Vivian Goes to Paris

Mother Nature tried to ruin Paris for me. It was insanely cold despite the fact that there was sunshine. It was so cold that I didn't want to do anything. But I was in Paris, so I had to just suck it up and go. Paris really is the City of Lights as people have called it. I flew in on Monday night, getting the best view of the city. It was so incredible. The best part was being able to see the Eiffel Tower during the descent. Spectacular. Even when I was on the airport shuttle bus, getting into the city center, I could still see it, shining high in the sky. I never understood why the Eiffel Tower was so popular but when I actually saw it in person, I understood. It really is an incredible work of architecture. And it's so big! I went to visit it twice, once at night when all of the lights were shining and another time during the day so I could take better pictures. It is most beautiful at night, of course. I wanted to go up to the top, but when I went during the day, it was too foggy to see anything so it would've been pointless. I also went to see Norte Dame, Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysee, etc. I went to the Lourve, which is one of the largest museums in the world. It seriously was like a city in itself. It has tons of sculptures and painting. It took me nearly two hours just go get through see most, not all, the sculptures. By the time I reached the paintings, I was too tired so I just went to see the Mona Lisa and left. The Mona Lisa really is overrated. I don't know why it ever got so popular. There were many other places that I would've wanted to go to but I didn't have enough time. Paris really is enormous. Overall, I like Paris and definitely think it's a nice place to visit but I wouldn't say that it's my favorite. It is just way too crowded, cold, and expensive. 

 Macaroons... YUM

 

 Place de Vosges

 French pastries -- as good as they look

 

 Hotel de Ville (a.k.a. City Hall) -- does D.C. have a city hall that looks like that?

 Protestors -- don't know what they're complaining about

 Modern Art Museum -- it's very modern, indeed

 Ile de la Cita

 Palais Justice

 Norte-Dame Cathedral

 Bridge connecting Ile de la Cita to the mainland

 Pont Neuf

 Senat in front of Jardin du Luxembourg

 Back of Senate from inside Jardin du Luxembourg

 Pretty water fountain :)

Norte Dame at night

 Crepes < Pancakes = Waffles

 Eiffel Tower at night

 Elevator to the top of the tower

 Eiffel tower in the foggy afternoon

 Palais de Chaillot

 Arc de Triomphe

 Champs Elysees -- most popular and expensive area in Paris

 Inside the mall by the Lourve

 Lourve

 It used to be a palace

 Cutie patootie

 Hammurabi's Code -- first written law

 Lourve Pyramid

 Hall of Italian paintings

 Mona Lisa... I still don't see what's so great about her. I was going to take a picture with her but didn't want to mix the ordinary (her) with the extraordinary (me). :) I'm kidding. I did take a picture with her but she made me look fat so I'm not uploading it.

 View of the Lourve from inside the pyramid