Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Second Stage: Paris!

Back to my trip, we left Brugges, and took the train to Paris where I managed to fall asleep once again while in the Chunnel. At least I think I saw the beginning this time...lol When we arrived there, it was raining and proceeded to rain the rest of the day. But we were in Paris...so off we went to tour the city with Notre Dame, Sainte Chappelle, Arc de Triomphe, etc. It was really neat to see the special veteran memorial services they were having at the Arc as we went by....

Statue outside Notre Dame that caught my eye. Click on the picture and look at the king; who does he favor to you? My first thought was the King of the Dead in Lord of the Rings #3. Funny the things we notice.....


Notre Dame Cathedral...

Above the entrance...

Rose Window in Notre Dame... then on to the Sainte Chappelle.


Stained glass in Sainte Chappelle - this was absolutely stunning. The stained glass on the second floor was from top to bottom all the way around - just unbelievable. I'd seen it years ago and forgotten how beautiful it was.

No picture of Paris is complete without the Eiffel Tower. Kim and Chris went to visit it the next day with much better weather. I've been there before so I went off to find my Paris-Etoile Harley-Davidson shop - voila - victory! Though I have to say it had one of the rudest shopgirls in it I'd met in a long time. Not much inventory in the little shop downstairs, but luckily I found what I needed. If I'd been anywhere else, I'd have walked out without buying anything, but this was the only HD shop I was going to get to in France and it was for my DH, so I bought it and left, muttering to myself the entire time. Don't bother going there, though. Find one on the outskirts of Paris - you're bound to have better luck and service. :)

This is near the entrance of the Louvre, which was closed, so I had some time before meeting my friends. I set off to find Des Fils et Une Aguille, an LNS that several people had recommended to me. After some trial and error, I found it a few blocks away from the Louvre. I wish I had taken pictures of it; it was wonderful. It had French designers I'd never seen and things to drool over; their band fabrics were beautiful. I could have spent hours in there, and I did pick up a few items. I'm a great fan of Isabelle H-Vautier and Renato Parolin; they have a collaborative book, so after looking inside, it was a must have.


There were many that caught my eye, whether by chart or model, but I bought from designers I hadn't seen here in the US. (Pics are clickable.)


Paris has many beautiful sights to see, and I couldn't possibly put them all on here. But I've always loved Hotel des Invalides which contains Napoleon's Tomb...


and more Paris in the rain....
Their metro system is fantastic - they have unusual signs along the way to point to the subway.

As we left the Paris train station.....Next stop - London. Who knew there'd by a tube strike as we're coming in to Paddington train/tube station???

20 comments:

Meari said...

Awesome photos, Carolyn! I studied some of the architecture in my History of Art class. It's awesome to see, isn't it?

Rene la Frog said...

Thanks again for sharing the sights with us.

Olga said...

Thank you for sharing the pretty pictures from your trip. Your new stash is just a treasure to die.

CameoRoze (Margaret) said...

More great photos from France. Sigh. You picked up some great charts, Carolyn. I'm particularly enamored with that giraffe!

5 Foot Runt said...

I thank you for posting those pictures. I will never be able to go and these pictures made me feel I was right there with you, lol.

5 Foot Runt said...

The somewhere is Lee. Don't know what happened there.

Unknown said...

Thank you for sharing xx

Wendy said...

Those are really great pics!! Looks you had a most wonderful trip. I've been to Paris several times. It is about a 3 hours drive from our place. We go there to Disneyland too, as we are huge Disney fans.

Kathy said...

It sounds like you had a fabulous time! And the stash is wonderful. I loved the photos. They brought back memories of my trip to Paris. (Oh, and I loved your shot of the peeing boy in Brussels. I have one too somewhere in my photo albums. LOL)

Jan said...

Oh my such sites to behold!! Love the photos Carolyn!! And wonderful purchases at the LNS!

Mel said...

Great photos. Thanks so much for sharing your trip with us!

Dani - tkdchick said...

Great photos, that stained glass is just too stunning for words!

Faye said...

omg...I am SO jealous of all this travelling you get to do!!! Enjoy the time as we are all enjoying these photos alot! Faye

Shelley - ILCS said...

Great pics, thanks for sharing!!

Joy said...

Looks like you had a fabulous time. I love the pictures of the stained glass...they are beautiful. Nice stash! I can't wait to see them stitched.

Nancy M said...

Just awesome to see such history! Must be fabulous to have gone on a trip like that. Those stained glass walls in the cathedral must just take your breath away!Pretty cool you found the French LNS, I'm sure they are so different from the ones here in the states!

Sadie said...

I'm enjoying looking at the pictures of your travels Carolyn. Your stash looks fabulous. Can't wait to see your pics of England and especially Scotland :-)
Have a great weekend x

Charlene ♥ NC said...

Oh, what a lovely tour! Excellent stash enhancement, I do say!! You've been awarded - take a peek!
http://needleinhand.blogspot.com

Ann said...

What a wonderful trip, Carolyn! I wish I could have stowed away in your suitcase!

CindyMae said...

What awesome and wonderful pics! Love the new stash!!!