Again with restaurants using US state names.
There's many things about the French that is exaggerated, but the stereotype that surrounds their amazing food is quite accurate.
We would have brought back a lot of lavenders if we could have.
Wrapping up our Parisian trip, the last full day which turned out to be a lot grimmer than what we had hoped for. It almost felt like we were back in London.
The Locks of Love fad, we've seen it on pretty much every bridge here in Europe.
Just Michelle strolling along the streets of Paris.
Not the prettiest of days in Paris, but I was actually a little happy with the change in the weather. Just a last reminder of the months we had spent in London.
Going to miss all of the little stores.
Ahh the Latin Quarters. Probably my favorite area of Paris and Michelle's too, after Champs Elysees of course.
Final part of Day 4. Forgot what Arc this was, but the bloody looking pillars were kinda creepy.
The dramatic clouds continues to accompany us for the remained of the trip, not that I was complaining.
The Eiffel was too much for this lady to handle.
And here's another lady, this time being taken by a Centaur.
I like trees Spring-Fall, but they still have a beauty to them when naked in winter.
The Obelisk Place de la Concorde
And a cool old Merc that I've never seen before, a L319. Would be a fun truck to have here in the States as either a delivery/commercial van or just a trip wagon.
Last stop for the day was La Defense, a much more modern section on the outskirts of Paris.
Best known for La Grand Arche, a massive box structure that we've been able to see in the skyline in Paris. From photos I thought it was simply a sculpture, but in fact it's a useable building and you can even see all of the windows on the inside. Awesome place for a concert!
And to end the night, we went over to Parisian Chinatown which wasn't at all what we were expecting. Most cities have their Chinatowns built up a little for the tourists, but not this one. It was simply a neighborhood where all of the Chinese immigrants have lived and overall looked pretty slum-y, though to be fair, that's probably a more accurate Chinatown than the other versions. At least they had this Chinese McDonalds! Only in Paris....
Part two of our visit to the Louvre. It's kinda surreal seeing some of these pieces of art that up until then, you've only seen in textbooks and internet pics.
Fortunately, just because I've seen them before many times in images doesn't mean they appear less impressive in person.
Kitties! Ok, really though, one thing we never heard about was the Louvre's expansive collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts. Unfortunately, save for mummies, the rest of Egyptian culture never really caught Michelle and I's interest, so we felt it more annoying than anything when we had to go through the huge halls several times trying to find a way out (they were constructing on part of the building which would have otherwise provided a looped route. Also, the exhibited top floor does NOT connect to the rest of the floors as we were misled to believe).
Michelle is trying to stay interested, but all of this extra-ancient stuff is beyond our tastes.
Well, except for mummies of course. Because who doesn't love checking out dead corpses, right?
Ok, last pic of the glass pyramid. Really is a slick way of combining the older monumental buildings with a modern layout.
Another thing we never heard of was this calming sculpture garden. Didn't really get a chance to check them out, but it seemed to be a serene location for folks to have a lunch break or students to sketch.
The huge skylight helped set the calming mood.
A view of the Parisian rooftops never gets old.
There was an attached shopping center to the Louvre with this inverted pyramid as a center piece. During the evening and low-light times, it looked jewel-like coming down from the ceiling. Just another thing that I wished I had gone back to at night to check out.
Even when spaces were empty, it still looked amazing.
Next we'll go explore more beyond the Louvre and its obnoxious souvenir vendors. (Seriously, if they were this bad during the off-season, I'd hate to be around during Summer. I feel sorry for any family/timid tourist who doesn't shout them off).
Just some images of our wanderings through the Louvre.
Keeping it classy :P
Pretty neat that people can set up a canvas and paint away. Though it's kinda pointless having that photo taped on the canvas for reference when the real piece is in front of her.
Amazing ceiling pieces.
And of course, the main reason why a lot people go to the Louvre, the ever famous Mona Lisa.
Michelle proud to knock it off her lists of things to do in life.
Nice place to have a field trip!
One thing that was kinda cool to see was how they preserved some of the old castle that the Louvre was built upon. Next post, the second half of our visit to the Louvre!
Day 4 now in Paris as we go to the second most visited location in Paris, second only to the Eiffel Tower.
I love modern architecture, but there's something to be said for these solid marble buildings, especially on a sunny day such as this day was.
Heading to the ever famous glass pyramid.
As we neared, however, we noticed these people standing on some blocks doing some strange poses. Then we figured why and of course had to take a pic of our own...
Don't drop it!
Fortunately we were in Paris during the off-season, so the crowds weren't too bad. Had to wait about 3 min. to get in and once inside, we rarely saw a crowd (save for Lisa of course).
Next up, inside the Louvre!
Final part of Day 3 in Paris! The streets weren't quite as magical as London's during Christmas, but it was still caught our imaginations.
Continuing on with the car dealerships tour, our final stop, Renault. Best known for their dominating force in F1.
So French indeed. I always loved French Racing Blue, I wish it was used more often on modern cars.
Their tiny little Twizy. Probably too expensive to make sense in the US, but I could imagine having fun driving this around SF.
And they're off! Clever little cork racers assembled by schoolchildren.
And of course, their current pride and joy, their Red Bull F1. It always surprises me how small they are in real life compared to how they seem in pictures. I may not be a fan of their team (mostly due to my dislike of Vettel) but they do have a good looking car and livery.
When you see this raging bull, you know things got serious.
We stepped back out onto the Champ Elysees, now on a new mission: In search of some macaroons.
Fortunately, this is THE city to get some good macaroons, and we were right next to THE store for them! But once we saw the prices for THE macaroons, we decided it was better to look elsewhere and not blow our entire dinner budget for a couple cookies.
Hello Mickey D! Haha, seriously though, almost every McDonalds that we went to in Paris (two of them) had a separate McCafe set up inside with an individual counter, register, menu and everything. They were reasonably priced so we could still afford dinner. Plus, they tasted just as good (if not better) than any macaroon I've had here in the States, so I wasn't complaining.
Down this end, the Louvre...
And over here, the Arc de Triomphe!
First and still the only time I've ever encountered a 3 series GT. Practical, but I'd still rather just take the wagon which is cheaper and IMO better looking. Before we ended the night though, we needed to stop over to a certain cabaret.
The ever famous Moulin Rouge! Which was smaller than I thought it'd be (and not nearly as glamorous as the movie makes it out to be) but it was still worth going. Shame the show's ticket prices were out of budget, would have been fun to watch.
Rather interesting area, love the neon signs!
Cafes everywhere! Which I dig.
This guy seemed out of place. Dodge Durango pulling a horse trailer? Feels like something that is better fitting in my old hometown.
That's more like it! Diesel E-Class Wagon taxi, doesn't get more Euro than that.
The area was nice and comfortable, though in a way similar to areas outside of London. Still European vibe, but not so densely packed; as if it were a little diluted.
Which meant Americana styled restaurants like this one could bring in more open-minded customers.
Hmmm, I wonder where they got their brand's inspiration from... Anyways, that's it for Day 3. Some more to be posted later, but I'm gonna break it up with some more current posts in between.
Getting pretty behind on these posts, as we're already back in the States, so gonna try to upload them in bulk. From where we left off, we're now heading down Champs Elysees, the famous shopping row of Paris. And what better way to start off than with some car pics eh? The new S class is still just beginning to reach its new owners and is easily my favorite looking S class in years.
Of course, nothing beats a good ole classic Bentley. I may have grown fond of the newer Continentals, but the old ones still ooze class.
What's this? And where did the windshield go?
Apparently it was used to break some records for diesel cars. Not sure what the records were, most likely speed-related, but it sure looked cool.
Got that 50's flare down.
I thought this was pretty nice for a dealership, adding a mini-museum inside, but I'd later learn this was a special treat that Champs Elysees would serve for all the dealerships along the street.
The Kart Up! Growing up I had a book about concept cars creatively titled "Concept Cars" by Jonathan Wood. Fun book for an adult, but absolutely amazing for a kid that couldn't stop soaking up everything in the automotive world. This was one of four little concept cars Peugeot introduced at some car show as part of a "City Toyz" group. Nothing significant came out of them, but of all the things I could have guessed to see while I was in Paris, this wasn't even on the list.
Sitting next to the Kart Up was a rather interesting firetruck concept. Looked like a life-size toy.
And here is a car they actually sold, the RCZ R. Kinda weird that a dealership had a handful of cars, but only actually sold one of them. Good looking cars though. I could see someone choosing this over a TT, looks sleeker.
Next up, Mercedes Benz. Fortunately, despite having them available Stateside, they had plenty to show that still fascinated me such as this gorgeous 300SL.
IMO, this is just one of those cars that's a rolling work of art. It looks amazing no matter what angle you're looking at it from. However, while it'd be fun to drive every now and then, this isn't the gen I'd want sitting in my garage.
Nope, for me, I prefer the understated W113. It's elegance lies with it's simplicity. It is as straight forward and un-messy as a design can get and for that it is the one that I'd chose over any other generation (although admittedly I would never imagine myself turning down a Gullwing).
Perhaps another reason why I like it so much is because this was the smallest of all the SL's, and while there are many large cars that are great, I don't believe that increasing a car's acreage directly increases the cars allure. I'll take small and simple over large and flashy any day.
Speaking of large and flashy, I like how G wagons are so unapologetically utilitarian with the general design. Like the Land Rover Defender, it is a design that has no design but because of it remains timeless. Unfortunately, it won't be long before Mercedes too decides it's been long enough and will give the car an overhaul. While MB's current design language as produced some real winners (have I mentioned I really enjoy the new S class before? Because I really do), it doesn't always translate well with some of the other platforms.
Such as their latest mass seller, the CLA. I like the S, E, and C, but as the package gets smaller and smaller, it begins to lose any stability in the design (formed with the longer lines of the longer sedans) and eventually turns into the roly poly that we see here. Some folks may like it and I'm sure it'll sell well, but it just doesn't feel like a balanced design to me.
Unlike this beauty here, which I find very well balanced. If there was any modern (well, 90's-'10's) GT I could one day have as my own, it'd be this battling it out with a new '13+ Aston Martin Vanquish. Mmmmmm....
But if I never have the opportunity to have my own, I wouldn't mind having a miniature version :)
The sun has begun to set as we entered twilight the day begins to end, but there's still a last part before really ending the day.