Versailles

This trip to France is a first for many reasons, one of which is that I left my DSLR at home, which felt weird at first. However, with the iPhone having a more and more capable camera, I realized that is quite ok. This is a shot at Place Vendôme with the famous column in the very center taken with the 0.5 wide angle lens.

Paintings of Clause Monet are found in museums all over the world, but none are as hidden as Musée Marmottan Monet. 

The paintings found a home in the basement of a magnificent townhouse and they are some of the most impressionable. For what ever reasons, this is our first time here and I would definitely recommend a visit.

Paints of Clause Monet are found in museums all over the world, but none are as hidden as Musée Marmottan Monet. The paintings are in the basement of a magnificent townhouse.

We never felt the need to go to the Musée Rodin either, but this time we did go and it was amazing what Rodin was able to create besides the famous Thinker.

This bronze bust from Jules Dalou is a wonderful example of what the artist was capable of producing.

The main attraction was to stay at the Trianon Palace in Versailles. It is located right next the famous gardens where kings and other royalty took strolls.

The swimming pool was underground and offered a welcome atmosphere to cool down and relax. We had a fantastic dinner on the terrace facing the gardens watching sheep, probably descendants of those that Marie Antoinette petted, roaming lush meadows.

Visiting the Palace must have been so exciting when the king with is court was still here. Nowadays, the hallways are filled with other people that have the same idea. Early birds are rewarded with empty corridors and bedrooms.

The COVID protocol is still in place, which requires one to make a reservation and request a specific time slot. Since we stayed in walking distance to the entrance, we picked the earliest time and although there was a long line already, we made it to the Hall of Mirrors in no time with very few other people. It was such a great experience.

Because it was a beautiful day and we spent the better part of it walking in the famous gardens. The village that Marie Antoinette built, was out of place. She must not have liked being the queen, why else would you pick a peasant lifestyle over luxury?

The grounds even features an manmade grotto where Marie Antoinette was found and consequently arrested in 1792.

The grounds of the royal gardens are so vast that there is plenty of space for other palaces. I guess, just in case the king wanted a change in his life. They were smaller, but still very nice for that time.

Back in Paris, we visited a museum about modern colonialism and native art from all over the world. It is named after the former French President Jacques Chirac, who apparently liked foreign cultures so much that he built a modern building right next to the Eiffel Tower to house his huge collection of native art.

 

The lighting is great and allows visitors to focus on each and every piece that mean so much to people where it came from.

As you can imagine, it was a great vacation during which we experienced so many firsts.

Paris

Even though November is probably not the most ideal time to visit Paris, this is our first time in the City of Lights and it now has it's own place in our memories. 

The city has so much to offer, on art and architecture. Just imagine if they had decided to tear down the Eiffel Tower after the World's Fair in 1889 was over. That would be unimaginable.

The structure can be seen for miles and is a great help to get your bearing when walking around. It's absolutely worth going up all the way to the top, so you can enjoy Paris from this very different perspective.

Arc de Triomphe

If you get tired there is at lease two options. First, one could choose from one of hundreds of street cafés, sit and enjoy the Parisians go about their business.  Or second, you could convince yourself and take the Metro, which at first, looks a little intimidating, but the trains are so easy to use, once you get the hang of it.  Here, everyone takes the Metro, for work and in the evening for going out. We always felt save, even at late hours.

When walking in Paris, one should immediately recognize the unique architecture of the beautiful homes, were people actually live (must be quite expensive).

It's hard to have a favorite museum, be it the Louvre, the Musée de l'Orangerie or the Centre Pompidou, or the Musée d'Orsay.

The Louvre is a little overwhelming at first, because of  its size with all the wings, rooms and corridors. It is fantastic what kind of art can be seen and one can easily overlook a painting from Leonardo Da Vinci that hangs on one of those walls in a long hallway. The wing that exhibits marble statues from Roman times was empty and it's quite an experience to look Julius Caesar in the eyes. We were lucky to also spend some time with Mona Lisa as the room was almost empty. I admit, that I expected the famous painting to be a lot bigger, but I was still impressed by the "aura". I recommend, visiting the Louvre multiple times, because it's huge.

Don't forget, that Paris can also be explored at night. After dinner, we took a walk down the Champs Élysées, where the Arc de Triomphe was illuminated.

A former railway station serves as a museum now, called Musée d'Orsay. A vast collection of impressionist is exhibited here in a wonderful building on the left bank of the river Seine.

Because it was a great and sunny day, we decided to go and check out the Notre Dame. The cathedral is impressive and its size is misleading until you get close and then you realize how immense the structure is and now many details are in places where nobody sees them. 

We climbed the stairs to the bell tower and came across the gargoyles, which are all hand carved and different. They overlook the city and keep demons and evil spirits way.

One of the days, we took the train to see the Palace of Versailles, the favorite residence of French kings and the summer residence of Napoleon. The hall of mirrors defined the word "Opulence" perfectly. It is incomprehensible, how much gold, time and effort was invested in probably one of the most majestic palaces in the world.

We finished this vacation with a train ride from Paris to Zurich, Switzerland on the TGV (Train Grand Vitesse or high speed train). The speed was around 180 mph and it was especially impressive when two trains crossed.