Paris Day Three

On our last day in Paris we had to decide between two wonderful options.  Option 1: travel out of the city to visit the Palace of Versailles.  Option 2: Walk around the city of Paris more and enjoy some museums and neighborhoods that we hadn't had the chance to see before.  It was a tough choice but we chose option 2.  We figured we could take the boys to Versailles at some point because the gardens and palace would be fun for them to explore but we could never take the boys on a walking tour of Paris, hitting multiple museums in one day.

After a quick stop at our local bakery we headed up to Montmartre.  This neighborhood is known for it's beautiful church, artists and dance halls.  This is where Picasso, Braque, Toulouse-Lautrec and Van Gogh spent their time in Paris.

Hyrum poses with our delicious breakfast...a warm, crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, baguette.

The first stop on our Montmartre tour was the basilica of Sacré-Cœur.  This was a beautiful five-domed structure with white gypsum stuccoed onto the exterior.  This church was dedicated in 1919, after 44 years of construction.  An interesting tidbit: someone has been praying for peace in this church 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year since this church was dedicated.  They rotate people every few hours but someone is assigned to pray so that every hour in the day is covered.

There were so many amazing mosaics in this church but the one above the altar was simply incredible!

Our next stop was the Place du Tertre.  This was the main square for this neighborhood and every inch was taken up by artists selling their work or by cafes.  I loved walking around looking at all the artwork and enjoying the unique style of each artist.

Montmartre was originally a farming community with vineyards and gardens surrounding the hillside.  Today only one vineyard survives.  Ever since the 12th century this vineyard has been looked after by the monks of Clos Montmartre.  They produce only 300 liters of wine a year and they auction this off the first weekend of October for local charities.

This was the studio where Picasso spent nine months working on a major canvas.  When he unveiled Les Demoiselles d'Avignon his fellow artists were shocked and confused.  Picasso had invented Cubism.

Les Demoiselles d'Avignon by Pablo Picasso

What better spot to end our Montmartre tour than at the Moulin Rouge.  I am so happy that we got to walk around and enjoy this very unique and historic neighborhood in Paris.

After a quick bite to eat in a yummy riverside cafe we headed to the Pompidou museum for a look at possibly the best collection of 20th century artwork in Europe.  This is a photo of me trying to understand the Jackson Pollock painting on the wall.  I truly enjoy modern art but sometimes even I wonder at what the artist was trying to portray.  Some of my favorite artists were on display here, Picasso, Braque, Chagall, Matisse, Mondrian, Dali and Pollock.  Simply amazing...what else can I say?

After the Pompidou museum we went back to the Louvre to finish seeing some things we had missed out on seeing Day one.  Here is the photo I promised of the Mona Lisa during peak visiting hours.  I'm so glad we had the chance to view it right before the museum closed and the crowds had gone, this day it was pure madness in front of DaVinci's smiling lady.  

These are Michelangelo's Slaves.  It was so impressive to see how he carved these statues as though he were freeing them from the marble they were captured in.  We also saw some French Romantic period art pieces, including Delacoix's Liberty Leading the People. 

The largest canvas in the whole museum was Jacques-Louis David's The Coronation of Napoleon.  There were so many famous pieces of artwork, it truly was overwhelming yet at the same time exhilarating to see firsthand so many works I had only seen in books.

Our time is Paris was coming to a close.  We had only one hour left before we had to catch the train to the airport.  We had found a bakery a few days before that sold the most delicious treats and we spent our last hour in Paris desperately searching for this particular bakery.  When you tour a city in three days all the streets begin to run together so you can't quite remember where you were at a particular moment.  We almost gave up hope of finding the bakery until we remembered it was located near the Orsay museum.  We hustled over to that part of town, found the bakery and enjoyed one last Parisian treat before leaving for Germany.  This chocolate cake I am holding was truly worth the mad dash around Paris to find!

We flew home to find all well with Oma and the boys.  I am so grateful that Hyrum and I got the chance to spend a few days together to celebrate my birthday and to renew our love for one another.  What better place than in romantic, lovely, historic and beautiful Paris?

Paris Day Two

Day two started off a little rough.  Our camera battery had died the night before and our extra battery that we brought (just in case) was actually dead.  So, Hyrum set off early Tuesday morning in search of a charger for our camera.  Two hours and €30 later he came back to the hotel with a charger...I was still in bed asleep.  I got in the shower to get ready for the day and when I came out Hyrum had set out the most wonderful birthday breakfast anyone could ever ask for.  He had bagettes with brie and mandarin oranges and chocolate croissants.  What a way to celebrate turning 34 years old.  In Paris with the man I love.  How did I get so lucky?

My birthday breakfast, did I forget to mention he brought me fresh flowers too?

We started our day at Notre-Dame Cathedral.  They broke ground for this Cathedral in 1163 AD and held it's dedicatory Mass in 1345 AD.  It must have been so hard for the early masons to spend so much time working on a Cathedral that they knew they would never see completed.  The gargoyles were fun to look at, it's interesting to imagine what the carvers were thinking as they made those strange looking creatures that were meant to adorn their Cathedral.

One of the rose windows inside Notre-Dame.  This particular window is the only remaining window in the church with original glass.

We were very lucky to have such beautiful weather.  It was also nice to have all the flowers and trees with new leaves in the gardens.  The whole city was fresh and green.

The windows of Sainte-Chapelle.  When you walk into Sainte-Chapelle you enter on the ground level into a small room.  You look around and think, well I guess this is an interesting Cathedral.  Then you notice a small sign directing you up some very narrow winding stairs.  When you come out at the top of the stairs...BOOM, this amazing room hits you.  The light coming through these windows is incredible.  Everywhere you look you see light and color and height.  You can't stop turning in circles to be sure you have seen all the windows.  This Cathedral was built to display the "crown of thorns" worn by Christ at his crucifixion.  An interesting bit of information, the relic that was to be displayed cost FOUR times as much as it cost to build the Cathedral.

Our next stop was the Conciergerie, the famous prison that housed those destined for the guillotine.  This was the "ladies courtyard" where female prisoners were allowed to get some fresh air.  Those are the same spikes that Marie-Antoinette would have looked up and seen.

 The Orsay museum was not originally on our list of "must sees" in Paris because neither Hyrum nor I particularly enjoy impressionist painting but, as Rick Steves puts it, "If you like Impressionism, visit this museum.  If you don't like Impressionism, visit this museum."  This museum is housed in what once was the train station for Paris, so just walking around in this building was worth our time, all though we ended up really enjoying the artwork as well.

Dance at the Moulin de la Galette by Renoir

My favorite piece at the museum was La Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans by Degas.  I remember learning of this sculpture in my Humanities class and I loved it for the simplicity of the pose and look on her face. 

Unfortunately the museum was under renovation and so we missed out on seeing Van Gogh but we did see Monet, Manet, Cézanne, Rousseau and Gauguin.  I highly recommend brushing up on your art history before a visit to Paris, it truly makes the entire experience more meaningful.

The weather turned rainy and made for a sloshy walk around rue Cler.  This pedestrian only street is lined with shops for everyday Parisian living.  The essentials: wine, cheese, chocolate and bread!  The mixture of smells as you walk down this street is truly an experience.

We got sidetracked on our walk through the Jewish quarter.  A man came up to us and told us we had to eat one of his falafels, that they are the best falafels in the whole world.  There were newspaper clippings on the outside of the restaurant claiming they were the best falafels, so we gave it a shot.  Mmmmm, I will agree with the New York Times, really the best falafels!

The Pompidou museum was closed when we got there but the outside architecture is almost as famous as the art inside the building, so we took a picture.

The altar of Notre-Dame at night.  Oma gave me some money for my birthday and told me to spend it on something I wouldn't normally get for myself.  As we walked around Notre-Dame that morning I noticed there would be an organ concert that night.  The tickets were kind of pricey but I couldn't think of a better way to spend my birthday money than sitting inside a 700 year old Cathedral listening to organ music.  What a treat!

A picture of the organ situated in front of a rose window.  Even at night the windows were beautiful.

It was pretty late when the concert was over but I just had to see the Eiffel Tower one more time at night.  

Day two of our trip was busy and full of memorable experiences.  I think 34 will be a pretty good age for me, it sure started off wonderful.

Paris Day One

Hyrum and I had the rare opportunity to spend a few days without the boys on a trip.   Many thanks goes to Hyrum's mom (Oma) for flying out to watch our kids so we could have a little break.  We hadn't been away by ourselves for over 5 years so this was a real treat.  We decided to head to Paris for our getaway.  I wasn't thrilled with the idea of spending time in Paris, I guess I just figured Paris would be full of rude French people who hated Americans.  I was completely wrong in this assumption, and I totally LOVED Paris.  Favorite things: fresh French baguettes, Camembert cheese, beautiful walks around the city with no children!!!

We flew out of Nuremberg on Sunday, March 27th.  We landed in Paris at 9:30 PM and headed for our hotel.  After a bus ride, train ride, bus ride and then another train ride we got to our apartment at 12:30 AM!  Maybe next time we'll pay for a taxi:)

Monday, Mach 28th.  We woke up and grabbed a few bakery treats for breakfast on our way to meet up with a friend of a friend who said she would show us around a bit on our first day in Paris.  Marianne was very nice, a New Zealander who has been living in Paris the last 2 years.  Warning: There are a lot of pictures here!

This is the first shot of Paris I got as I exited the Metro at 12:30 AM on Monday morning. 

We stayed in an apartment that was on the 5th floor of the building.  This is the view from our window as you looked out across the chimneys of the adjoining buildings.

Looking down from our apartment window you can see the courtyard for our building.

Marianne began our tour of Paris in the very modern business district of La Défense.  It was interesting to see how everyday Parisians live their lives, go to work, eat and relax.  This business complex has many fountains and cafes where you can relax on your lunch break.

Next stop, the Eiffel Tower!  I don't think you can adequately describe just how big this structure is, you really have to see it for yourself.  It was pretty amazing to stand right under the world's most recognizable monument.

The Arc de Triomphe.  Built by Napoleon to celebrate his many victories, now the best spot in Paris to get a great view of the city...from the top.

On our way up the 284 steps to the top of the Arc de Triomphe.  It really was neat to stand at the top and see Paris below and all around you.  

After lunch we decided to try one of these French specialty cookies, the macaron.  They are made from egg whites and have the consistency of a meringue with frosting in the middle.  I hate to say it but they were actually a little too sweet for my taste.

Napoleons tomb.  Don't ask me how Napoleon has become such a hero in the eyes of the French.  After the revolution he basically crowned himself Emperor and ruled over them as a monarch.  How was this better than the monarchy they just chopped the heads off of?  I don't know, you'll have to ask someone from France.  His tomb is located in this huge dome with carvings surrounding his tomb depicting his life as the ruler of most of Europe.  The whole time I was there I kept thinking, this man probably had the biggest Ego of anyone who ever lived!

The Louvre.  We didn't have much time, the museum was going to close in about an hour but we figured an hour in the Louvre was still worth it.  We weren't disappointed. 

Venus de Milo.  An ancient Greek statue sculpted around 100 BC, simply amazing to see in person this wonderful piece of history.

The Mona Lisa.  Once again, pretty incredible to see such a famous piece of art history.  The best part about going to the Louvre right before closing is the crowds are pretty scarce.  Remember this shot, you'll see it again on Day 3 of our trip, only this time we came in the middle of the afternoon, peak tourist hours.

Saint-Sulpice.  This was one of the many beautiful Cathedrals we had the opportunity to walk around.  After living in Europe for 3 years sometimes Cathedrals start all looking the same but I still get a sense of awe when I walk in and imagine the work it took and the sacrifice it took to build such a structure.

A funny side note: There is a note in this church that says, "Despite what Dan Brown wrote in his book The DaVinci Code this church has nothing to do with the Priory of Sion."  I just thought it was funny  they would have to publicly discount their relationship to a work of fiction.  I'm sure there were crazy fans out there that were trying to break away the stone tiles to find clues about the Priory.

The last thing we did on our first day in Paris was take a cruise down the Seine River.  We were told that this is a romantic thing to do in Paris so we thought we would give it a shot.  Unfortunately about five minutes before the boat departed a big bus load of rowdy teenagers on a school trip boarded the boat.  So much for a quiet, romantic trip down the river.  Despite the crowded boat it was still lovely to see Paris all lit up at night.

Day one in Paris was wonderful.  We got to enjoy seeing some major sights as well as discover some out of the way yummy cafes.  Most of all it was fantastic to be with Hyrum, just Hyrum.

Two Beautiful Bavarian Cities

This past weekend I convinced my sister Paige that she needed to take Friday (March 18th) off work and come out to play with me.  She got here Thursday night around 10:30 PM which was great because that gave us all day on Friday to play.  The really cool thing was that Hyrum had work off on Friday so we all headed up to Nuremberg.  Hyrum and I had wanted to visit the Nazi Documentation Center museum for a while but we never got the chance so we were excited to finally have a day without the boys to check out the museum.  I totally recommend this museum to anyone, but I think it is more enjoyable without small children.  They give you an English translating handset at the beginning of the tour and the museum itself is well laid out with great photos and well explained displays.  The museum basically explains how the Nazi party came into power and the main characters that were influential during the lead up to Nazi control.

Paige, Julian and I in front of the museum

Daddy and Julian standing on the platform at the Zeppelin Field Rally Grounds.  All the photos one knows of the party rallies with rows and rows and blocks and blocks of soldiers looking alive, listening enraptured to the Führer’s rantings and saluting were taken here. 200,000 people could stand in the square, which was larger than twelve soccer fields, in front of the monumental grandstand with the rostrum.

Another shot of the Rally Ground Grandstand.  The creepiest thing for me was to walk around on this huge structure and think about the people in the concentration camps that were forced to work night and day quarrying granite for these structures.

We ended our trip to Nuremberg with a delicious lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant in downtown Nuremberg...seriously the best Asian food I have had in Germany!  Friday evening Paige and I took the twins to see Rango at the movie theater.  I'm not sure if I would recommend this film to people taking their children, some of the language was really "colorful" and some of the themes were too adult for the boys to understand.

On Saturday Hyrum spoiled me by offering to watch the kids all day so Paige and I could visit Munich.  Paige had been to Oktoberfest in Munich but hadn't been to see all the other sights this beautiful city has to offer.

We started our sightseeing tour at the Marienplatz, the city square that is dominated by the Neues Rathaus (New Town Hall).  And, of course, we waited with anticipation for the glockenspiel to play at the top of the hour.  Just to warn anyone interested in visiting, the glockenspiel is fun to see but definitely nothing to hold your breathe for:)

From Marienplatz we headed toward the art museum...LOOK what we found in a shop window on our way!  Oh yeah, we stopped to sample some of these delicious cakes!  I totally think it's worth the 2 hour drive just to eat one of these confections from Heaven.

Paige on the steps of the Alte Pinakothek art museum.  I was so impressed with the collection of art we were able to see here.  Great artists from the 14th-19th centuries, including Dürer, Raphael, Titian, Rubens and da Vinci.  This museum is the perfect size.  You are able to get a sampling of great art without the saturation you experience in larger art museums.

Albrecht Dürer Self Portrait

 

Raphael's Holy Family at the Canigiani House

Munich is home to the original beer house, the Hofbräuhaus.  We stepped inside to find rows of wooden tables full of Germans enjoying their beer while listening to the oom-pa-pa music being played by the band.  We considered having a bite to eat but decided against it because it was just a bit too lively for our taste...we headed across the street to the Hard Rock Cafe instead:)

After dinner we headed to the Viktualien Markt to have a quick look around.  If you are looking for fresh fruits and vegetables or fresh butchered meat or fresh homemade cheese, this is the place to come.  We weren't hungry at all but it was still a lot of fun to walk around and see the people buying their evening groceries from these local producers.  Besides all the wonderful food stands there were also some stands selling handmade crafts, like these hand painted Easter eggs.

Even though we were both quite full from dinner we just HAD to have a gelato before we got back in the car for the two hour drive.  Gelato and German bread, probably the two things I will miss most when I move back to the States!

So there you have it, two beautiful Bavarian cities in two days.  Don't you want to come and visit?

St. Patricks Day

I am not one of those moms that goes all out for every holiday.  I'm not saying that it's a bad thing if you do that but I just don't have the creativity to come up with fun ideas for the holidays.  This St. Patricks Day I attempted a very limited celebration for the boys.  I hung rainbow streamers in their doorway so when they woke up they could walk through the rainbow, which they thought was so fun.  Hyrum made green crepes for breakfast and we also helped the boys make a trap for the leprechauns.  Nothing spectacular but I think they had fun.

The boys enjoying their crepes and green milk for breakfast.

The leprechaun trap.  The idea was that the leprechaun would see the gold on top of the box, climb the ladder to the top and walk across the box to the gold.  The surprise for the leprechaun was that the box wasn't solid all the way across, that's crepe paper with a big hole underneath.  Pretty tricky right?  The leprechaun broke through the crepe paper and fell into our box but then escaped...we'll have to try again next year:)