~An Afternoon in Paris......France and Latvija, Day 2, (Part 2) 2nd September, 2015~

I know it's been a while but I'm  back with my France and Latvija trip

I was always intending to blog it all but it just got away from me

Having been inspired by Trish (who blogs just about daily on her trip through Paris, Provence and Italy) and Anita (who was over there roughly the same time as I was) I'm on a mission to blog it all.

Lots of pics coming up as I was just snapping away all the time but at least I'll have a record on my blog as I nearly thought I lost them all but luckily with advice was able to retrieve them.....PHEW......

Following on from my last post on our trip we are still on the bus

Here we are at
Quartier Pigalle in Paris
Pigalle is an area in Paris around the Place Pigalle, on the border between the 9th and the 18th arrondissements. It is named after the sculptor Jean-Baptiste Pigalle (1714–1785).

We are just cruising around taking it all in

10th Arrondisment

It is after lunch, say mid-afternoon

Look at the cars.......everywhere

Somehow cars, people and bikes work together

My Son is a cyclist (yep, took his bike over) and he noticed how polite the car drivers are to bikes over there (and Latvija as well but that's another story)

10th arr. above and below

Saint-denis Gate and St-martin Gate
(Wikipedia)

We are actually going through the St-martin Gate here.......awesome
To see a pic of the St-martin Gate follow the link above as I didn't actually manage to get one

The Porte Saint-Martin was designed by architect Pierre Bullet (a student of François Blondel, architect of the nearby Porte Saint-Denis) at the order of Louis XIV in honor of his victories on the Rhine and in Franche-Comté. Built in 1674, it replaced a medieval gate in the city walls built by Charles V. It was restored in 1988.

The Porte Saint-Denis is a Parisian monument located in the 10th arrondissement, at the site of one of the gates of the Wall of Charles V, one of the now-destroyed fortifications of Paris. It is located at the crossing of the Rue Saint-Denis continued by the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis, with the Boulevard de Bonne-Nouvelle and the Boulevard Saint-Denis.

La Madeleine

L'église de la Madeleine , Madeleine Church; more formally, L'église Sainte-Marie-Madeleine; less formally, just La Madeleine) is a Roman Catholic church occupying a commanding position in the 8th arrondissement of Paris.  The Madeleine Church was designed in its present form as a temple to the glory of Napoleon's army. To its south lies the Place de la Concorde, to the east is the Place Vendôme, and to the west Saint-Augustin, Paris. 

1st Arrondissment......Hotel De Louvre (this link has lots of images for it)

For history on this Hotel go over here 

The Hotel du Louvre was built in 1855 and then known as the Grand Hotel du Louvre.  It was the first luxury hotel in France and was originally located in the building which is now known as the Louvre des Antiquaires

The Grand Hotel du Louvre had 700 guestrooms and a large staff of 1,250 and became renowned for its French and international cuisine.

Thought I'd take a Selfie.......couldn't wipe the smile from my face that I was actually here

1st arr.

1st arr.  Beautiful lampshades everywhere we went

Jardin Des Tuileries area above and below

The Tuileries Garden is a public garden located between the Louvre Museum and the Place de la Concorde in the 1st arrondissement of Paris. Created by Catherine de Medici as the garden of the Tuileries Palace in 1564, it was eventually opened to the public in 1667, and became a public park after the French Revolution. In the 19th and 20th century, it was the place where Parisians celebrated, met, promenaded, and relaxed

So exciting........my first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower in the background

Jardin Des Tuileries

Louvre Museum

The Louvre......Jardin Des Tuileries

Jardin Des Tuileries above and below

Jardin Des Tuileries above and below

Still smilin'

Louvre area above and below

So that was our first ride around Paris (and I'm still smiling now typing this!)

Next time we are at Francois Mitterrand Quay

Paris is such a photogenic city!!!

Till then, Dzintra xo

~Bienvenue a Paris/Welcome to Paris...2nd September, 2015~Day 2

Further on from my last post on our trip that my DS James took me on we are now settled on Singapore Airlines which shows us on the map the route Singapore to Paris.
And I can't believe this is happening
Even though I have been back now for 2 weeks it's like a dream and I pinch myself to see that we really did do this epic trip!!!

After aprox 14 hours we land in Paris and I spot the sign

Bienvenue a Paris...........we are here!!!!!!

Prints line the walls

We are then transferred to our Hotel Best Western Folkestone

Looking up around us

We happened upon our first Blackboard Menu

and first sighting of a Parisian Cafe

So excited to see this

After a little wander around we come back to this delightful Cafe and have some drinks while we think about lunch

Pizza for James and the Fillet of Sole and Scallops for me

Followed by a A$10 coffee!!!!!!

Our very attentive Waiter

On our wanders we happened upon a Sans Gluten Patisserie

Eclair Chocolate and Eclair Caramel..........sans gluten

Next door to the Hotel there was a Delicatessen

Goods on offer

Supermarche

Boulongerie/Bread

Palmieres

And Macarons

The next morning we followed the intriguing steps which led to a Breakfast Room

Hot Milk is offered with Coffee as it was in Latvija/Latvia also

Cold Meats are also offered 

The next day we purchase tickets for bus/boat rides that show us some fabulous sights including the Moulin Rouge.......more of this in the next post

I was intending to post about our trip every day or every other day but this has been nigh on impossible as we are having internet/computer issues and working on fixing them. 

Till next time.........Dzintra xo 

Monet's Garden

Oh My Goodness so excited....have just purchased my ticket for Monet's Garden!!!!!

2 weeks and 3 days to go.....