Embellishments On Top of Embellishments

The name of the game in Paris is, "Embellishments On Top of Embellishments". This city seems to adhere to the "more is better" philosophy. It actually suits me just fine!

The morning was overcast and a little cool. Lucky for me I packed a jacket! We navigated the subway system and our first stop was the Fragonard Musee du Parfum (Museum of Perfume). We took a quick walk through the perfume exhibits which explained the history of perfume manufacturing and got to sniff samples of common ingredients used to create scents. After the tour, we went to the boutique where I had fun trying on LOTS of perfumes and happily walked out with five of my favorites. Woo! Hoo! I smell pretty!

Next stop was the not-to-be-believed, oh my goodness, unbelievable, you gotta be kidding, Opera House. Seeing the Opera House was worth coming to Paris for. I would plan a special trip just to see this building. The Palais Garnier was built on the orders of Napoleon, III. The project for an opera house was put out to competition and the contract was won by Charles Garnier, an unknown 35 year old architect. How's that for a career break of a lifetime? It was built from 1860 to 1875. There is no way I can possibly describe the opulence, the Baroque architecture, the history, and the "grand-ness" of it all. You just have to visit Paris and see it for yourself.

The Palais Garnier Opera House.

The Grand Staircase.

Ceiling above the Grand Staircase.

Tragedy on the left, Comedy on the right.

Performance Hall, Paris Opera House

Our tour guide told us that Palais Garnier is the original setting  of my favorite opera, "Phantom of the Opera". In answer to a question about the chandelier falling, he said in 1896, one of the chandelier counter-weighs fell on a concierge tragically killing her. In addition, members of the theater claimed to have heard strange sounds from the basement and maze-like corridors, thus refusing to enter these parts of the building. The Phantom's box is said to be No. 5.

Performance Hall Ceiling and Chandelier.

Napolean, III's Box on the end.
The Phantom's Box next to it.

Peeking in Box 5

The Grand Foyer certainly lives up to it's name! I gasped when I walked through the door. There is so much detail in this room, I could not take it all in. The magnificent ceiling painted by Paul Baudry portrays themes from the history of music - biblical scenes are portrayed on one side, and mythological on the other side. Every square foot of this room is embellished. It is unbelievable.

The Grand Foyer

H.A. lying down on the floor to get a shot!
That's determination!

Getting a shot of the ceiling.

The ceiling in the Grand Foyer.

Before taking a lunch break, Stan took a short video of the streets of Paris from the terrace of the Opera House. You can experience some of the hustle and bustle.

Streets of Paris. Notice there are seven intersections!

Typical Paris street lamp.

After lunch, we hopped on a subway and then a commuter train across the Seine to the Musee d' Orsay. This museum building was originally a railway station. By 1939 the station's short platforms had become unsuitable for the longer trains that were in use. It was almost demolished in 1970 but through a series of events it was renovated and turned into a museum in 1986. There are about 2000 paintings, 600 sculptures and other works of art from the period 1848 - 1914. I was privileged to see works of Degas, Monet, Van Gogh, Renoir, Manet, etc. We had headphones that allowed us to hear the background and artistic points of many of the popular works which added so much to the experience of viewing them. What a great afternoon! I could have easily spent a full day there. Unfortunately, pictures were not allowed.

Museum d' Orsay

Museum d' Orsay

Our final stop for the day was the Arc de Triomphe (Triumphal Arch) - one of the most famous monuments in Paris. The Arc honors those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. All the French victories and generals who fought are inscribed on it's inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I. It's design was inspired by the Roman Arch of Titus. 

An interesting fact I learned today: Three weeks after the Paris victory parade in 1919, Charles Godefroy flew his Nieuport biplane through it! My grandmother would have been 10 years old at the time.

Arc de Triomphe, Paris, France.

Arc de Triomphe

Generals' names inscribed on the surface.

Effeil Tower in the distance.

Oh . . . there is so much that I am leaving out. There just isn't time to record it all. The history fascinates me and I am having so much fun learning about the places we have visited. Tomorrow is another full day. I better get to bed. I had a hard time getting up this morning.

Paris Baby!

Bonjour! 

I am in Paris! 

Oh. my. goodness.

This is going to be a very short update. We left Monaco this morning (Tuesday). We drove to Nice, France and said our goodbyes to Max. He will be prepped for shipping and then make the long journey home to the states. I believe it will take about eight weeks for him to get home.

We then hopped on a plane and flew to Paris, France. It was only an hour flight - easy, peasey. 

When we arrived at the airport, we took a cab to our hotel which is smack-dab in the middle of everything. Since our arrival, we have only had enough time to check-in, take a walk around the area, and return to the hotel for dinner and some relaxation.

I only took a picture of ONE thing today - this Bugatti sports car. It is so hot! A Bugatti in Paris is a great combination!

Tomorrow we start early with a long list of sights to see.

I am in Paris! I still can't believe it!

Au revoir et a demain . . . . Goodbye until tomorrow.

Tiny Country - Big Presence

Oh my goodness! I am in Monaco on the French Riviera! Can you believe that?

Let me just say that it's nice to see how the other half lives!

When I refer to Monaco as tiny . . . I mean TINY.  If you recall, earlier in our travels we stopped in the principality of Liechtenstein on our way to Switzerland. Liechtenstein is only 62 sq. miles.  I thought that was tiny.  Well, I stand corrected.

Monaco's total land mass is less that one mile (.77 sq. miles)! It is the second smallest country in the world - the first being Vatican City in Rome at .44 sq. miles. By comparison, the United States is the third largest country in the world with 3,537,455 sq. miles of land mass.

Monaco is bordered on three sides by France and on the remaining side by the Mediterranean Sea. Now get this: according to the Internet, Monaco has a population of 35,986! Talk about packing them in like sardines! It is the MOST densely populated country (per square mile) in the world.  The residents live in high-rises, which makes sense . . . they have to build vertically since there is no land! So, who lives in Monaco, you may ask? According to the CIA World Factbook, Monaco has the world's lowest poverty rate, and the highest number of millionaires and billionaires per capita in the world. Well, alrighty then!

View of Monaco from The Rock.

Habor in Monaco.

Monaco is known as a principality as it is a constitutional monarchy headed by a prince. The reigning prince is Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Grimaldi - known as Prince Albert, II. He is the son of Rainier, III and Grace Kelly. I found it interesting that Prince Albert was educated in the states. He graduated from Amherst College in Massachusetts. I also thought it was interesting that Monaco became a full UN voting member in 1993. That's a lot of clout for such a small principality.

It's hard to take Monaco in. There's so much to see in such a small area. Upon arrival in Monaco, the first thing that stands out is "The Rock of Monaco".  It is basically a mountain made out of one massive rock that overlooks the city. The oldest section of Monaco (Old Town) is built on The Rock as well as the prince's palace, the cathedral, and the Oceanographic Museum.

The Rock of Monaco

We hiked up the hill and hit all the points of interests in Old Town. It is spotlessly clean and I felt like I was walking in a story book kingdom.

Regarding the palace and the Grimaldi family, their history is very interesting. I hope to return to this section and share more details later.

The palace of Monaco and St. Mary's Tower.

Sentry guard at the palace.

St. Nicholas Cathedral, Monaco
Grace Kelly and Prince Rainer, III are buried here as
well as many of his ancestors.

After exploring Old Town, we walked down the hill and headed to Monaco's most famous quarter - Monte Carlo. We passed by the harbor and saw many beautiful boats there. We also heard an announcement that was broadcast to the entire area via loud speakers that tonight the fireworks competition would be held at the harbor. It was delivered in French, English and Spanish. I recorded it so you could hear.

Looking up at Old Town from below.

My boat in the harbor.

My Bentley.

Monte Carlo is beautiful. I love the architecture and all the french embellishments. We went to the authentic Monte Carlo Casino and it is gorgeous inside. I was not allowed to take pictures, unfortunately. Let me just say that the replica in Las Vegas is nothing like the real thing! I walked from room to room with my mouth open. 

Monte Carlo Casino.

Monte Carlo Casino.

Casino panoramic.

The Paris Hotel in Monte Carlo.

As we were walking past the high-end shops in Monte Carlo, I saw this older gentleman admiring an outfit in the window at Valentino's. You can see he has quite a fashion sense!

We spent the evening at the harbor watching France compete in the International Fireworks Competition. It was awesome. Stan managed to get some footage with his trusty iPhone.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) we leave for Paris! Yay!

The French Riviera

Am I here?

Ya'll, if I'm dreaming, don't wake me!

All my life I have heard about the world's most prestigious and publicized Cannes Film Festival and about all the movie stars flocking here to attend. And now, I'm in Cannes! 

Yesterday (Saturday) we bid farewell to Italy and crossed the border into France. It was a pretty drive and the weather was beautiful . . . maybe a little too hot in the afternoon. We got checked in to the hotel and then had lunch on the patio.  The rest of the day was mellow. I stayed indoors in the afternoon to escape the heat and later had dinner overlooking the Promenade de la Croisette (the main boulevard) doing one of my favorite past-times - people watching.  My oh my. There are certainly a lot of beautiful people in Cannes this weekend!

The first thing I realized is that "white" is the uniform this season. White dresses, white pants, white jackets, white hats, white scarves . . . and even the classic little black dress has been replaced with the little white dress.

For him.

For her.

This part of the city has a Beverly Hills / Las Vegas / Miami vibe. The main boulevard stretches along the shore of the Mediterranean Sea and expensive shops, restaurants and hotels line the street. We are staying at the Marriott and thanks to Stan's points, we do not have to pay the asking price of 700 Euros per night. Yay! Big Yay!

JW Marriott in Cannes, France.

Promenade de la Croisette.

Cannes, France.

This morning I got up early and went out to take pictures before the crowds, traffic, and topless sunbathers come out. (This is a G rated blog!) Stan saw an older woman sunbathing topless yesterday and he said that cured him! LOL. Later today we are going to go to Nice to check it out.

Beach in front of our hotel.

Our hotel in the background on the right.

I love the color of the water. You can see to the bottom.

The Carlton is up the street from us and I loved the detail on this building. You know I always check out the architecture.

Carlton Intercontinental.

Carlton Hotel.

I love the detail on this building.

Big yachts and fast cars.

P.S.  I am adding this at the end of the day (Sunday). We did not make it to Nice today afterall. We ended up staying in Cannes. We had a relaxing dinner at the hotel with a view of the sea and the boulevard. Tomorrow we leave for Monaco - just a hop, skip and a jump away.

Dinner in Cannes, France.