My Virtual Photo Album

In 1671, the Hôtel des Invalides was commissioned by Louis XIV to house homeless veterans of various wars. The building now holds a military museum, and beneath the golden dome are the remains of Napoleon Bonaparte.

I was somewhat surprised to see the beauty of the Eiffel Tower, the most-recognized landmark in Paris. It was a rainy afternoon, and the sun was on the western side, so I was unable to capture the more traditional view with the fountains. The lines to go up were long, and I didn't dare tempt the Fates with my fear of heights.

The lines to get inside the Louvre were even longer than those at the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame. But the building itself is magnificent. The glass pyramids bring the old and the new together in a way that is at once surprising and pleasing.

Located at the Palais Royal, these gardens are a lovely place for strolling or sitting quietly--a surprisingly serene spot in the midst of one of the world's busiest cities.

Louis XIV abandoned this palace because it was not big enough for his huge ego. The black and white stunted columns in the courtyard were designed by Daniel Buren and erected after a long court case. The columns are very inviting to small children who often climb on them and others who use them as stools. Don and Sab thought the courtyard should be used as a soccer field and the columns should be moving up and down...to make the game more interesting.

This Gothic tower is a memorial to Saint Jacques de Compostelle. In the tenth century, pilgrims set out from here to reach the tomb of Saint Jacques de Compostelle in Spain. La Tour Saint Jacques was built to replace the previous one which was once the steeple of l'Eglise de Saint-Jacques de la Boucherie.

The River Seine flows through the city of Paris, passing under more than thirty bridges. South of the river, on the Left Bank, are landmarks such as the Latin Quarter and the Eiffel Tower. On the Right Bank, to the north, are the Louvre and the Champs-Elysees. "Bateaux mouches" carry sightseers through the city.

On my second trip into Paris, we decided to close the afternoon with dinner at the restaurant across the street from the Jardin du Roi. This host would attract the customers, turn them over to the waiters, and step back out onto the terrace to bring in more diners. We watched as he tried to charm visitors into stopping there, and at one point he muttered "Hello, hello... et personne ne dit rien."

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