 We sat in this car going from Haarlem, the Netherlands to Paris, France. We arrived in Paris at the Gare du Nord station. |
 Judy on the train from Haarlem, the Netherlands to Paris, France |
 The Hotel Caron de Beaumarchais in the Marais District of Paris. We stayed here. Built in 18th century. |
 The Hotel Caron de Beaumarchais in the Marais District of Paris. Our room is on the top floor, far left, with the balcony. |
 Judy on the balcony of our room at the Hotel Caron de Beaumarchais |
 The Seine River near the Cathedral of Notre Dame |
 The facade of the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Built from 1100's to 1300's (Gothic). |
 Statue of Charlemagne (Charles The Great) - front of Notre Dame : Crowned 800 c.e. Reign marked the birth of modern Europe. |
 Judy at the side of the Cathedral of Notre Dame |
 Cathedral of Notre Dame (back): Flying buttresses (50 ft. stone beams) support pointed, arched roof by pushing inward. |
 The Cathedral of Notre Dame (back) and the Seine River |
 The Cathedral of Notre Dame (back) - closer view |
 Gargoyles from top of Tower of Cathedral of Notre Dame. These grotesque beasts represent souls caught between heaven & earth. |
 Judy at top of Tower of Cathedral of Notre Dame. To get to the top, we climbed over 400 steps on a narrow, steep staircase. |
 Richard and a mysterious hooded person in the shadows at the top of the Tower of the Cathedral of Notre Dame - in the rain. |
 A view of Paris and the Seine River from the Tower of the Cathedral of Notre Dame. The Eiffel Tower is in the background. |
 Deportation Memorial behind the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Dedicated to the 200,000 French victims of Nazi concentration camps. |
 Deportation Memorial: Felt like a prisoner in here below ground - dramatic experience. |
 Arc de Triomphe and Champ-Elysees. Part of the Champ-Elysees was built in the early 1600's. |
 Arc de Triomphe and Champ-Elysees. Part of the Champ-Elysees was built in the early 1600's. (1) |
 Arc de Triomphe: Built in the early 1800's to celebrate Napolean's victory against Austrians at Battle of Austerlitz. |
 The Louvre-Rivoli station of the Metro. |
 The Louvre: Did not care for relatively new steel-glass pyramid. Its modern look detracts from the age & richness of the museum. |
 Richard in front of the Louvre. The original structure has a rich architectural history dating back to the 1200's c.e. |
 Judy near the Arc du Carrousel in front of the Louvre. The Eiffel Tower is seen faintly in the background. |
 Inside the Louvre |
 Judy in Tuileries Gardens on Right Bank headed for Orsay Museum (background) on Left Bank across Seine River. |
 The Orsay Museum on the Seine River. Houses mainly French art from the 1800's (mainly impressionist painters). |
 The Orsay Museum on the Seine River. The building was formerly a train station - almost demolished in the 1970's. |
 Inside the Orsay Museum |
 Palais de Justice: Home of France’s Supreme Court. Built in 1776. Headquarters of the Revolutionary government. |
 St. Chapelle Church exterior: Gothic building built from 1242 to 1248 for St. Louis IX, France’s only canonized king. |
 St. Chapelle Church interior: 15 huge stained glass panels with more than 1,100 different scenes from Christian bible. |
 Judy having dinner at an outdoor cafe in the Marais District. |
 Rue des Rosiers: Main street in the heart of the Jewish Quarter in the Marais District. |
 Store on Rue des Rosiers: Main street in the heart of the Jewish Quarter in the Marais District. |
 Synangogue in Jewish Quarter of Marais District. We went inside. Many synagagues in Europe are inconspicuous, like this one. |
 Museum of Jewish Art & History. Marais mansion from the 1600's but extensively renovated. |
 Grand Staircase - Jewish Museum of Art & History: Items - Judaism in Europe from Roman destruction to theft of artwork in WWII. |
 Hirszenberg’s “The Jewish Cemetery" (1892) - in Museum: Women rise from graves to mourn plight of Jews victimized by progroms. |
 Place des Vosges. Paris’ oldest park (1612). Turned Marais district into Paris’ most exclusive neighborhood at that time. |
 Arcade surrounding Place des Vosges: Consists of 36 old, attached mansions with two upper floors & porticos on ground floor. |
 Entrance Victor Hugo's house (#6) in the arcade surrounding Place des Vosges. Hugo lived here from 1832 to 1848. We went inside. |
 A street on the Left Bank (Latin Quarter). Home to artists, writers, bohemians and liberal thinkers throughout the years. |
 Fountain of St. Michael (Left Bank): Site of citizen (1871), student (1960's), factory worker & anti-Nazi (WWII) rebellions. |
 Vendors with their stalls in front of the wall near the Seine River. Vendors like this have been here since medieval times. |
 A stall in front of the wall near the Seine River. Primarily books, photos & art for sale at these stalls. |
 The Seine River |
 The Seine River (1) |
 Boat cafes on the Seine River |
 The Gare de Lyon train station in Paris. Took train from here to Geneva on our way to Wengen, Switzerland in the Alps. |
 Interior of the Gare de Lyon train station in Paris. We left Paris from this station for the Alps in Switzerland. |
 Interior of the Gare de Lyon train station in Paris. We left Paris from this station for the Alps in Switzerland. (1) |
 We took this Thalys high speed train from the Gare de Lyon station in Paris to Geneva, Switzerland. |
 Interior of the Gare de Lyon train station in Paris. We left Paris from this station for the Alps in Switzerland. (2) |
 Cafe at the Gare de Lyon trian station where we waited for our high speed Thalys train to take us to the Alps in Switzerland. |