Paris, France
48° 51' N 2° 19' E
Aug 07, 2009 19:23
Distance 544km

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Honeymoon in Paris

After the picture perfect wedding, the honeymoon was a much deserved rest for Jane.  She had been flat out at her school until July 24th and then right into the thick of final wedding arrangements, so needless to say she was knackered (a British word for tired).

We were off to Cardiff, the capital of Wales and about 90 minutes from Swansea, around midday for an afternoon 90 minute flight to Paris.  Going to Paris sounds so far away and exotic for a Canadian, but in Europe famous places are not far from one another.  The next four days were perfect.  We stayed in a modern hotel within 5 minutes of the Eiffel tower and the Seine River.  The temperature was in the low to mid 20's and dry - ideal to wander about and honeymoon in. 

We went everywhere: the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, the Left Bank, Notre Dame cathedral, the Musee dÓrsay, the Champs Elysees, Moulin Rouge and you name it.  And all so relatively near to each other (or easily reached by the excellent metro).  As often as not, we walked, as we both are walkers and doing 10 plus K in an afternoon is most agreeable.  Being in Paris for four days was perfect, and a fifth day might have been nice, but not essential.

As the photos ably show, Paris is an easy city to enjoy and most spectacular indeed.

Photos / videos of "Honeymoon in Paris":

Guess? Can you see how happy we are, and the weather and city seem to agree. The Arc de Triomphe. Such an interesting traffic intersection. Wonderful views from the top. View from the top of the Arc and looking down the Champs Elysees. The famous Moulin Rouge. Toulouse Lautrec's hang out, and so like his painting. Typical street in the older part of Paris and along the way to the Sacre Coeur church. This is one of the higher points in the city. View from the top of the Sacre Coeur. The Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart) church is, I think, one of the more interesting churches and areas in Paris; much preferred it to the Notre Dame cathedral. Artists, tourists, locals all mixed together on a wonderful summer afternoon in Monmartre. The Louvre. The place is HUGE, too much for me and full of generally older works of art which do less to me. The Egyptian exhibition is impressive, much like the real thing I saw in Egypt 22 months ago. I am getting itchy feet. You have to see the Mona Lisa if you are in the Louvre. Apparently later that day someone threw something at it and was arrested. There is a plate of glass covering it so it was not damaged. As so many folks say, it sure is small and I personally do not get it -why is it so famous? Plaza of the Louvre. Dan Brown made some big deal about the plaza in Da Vinci's Code. Interesting sight. What is below, a large lobby, is quite impressive. The Seine beach. Sand and beach lawn chairs line the river - only in Paris. Notre Dame Cathedral. Very underwhelming. The cathedral felt like anything but a church. God had checked out a long time ago, and it was a tourist site. Been in a lot of Christian churches, and the Notre Dame felt the least religious of any - something was definitely missing. Underneath the Eiffel Tower - this is serious steel and metal work. View from the top. You can see so much of Paris from up there. Unfortunately, the weather was becoming cloudy so the views were muted. We left later in the day, so the changing weather did not affect us. Us at the top, what a perfect place to honeymoon in. The mechano iron works that make up the support beams for the tower. Very solid. The Musee d'Órsay. This large art museum has mostly more recent (1700's plus)artists. Much preferred it to the Louvre, different strokes for different folks. Lots of Impressionist works, Toulouse Lautrec and Van Gogh's.
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