The Coxs

Friday, July 5, 2013

Day 4 - Versailles & French Open (Take 2)

We decided to head out of the city and spend the day at Versailles before going back to Roland Garros. Versailles had been on our "if we have time, maybe" list, but after feedback from The Pavloffs from their experience there earlier in the week, we decided to meet up with The Smiths and go check it out. And we are certainly glad we did because it was definitely a highlight of the trip.

{On a side note - it was another rainy (and even colder) day in Paris so you will see more pictures of me in my green rain jacket and Michael in his black. I shouldn't have worried for one second about what to pack for Paris because it obviously didn't matter. All of my pictures look the same! One thing I noticed though is that, even though it is typical for it to rain every day in the Spring there, NO ONE wears rain jackets - they only carry umbrellas - so we stood out even more so as tourists, as if we didn't already!

Back to Versailles...it is more ornate and enormous that I had imagined. It's hard to imagine it as an actual residence or what life must have been like then.

The hall of mirrors...

Looking out one of the bedrooms...not a bad view...

Just a little painting that Louis XIV had over his bed....

After touring the main Palace, we rented bikes and rode around the grounds...

Marie Antoinette's Estate...

After a really lovely day imaging life as 17th century royalty, we hopped the train back to Roland Garros for a make-up day at the courts.

Even with grounds passes we were able to see some top players on the outside courts...we saw Milos Raonic, a young Canadian that is a top 20 player (and one of Canada's 50 Most Beautiful People apparently)...

And then our friends scored us tickets in to Lenglen to watch Ivanovich win her match...

And then we went back out and watch Kuznetsova, who scares me a little bit...

And then those crafty Smiths got us tickets into Chartier...Michael was even happier. We watched Radwanska (who is Polish) play a German girl - the crowd was very lively!

We watched the last match of the day and headed back to our neighborhood for dinner...we walked a couple of blocks over in to the Montparnasse area and ate at a good Pizza restaurant - not fancy but tasty! We tried to soak in our last night in Paris...

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Day 3 - French Open (Take 1)

The whole reason this trip even came in to existence is because Michael said years ago that his bucket list included going to the 4 Tennis Majors - we did the US Open in 2006, and Paris was next on the list - so his 40th birthday seemed like an appropriate time to check off his bucket list.

So, this day was his birthday present. And it didn't go as planned.

We made our way out to Roland Garros on a damp morning...get inside, watch a few sets of tennis...and the rains came in and the matches were delayed. We waited around a bit, hoping for it to pass through but the forecast didn't give us hope. After waiting an hour or so, we decided (much to Michael's chagrin) to cut our losses and at least try to enjoy some of the city instead of just standing around waiting. Michael didn't put up a fight, or pout (too much), but his mood definitely shifted. I felt awful for him, but was hoping we could at least salvage the day.

We make our way back to town to see the Arc de Triomphe.

It was a tight spiral staircase all the way to the top - great workout!

Despite the weather, the view was fantastic...

Champs Elysees...

After a long, wet day, Michael and I made our way back to our neighborhood and found a cafe near our flat where we could sit outside, share a bottle of wine and have a nice quiet dinner. Lovely.

When we get back to the flat we are able to see a message from The Smiths that they were able to find evening tickets to go back to Roland Garros for the evening matches the following day. I don't think I had even realized how gloomy Michael had been that day until I saw him light up at that news! So, we obviously jumped on those tickets and set to rearranging our plans for the next day...

Day 2 - Paris Museum Day

After a good night's sleep, we were up and at 'em early the next day to begin a full day of taking in the Paris sites with the Smiths. We got our Paris Pass and we were ready to go. First stop - The Louvre.

Of course you hear how huge The Louvre is, and how it would take forever to see everything...but I don't think that sunk in until I saw it. It truly is massive - we spent the morning there and only made it down one Hall. We, of course, hit some of the highlights - Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo - but I could have sat and stared and continued listening to the history lesson on my audio guide (which was a Nintendo DS, quite interesting to dangle around your neck) in the French and Italian Renaissance Hall for many more hours. Amazing.

I hate when Michael takes dumb looking candid pictures of me, but this picture kind of makes me laugh. Maybe it is because I am not a 12 yr old boy, but that Nintendo kept confusing me and getting me lost. We walked back and forth through this hallway several times as it kept "rerouting" us. This picture captures my confusion appropriately. :)

The DS led me through the Italian hall and into this large room and began talking about this amazingly large painting in the room - the largest one in The Louvre. I was surprised the room was so crowded. I stood there staring at The Wedding at Cana, this amazing painting of a wedding feast with Jesus in attendance, and listened to the description of every aspect of the painting...and, I am sure this is yet another thing I shouldn't admit at the risk of making me sound even more stupid, but I didn't even realize the Mona Lisa was behind me. I say that mainly bc it was the most unassuming piece of art in the whole room - minus the 200 Asian tourists fighting to take a front row picture.

One of the things that stood out to me while we were there was how many field trips were coming through - we are talking young elementary school age kids, 5 and 6 yr olds. It is truly amazing that these little French children have access to so much culture at such a young age and can grow up appreciating it. Our children are so removed from it, taking it in through books...and going to the Coke Museum for field trips. It was also impressive how well-behaved they all were. It seemed like there was one teacher with a herd of 10-15 young children, and they all just seemed to follow behind and listen to their teacher explain each piece of art to them. And no giggling and all the nudity! I can't imagine signing a permission slip for my kids to go to The Louvre!

View of The Lourve from across the river...

After our morning at the Louvre, we made our way to Sainte Chapelle. This is the 13th century gothic chapel where St Louis kept the Passion of the Christ relics, including the Crown of Thorns (which apparently is now at Notre Dame and is brought out once a week for viewing...wish I had know that and planned better). It is small but so impressive. The amount of stain glass - that tells the entire story of the Old and New Testaments - is incredible. This is one that pictures just won't do justice.

Then we grabbed a late lunch - street crepes.

Parisian drinking fountain...

Our next stop was Musee d'Orsay. Not the most efficient order of events, but it was nice to keep to a church, museum order to break it up! The d'Orsay was filled with iconic impressionist paintings and sculptures - it was like walking through my high school art book.

I loved the view over the river through the clock tower...you can faintly see le Sacre Couer on the hill in the distance beyond the monstrosity of the Louvre...

After that, we had one more stop...Les Invalides and Napoleon's Tomb.

After a long day of site seeing, we bid adieu to The Smiths, changed in to dinner clothes and met The Pavloffs and The Luskins at Bateaux Mouches for a dinner cruise along le Seine. Unfortunately, it was a rainy evening but it was still beautiful seeing the city from the river and an amazing setting for dinner with friends!