Paris Part Deux

On our second day in Paris, we made our way north to the area of Montmartre to visit the Sacré Coeur Basilica.  I read that the best views of Paris were from this location, so we had to check it out.  It did not disappoint.

Sacré Coeur.  The walk up looked quite daunting so we opted to ride the funicular, which is part of the metro, to the top.

A little closer.

Looking out over Paris.  The tall building on the right was somewhat close to our hotel.  Apparently it is a thorn in the side of all those who live in Paris.  It was actually annoying to me as well.  It's an ugly building that sticks out amongst an otherwise short (?? not sure what to use here) city.

The Eiffel Tower as seen from just around the corner from the Basilica.

The Moulin Rouge is also in the Montmartre area and I couldn't come to Paris without seeing it.

Because some of us were moving a little slow, we decided to hit up the Louvre next to ensure that we got to check it out before it closed.  I discovered on their website before we left a guided tour of the masterpieces of the Louvre.  Since the Louvre is so ridiculously huge, we knew this would be the best way for us to see the highlights without feeling too overwhelmed.

Cool passageway outside the Louvre.

The Louvre, or louv-ra, as I like to say.

Reed was a hugh help at the Louvre.  We got to bypass a really long line because we had him with us.  Thanks Reed!

Inside the Louvre, Reed much preferred playing with my iphone over looking at art.

Another cool hallway, apologies for the crookedness.

Aphrodite, known as Venus de Milo.
Late 2nd Century BC

The Wedding Feast at Cana by Paolo Veronese
1562-1563

The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci
Between 1503 and 1506
Chris and I had actually seen the Mona Lisa before, but it was still cool to see it in its home.  There were people everywhere.  Too bad I didn't take a picture of that!

The Coronation of the Emperor Napoleon I and the Crowning of the Empress Josephine in Notre Dame Cathedral
Jacques-Louis David
1806-1807

The Raft of the Medusa
Theodore Gericault
1819

Reed doing his favorite thing at the Louvre, playing with the barriers.

July 28: Liberty Leading the People
Eugene Delacroix
1831

We certainly missed taking pictures of a few of the masterpieces that we saw, so if you are interested in reading more about the above works of art or seeing the other masterpieces we saw, then click here.  After leaving the Louvre, we saw the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, the Jardin des Tuileries and the Obelisk.

Very cool picture of the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel with the Obelisk and the Arc de Triomphe in the center of it.

Up close.

The Louvre from afar.  I needed a shot with most of it in the picture.

The Obelisk.

At this point I had to part ways with the group.  Chris, Lauren and Reed continued up the Avenue des Champs-Élysées checking out the mostly shopping street until they ended at the Arc de Triomphe.

Chris contemplated buying this Versace dress for me since I was unable to go on with them, lol!

Laduree, the place that is famous for its macarons.  They are oh-so-yummy!

Chris and Reed with the Arc de Triomphe.

Stay tuned for day 3 in Paris!