Paris....Ou La La !!!

After becoming somewhat tired of the cold, windy and rainy weather and being "stuck" in port at Cannes, we decided to take that long awaited trip to Paris. With all of our travels (before one another), neither of us had ever gone to Paris. We had the good sense to know that it was just "too romantic" a place to go alone and without your one great love. So we boarded the fast train and enjoyed the lush, green countryside all the way to Paris.
We did do the "touristy" thing and walked around in awe of the magnificence and beauty of it all. Our hotel was just 200 yards from Notre Dame and easy access to everything. We walked miles and miles every day and got proficient with the Metro system. We overate croissants, pastries, bread and beef bourginion with lots and lots of wine. We walked the Seine hand in hand as all lovers should, and we loved every minute of it!!!
We even did the "Parisien" thing and went to a cabaret (Le Crazy Horse), although we can't show you pictures of that (if you know what we mean), and spent a lovely night at a jazz club watching the locals swing dance. The French, whether they be Parisiens or not, have been nothing but friendly, helpful, generous and playful. And if they do have a somewhat superior attitude, we get it---they do seem to have it all.
Soooo, this was a truly fairy tale, once in a lifetime, dream-come-true trip to Paris!!!
Ou La La......
                                                                                     

Notre Dame...magnificent and well worth saving, which is what Victor Hugo  (who wrote "The Hunchback of Notre Dame) helped do after it was in such decay and in danger of being demolished. Quasimodo, Esmeraldo and we thank him....

 

Our hotel was lovely but had an elevator the size of a phone booth and we laughed hysterically every time we got in it.  

The sign in it said maximum 4 people, 650 lbs. but clearly was not meant for the average American.  We  were only 2 and couldn't conceive of even 1 more person!

The focal point is the Eiffel Tower in the background with 2 happy people in front of it.  We didn't want to stand in line for hours to go to the top, so just appreciated it from below. 

An Egyptian monument erected in the square where the majority of the beheadings occurred via the guillotine.

L'Arc de Triumphe at night at the end of the Champs-Elyse'es. Wonderful strolling and late night drinks and people watching...

The Louvre is beyond huge and overwhelming and sensory overload happened quite quickly. But we did see the masterpieces such as the Mona Lisa.

Every man's fantasy!!

Close to our hotel on a bridge over the Seine there  are thousands of locks locked on to the bridge. Tradition has it that lovers put their lock on and throw the key into the Seine to lock their love forever. And so of course, we had to do it too.

Enough beauty and romance with Notre Dame in the background, time for a little debauchery.....

Paris.....Ou La La !!!!!!