a side note, the clothing stores in Venice are absolutely amazing!!!!!

We had thought about taking a gondola ride on our last day but it was 100 euros for a 40 minute ride. We figured we didn't need a gondola ride that badly. We found that the best and cheapest way to get around was to buy a 3 day pass for the vaporetto, which is basically like a floating subway and gives you unlimited riding capabilities up and down the Grand Canal and to the nearby islands, such as Murano where we ferried over to one afternoon – world famous for their glasswork.

Dennis decided to celebrate my birthday a little early this year, since he wasn't going to be here for the actual day. He spoiled me rotten – the biggest badest pair of Chopard sunglasses and the most beautiful pair of black Prada riding boots. Yes, they are the same one's I wrote about earlier in my blog. They are amazing. And they match the sunglasses! Dennis, my darling, I love you!

We had such a fantastic trip. I had been told many times that it stinks like sewer, this is not the case!!! Venice is a truely beautiful, romantic, and colourful place – the boats, buildings, people, food and gondolas! A 'must see' destination.