Palais Garnier and Arc de Triomphe

 What an amazing day!   It was so hot today and we walked many, many miles. But it was worth it because we saw some amazing sites – Palais Garnier, where the famed Phantom of the Opera was inspired and also where Dégas painted his famous ballerina paintings. I loved taking the self-guided audio to her because it explained all the things that you wouldn't have known about the opera house.  Where the famed Phantom of the Opera was inspired and also where Dégas painted his famous ballerina paintings. I loved taking the self-guided audio to her because it explained all the things that you wouldn't have known about.  I felt so small whenever I was in the huge ballrooms with goldplated ceilings and beautiful paintings.  The costumes are beautiful and I took a couple of photos for my Barbie dolls- inspiration to make clothes for them. 

 Next we walked by the place de Concorde, where Marie Antoinnette and Louis the 16th were beheaded at the guillotine during the French Revolution. We walked a long ways down the Champs de Élysées  until we reached the Arc de Triomphe  where there was an amazing view. My mom was very brave and walked with me to the very top where we could see for miles of all of Paris. 

Our fancy treat of the evening was eating at a nice French restaurant. I ordered the duck fat salad and my mom ordered the escargot pastry!! Ew.  It looked really gross but my mom said it was really good.  Enjoy the videos! 

VLogs!!!

Some videos from my Paris adventures!!!

Notre Dame

Sacre Couer

Montmartre Art

Picasso's studio!

Eiffel Tower

Paris- Days 1-2

My Paris Experience

So far on my trip I have seen the spectacular Notre Dame, the wonderful St. Chappelle, the amazing Museum D'Orsay, the mind-blowing Louvre, and the classic that never gets old- the Eiffel Tower!

 

They all are awesome, but my favorite by far is the Louvre, where I got to see a whole bunch of famous paintings. (Please read my other post on the Louvre to learn more!) The Mona Lisa was the best part; it did look like she knew something I or anyone else knew. It was very cool!

The Eiffel Tower was pretty crowded;

but once you do get around there, 

you have to push your way to get an awesome photo.

The Museum D'Orsay was awesome because they had tons of Degas 
paintings!!!!!!!!! Degas was so 
descriptive and the paintings are 
amazing to look at in person. I had a great time there! There were many other in famous impressionist paintings there- Renoir, Manet, Monet, and Van Gogh!

This morning my mom and I slept in 
our very nice hotel. We walked to a nearby street market and bought two delicious croissants; they were the best I'd ever tasted!         We also bought baguettes and raspberries for snacks for later.

Today I went to Notre Dame; it is awesome and very tall! The church bells are huge, and they play a tune before they chime. Inside there was a service at 11:15 and they spoke beautiful French and Latin while they sang. Trying to be quiet inside, though, so you don't disturb the 
people who are trying to listen to the 
priest is hard. There are candles that 
anyone can light (but you must pay 2 euros) and pray for someone.

         For lunch we decided to stop near a flower market where they sold hundreds of little tiny cute birds! I loved looking in all the cages and seeing all of the feathers and cute faces!  At the café, my mom ordered French onion soup, although here it is just called plain onion soup. I ordered 
the croque Monsieur. So delicious!!!  I 
also ordered a really tasty drink – 
strawberry juice! It was so sweet and different.

The upstairs of Sainte Chappelle is amazing!!! Inside there are gorgeous 
stained glass windows with pictures 
of all the saints doing good things. The light that came through the windows was so dazzling!

 

         After this we went on a long walk near the River Seine and walked into the Shakespeare bookstore. My mom insisted we go there because of some famous writers who hung out there (Hemingway etc) but I was so tired - so to make me feel better she bought me an amazing ice cream cone at a patisserie and we had a break. 

More to come! 

We are at the airport in Frankfurt awaiting our flight to Paris!! Enjoy Gloria's first  vlog!!