Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Paris!!!

Drew and I escaped the country for a week and headed over to Paris. I LOVE that city!!! The buildings, the language, the FOOD...aaaahh, I miss it already. I have tons of pics, but will spare everyone and just post some of my fav's here.

We got a lot of rain during the first few days of the trip, so they were filled with going to the Louvre and Musee d'Orsay.
Photobucket

The first time Drew & I went to the Louvre was 9 years ago, with a couple of other friends. We all cruised around that ginormous museum in an hour. Basically, we picked out all the famous sculptures and paintings we knew on the map and navigated our way to the actual piece.
the louvre

This time around, Drew & I went through that museum in record time! I think it was about a whole forty minutes that we spent looking at art in the Louvre. Mona Lisa was a must, and then some shuffling around to look at dark, gothic art that neither of us were a fan of.
the louvre

Photobucket

Photobucket

Drew & rhino outside the Musee d'Orsay. We loved that museum so much more than the Louvre.
Photobucket

Had to go see Notre Dame since we didn't get to last time.
notre dame

This is what happens sometimes when I ask other people to take a picture for us:
Photobucket

With a different person, and more instruction.
eiffel tower

Self-timer is the best sometimes!
Photobucket

I call this one Chesire Drew.
Photobucket

The golden gates into the Palace of Versailles where Marie Antoinette lived.
versailles palace

And the massive gardens in the back.
Photobucket

One of the highlights of the trip was an unexpected White Party that Parisians have started throwing yearly for about the past five years now. It had started with a small group of about 10-20 people who came out to a random public place in Paris dressed in white. They brought food and wine with them, sat down somewhere, and started eating and drinking. Apparently, the cops wouldn't have it so the next year, they staged a similar event with more people showing up.
paris white party
This year, it was thousands of Parisians dressed in white. I asked several people what the deal was and they said they know the date of the event, but the place is disclosed about an hour beforehand. Once key people find out, they email, call, and text everyone else and it spreads like wildfire.
Photobucket
Leave it up to Parisians to dine in style even when they have to set it up themselves outdoors. There were candles, flowers, champagne, and lots of good food on the tables.

At one point, a police car drove by and honked, prompting this:
paris white party

They even bring nice white linen napkins. Man, I love these people!
Photobucket

Midway through our trip, we left rainy Paris and took the train to Amsterdam. It's definitely different than Paris, but beautiful in it's own charming way. The first thing I noticed when I walked out of the train station were bikes. TONS of bikes. There was even a huge bike garage!
Photobucket

The second thing I noticed were signs to coffeeshops.
Photobucket

And the third:
Photobucket

I had no idea that the streets of Amsterdam were lined with canals. Just gorgeous.
Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

No trip to Amsterdam is complete without a visit to the Red Light district. I have to admire how open they are with prostitution and pot here. It means these things that happen anyway are regulated and these people pay taxes on their income. The girls don't have pimps but are their own businesswoman. They pay rent for their windows and hire bodyguards to protect them. And they get regular health screenings. It's all business.
amsterdam

You can't take pictures, understandably, of the girls in the windows, but no one said anything about their feet. =)
Photobucket

That's it for now. Au revoir!

2 comments:

Daisy Varley said...

AWESOME! So glad you and Drew had a great time! Oh, and next time, don't forget my passport is valid. Ya know, in case you need a personal photographer to document the two of you on your trip. Just a suggestion :)

Gisele Holloway said...

Absolutely Gorgeous!! I love the photos of Paris you took! The one on the Eiffel Tower that someone took was funny! It happened with us in NY when we asked for someone to take a photo on the liberty statue! :) You guys sure had a lot of fun!!!

Contributors