Paris: the famous places

My favorite view of the Eiffel Tower is this one, down the Champ de Mars. We got there near sunset one evening when the sun had actually emerged for awhile! It was still cold, but the light on the bare trees was just lovely.

Of course we couldn't stop taking pictures. The shape of the Eiffel Tower is so graceful, and I love the way the sunlight hits it sideways!

Of course, Daisy had begged us to bring Tiny Eiffel Tower along with us, and how could we refuse? We are beginning to make a habit of this monument-matching. In fact, we had packed Tiny Arc de Triomphe too!

We intended to climb the stairs to the tower (Sebastian really wanted to go up in it), but found out after waiting in the security line for a half hour that the stairs were closed. We were disappointed, but Seb was so great about it, saying that he felt lucky he just got to SEE it up close, anyway. We considered waiting in line for the elevators, but it was just TOO COLD! And Ziggy, though small, gets quite heavy after awhile, even in the baby wrap. And we decided we'd rather go eat!

The Arc de Triomphe is so much BIGGER than you expect it to be (and I did know it was big). It was nice that we got to see it on this one sunny evening, too.

Here's the Eiffel Tower from afar on another night.

The Louvre. We went around 7 on the night it closes late, so there were no crowds and lines. It was great.

The small Arc. Whatever it's called. (Oh yeah.)

Notre Dame on a snowy morning. By the time we walked out, the snow was so thick in the air, you could hardly see the towers!

Of course the stained glass inside was amazing! Especially the huge rose window. We made rose windows out of CDs once, when we were studying architecture. This window was…slightly more impressive in person. :)

(Another day, sunnier.)

My very favorite church, though, was the Sainte-Chapelle. It is tucked away inside the gates of the Palais de la Cité (a government building). You enter a kind of dark, stony chapel, wind your way up a cramped spiral staircase, and emerge into…this:

The whole chapel is made of stained glass! The blues are so deep and vibrant, and each panel is intricate and unique. The ceiling is covered with tiny golden stars on a dark blue background. It's worth standing over by the stairs for awhile just to hear people gasp in wonder as they enter the room from below.

This was on a grey, cloudy day, and the colors were still amazing. I can't imagine how brilliant they would be with the sun streaming in! I hoped we'd find a time to go back and see, but it never worked out.

And here we are back the Eiffel Tower on another day. Night was falling, and we wanted to see the lights twinkle! They twinkle for five minutes on the hour, every hour after dark.