September 9-10, 2023: A trip to France: First stop, Paris!

We had not been back to France for many years, so Mike signed up to present a paper at the Euro-Pyro Conference this year. We spent a couple days in Paris first, and then took a train to where the conference was held (in Saint-Malo), and then went back to Paris for our last day to see the Paris Temple again (which is actually located in Versailles). We did a LOT during this trip, but it was so dang hot in Paris the whole time. The weather in Saint-Malo was perfect, with cloudy skies and refreshingly cool air.

Before our trip ended, I got sick, and Mike had to drag me around Versaille and Paris during the last leg of our trip. But I'm grateful for every experience Mike and I get to share together and the memories we can make.

Saturday, September 9th: The Lumen Hotel where we stayed that weekend 

Mike at the reception desk


Our room at the Lumen Hotel

I love Mike's enthusiasm and positive attitude about everything. Even when I'm too tired to do anything or to go anywhere, he makes the experience worthwhile and fun. I so appreciate and LOVE him so much.

We walked to the Louvre but didn't go inside this time. This art museum is massively big and incorporates many buildings.

We were anxious to see the beautiful Notre Dame Cathedral under restoration (from the fire in its dome a couple years ago). It was shocking to learn how extensive the damage was and how much work would be required to bring the building to its former glory. There was scaffolding everywhere.

Gargoyles on the outside of the building

Paris and the Seine River

I loved strolling the streets of Paris but hated the heat

Beautiful and elegant confection shop

Look at this really nice meat market on the street

And of course, croissants and bakeries everywhere

Love these fresh fruit and vegetable stands

The Arc de Triomphe was our favorite stop. We climbed all 284 steps to see the views from the top and took lots of photos.

It's higher than it looks in photos

There's my sweetie pie. You'll see a lot of him in this blog post.

2.14 million people live in Paris

The Sacre-Coeur of Montmartre is in the background

Poor us--it was too hot outside in Paris

The iconic Eiffel Tower

The Church of Madeleine (with the green roof tops)

The Louvre Museum of Art in the background
and left of the museum is the Hotel de la Marine

Orthodox Cathedral Alexandre Nevsky with its gold dome

A French government building (equivalent to our Capitol) in the background

This map shows how the city is laid out like a pie shape from the center, where the Arc de Triomphe is located

Steps inside the Arc de Triomphe

Looking for someplace to eat

Lovely flower shop in the subway station

On the subway train

These sidewalk souvenir shops were fun

Mike picked up some Asian takeout for our dinner in the hotel that wasn't very good unfortunately. I gave our leftovers to a homeless person on the sidewalk.

Sunday, September 10th: Outside the Tuileries Garden near the Louvre

Mike with the famous Louvre Museum and Seine River behind him

The fries were better than our dry sandwiches. I gave my other half to a homeless person on the street.

Entering the Musee d'Orsay, where we enjoyed looking at artwork from many well-known artists such as Rodin, Monet, Manet, Renoir, and Van Gough. We took photos of many of our favorites.

Young David who took down Goliath

These Algerian sculptors were some of my favorite works

Good views of the old train station converted to an art museum

Such detail in this version of Dante's Inferno

These stained glass window displays are gorgeous

We were hoping to catch a show at the Moulin Rouge, but all the shows were full. So we went to see a show at La Nouvelle Eve instead.

The show was great (except for the topless part!). It offered the can can and cabaret song and dance, plus an awesome juggling act and a man doing aerial rope stunts.

On our way back to the hotel, we took some night shots

The Sacre-Coeur of Montmartre