France

We arrived in Paris just after noon. After some trouble finding a cash machine, we hopped on the Metro and got to our hotel. It was still early, so we took off toward the Eifel Tower. After a brief look, we decided to take the train to Notre Dame. Neither one of us were super impressed with Notre Dame. It is a pretty impressive piece of architecture, but there was no tour to point out the interesting things. After that, we headed just down the street to St. Chapelle. This church is amazing. The stained glass windows tell the story of the bible, and totally surround the room. We were there in the late afternoon which was just the perfect time to view the stained glass. Once we were done there, we headed back to the Eifel Tower and decided to take the elevator up. We enjoyed some great views from the top.

The next morning we got up early and headed over to the Eifel Tower to get the famous Yo-Yo shot. Then we took the Metro to the Arc de Triomphe. From there we walked down the Champs E'Lysee to the Louvre. We crossed the river and first went to the Orsay Museum. We saw Van Gogh, Monet, Manet, etc. The impressionist collection they had was amazing! We then crossed back over the river to the Louvre. There we saw the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and many other famous works of art. The Louvre is huge! You can't see it all in a day, but we hit the high points.

We left Paris and France the next day, but before that we visited Louis XIV's chateau of Versailles. The chateau was impressive, but more amazing was the gradens. As far as you could see were part of the manicured gardens. We finished up our visit, grabbed some lunch, and got on the TGV (France's high speed train) bound for Switzerland.

Pete checking out the Eifel Tower just down from our hotel.	Looking at all the crazy people in the park.	Misty and the flying buttresses of Notre Dame Cathedral.	Both of us at Notre Dame.	Another shot of Notre Dame.
The gothic arches of Notre Dame from the nave.	One of the amazing stained glass windows in Notre Dame.	The much more impressive (we think) St. Chapelle.	The stained glass is breathtaking in St. Chapelle.	The glass panels tell the story of the bible.
Pete in the upper level of St. Chapelle.	Gothic style arches floating above stained glass windows.	The Arc de Triomphe from the top of the Eifel Tower.	Notre Dame Cathedral from the Eifel Tower.	The Louvre just on the other side of the Sienne.
Pete with Paris in the background.	Misty atop the Eifel Tower.	Both of us in Paris!	Pete looking for the hotel.	The view to the top from the third level.
Pete walking down the stairs to the second level.	One of the four pedistals the tower sits on.	The world famous "Pete doing the Eifel Tower at the Eifel Tower" picture!	Misty in front of the Eifel Tower.	The Arc de Triomphe.
Pete checking out the artwork on the Arc.	More of the Arc.	Both of us in front of the Arc de Triomphe.	The Arc de Triomphe from farther down the Champs E'Lysee.	Pete in front of the glass pyramid at the Louvre.
Misty in the gardens of Versailles.	Pete with the Chateau of Versailles in the background.	The manicured grounds of Versailles spread out as far as you can see.	Misty and one of the many spectacular fountains at Versailles.	Both of us with the Chateau de Versailles in the background.