Europe Part 1 - Paris, France

Merry Chirstmas and Happy New Year!


The past 3 weeks in Europe was possible the funnest trip we've ever taken! Looking back at these pictures, I am amazed at what we saw. Since we have over 700 pictures, it will take me quite a long time to post all of this information. So, I decided to divide it up into countries. First up, France.

-Paris-

I was super excited to go to Paris, since I've never been. Jen was a great tour guide and I felt like we saw as much as we could in 3 days. We couldn't sleep much when we got in from Seoul, so got up and watched the sunrise from the Sacre Coeur Church on top of Montmarte.















We changed hotels early in the morning. We had a small fiasco checking in to our hotel. They "lost" our reservation. It all worked out just fine and this picture is of us walking back to the original hotel. It's all just a part of the game of traveling. As you can see, we traveled as light as possible.



















Our first glimpse of the famous Notre Dame.



















The Portal of the Last Judgment.















I was awestruck by the grandeur of this cathedral. Mass had just begun as we walked in and it was a full house. The organ music was powerful. The sound moves through your body.

This is looking down the nave from behind the altar.

This shot is looking opposite down from the front of the church.

Here is the church from across the Seine River.































The outside of St. Chapelle near the Notre Dame.















The magnificent stained-glass windows make the appearance seem as though there are no walls, only windows.







































Jen relaxing in the Tuilerie Gardens. It was cold but sunny. This garden is right in front of the Louvre Museum.















The next day, we headed straight to the Eiffel Tower. The finest crepe of the trip was had just below the arch.



















The view...obviously.
















Zoiks! It was cold.















Mmmm...crepe and coffee.








































Up the road a bit to the Arche de Triumphe.




































The famous shopping district and street.




















The Mona Lisa inside the Louvre Museum.




















Check out the following picture of the huge crowd to see the small painting.

And for all you centaur fans out there (you know who you are).

The last morning, we went back to Sacre Coeur to see the views.

From the top of the dome.
















This is the last shot of Paris out the window of our room in Montmarte.