PARIS! Part 1

My husband and I just returned from a fabulous trip to Paris.  We celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary in that romantic city where we honeymooned.  Gosh, was it was wonderful to be back in that beautiful place where we began our marriage!

Here I am almost fresh off the plane...it was sunny that day, and we forced ourselves to walk around and take in the glorious sights despite not sleeping on the plane.

Okay ladies, hold on to your hats.  THIS was the view from our hotel balcony on the Rue de Rivoli!

(to the left, the Tuileries garden and Louvre museum)

(and to the right....the Eiffel Tower!)

The following day after we arrived was a bit cloudy, but that didn't matter at all.  Clouds, rain...everything is glorious in Paris!

Handsome hubby at bridge over the Seine river

It was chilly in Paris.  I needed this scarf!

The city was celebrating the 850th anniversary of the Notre Dame cathedral.  We were able to take this photo from a stadium-type platform that was erected in front:

Here is the back of Notre Dame.

There's an unfortunate trend going on with the Paris bridges.  Lovers write their names on a padlock, chain it to a bridge and throw the key into the Seine.  It is a romantic gesture, but oh those locks are an eyesore compared to the beauty that surrounds!  We wished the friendly Parisians taking our photo would have cropped that part out.  Oh well...C'est la vie!

It rained this day, so it was a perfect time to stroll around the Cluny museum.  It contains the most wonderful Catholic art from the middle ages.  Here is a small screen sculpted in ivory:

Beautiful statue of our Blessed Mother and Infant Jesus:

After visiting the museum, we had a late lunch here at this delightful brasserie on the Isle of St. Louis:

The wet pavement makes Paris even more romantic, don't you think?  Here is the Hotel de Ville:

The following day I dragged my husband to a weekday flea market in the Bastille area.  I'm sure the weekend markets are much better, but this was quite a treat!  Unfortunately a rain shower forced some vendors to pack up early, but I got a few finds.  Can't wipe that smile off my face!

The Parisians really do know how to display flowers at a shop...

Another food/flower market outside the beautiful Madeleine church:

Some friendly Americans took our photo at the Tuileries gardens.  Our hotel was up off to the left, over my husband's right shoulder.  I still can't get over our view of these gardens below!  

Au revoir for now, friends!  I'll post about the 2nd half of our trip later, which includes a visit to the Eiffel tower!

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