Paris was nice and really clean. We took a quick boat tour on the first day.
Finally got to see the Eiffel Tower! Though it would've been nice, we didn't actually have time to go up there. But I got to stand under the tower.
The fact that you could see the tower from just about anywhere in Paris helped me to realize the magnitude of it.
Contrary to my expectations, I didn't really fall in love with the place. It was an impressive city by all means, but I didn't feel an emotional connection with the place. But I did love the ceiling art in France far more than the ones I saw in Italy. We were so pressed on time that, I probably didn't have time to enjoy the place. I hope I have a chance in the near future to travel back there.
Went up the Arc de Triomphe. The view was amazing. It was awesome to see all the streets stretch out from the arc.
We visited the Louvre Museum
(My mom enjoying Pygmalion et Gelatée, 1819)
I was looking at this painting and fell in love with the sandles.
and the Palace of Versailles. Though both places were incredible, I preferred the design of Louvre over Versailles.
Right after Versailles, we headed over to take a quick tour of the Notre-Dame Cathedral. The details were incredible.
We also visited Monet's house and Le Mont-Saint-Michel. I'm not a big fan of Monet's paintings, but we just didn't have the time to go all they way to van Gogh's town (it was sad, 'cause my mom LOVES van Gogh). But it was nice seeing Monet's beautiful garden.
Le Mont-Saint-Michel reminded me of the castle from one of Miyazaki's animations. I heard that he actually used this as a model for one of his animations. Anyway, the place had a great view and looked so magical.
Well, that's the gist of my trip to Paris. Will update about Italy soon.
Linda