Paris and Nice

For years upon years, I've dreamed of going to Europe… soaking up the culture, revisiting pages in history, and sinking into the languages and societies.

I'm a big dreamer. I dream all the time. I have a hard time not being distracted by daydreams (much to the misfortune of my checklists…) so, naturally, I am quite used to my dreams not coming true… but, when one does come true… it's always a special thing. 

The coming true of this dream was actually very-extra-special, because the realization was much, much better than the dream had ever been... Because, while I had for some reason always been alone in my daydreams of Europe, in reality I got to go with my best friend… :) 

So, with all of September set aside for our adventure, we picked five places to see, packed some good walking shoes, and set off to see the world. Starting with Paris….

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 The cathedral of Notre Dame was a huge highlight of our week there… it is so old and majestic that everything around it feels like a tiny little speck in time and space…

…in the tourist jam, round the Notre Dame

our last summer, walking hand in hand...

…walking along the Seine river...

… on second level of the eiffel tower. We took the stairs up to this level, and then opted to go no higher, as the only access way to the very top is through a long, slow line, a pricey toll booth, and an elevator. The views were quite nice from where we stopped though…

...we made our way along the river

 and we sat down in the grass by the eiffel tower

i was so happy we had met…

we stumbled into this little park at the base of the eiffel tower (complete with it's own tower :] )… it was definitely not a tourist stop, and was a quiet, peaceful retreat from the packed crowds of tourists just a few yards away.

...a view of the streets in Paris…
venturing away from the main strips along the river where the cathedral and tower are established found us in little twisting side roads lined with miniature street cars, less-touristy-shops and cute balconies with red nasturtium flower pots at every corner.

Timothy reminds me that there weren't red nasturtiums on every balcony, and their weren't balconies on every corner… but, there were enough to satisfy my preconceived notions of paris  :)







We spent an afternoon exploring the louvre… the beautiful marble architecture of the palace is every bit as breathtaking as the rich collection of paintings, sculptures, and historical relics.

Strangely enough, our favorite place in Paris was the massive cemetery that we explored. Acres upon acres of elaborate family sepultures curve around tiny twisting stone walkways, like an old forgotten city. It's beautifully preserved to show off the oldness, and overgrown just enough to look mysterious without inhibiting the view too much…. definitely a more intriguing presentation than our american cropped-lawn-and-shiny-headstone look...

We devoted our last day in the Paris area to exploring Giverny, a tiny village about an hour long train ride from Paris, and the home and workplace of Claude Monet.

Giverny was the only really 'cute' town we saw… the roads, the buildings, even the cars were picturesque!

a few more from giverny… a little house built on the remnants of an old bridge, and right next to it       a massive castle-type building whose purpose and history we really couldn't even guess at.

…finally, the 'city of lights' at nightfall...

After a week of buildings, cities, and lots of very-fast-moving-people, the miles and miles of open coastline, friendly people, and relaxed pace we found in Nice was rather welcome. So were the beautiful views from a nearby mountain...

...I've got my ticket for the long way round,

one with the prettiest of views

it's got mountains it's got rivers

it's got sights that make you shiver

but it sure would be prettier with you….

We spent a good part of almost every day exploring Old Nice, a small section of the larger city of (not-old) Nice that is composed of little orange buildings, tiny cobblestone streets, open-air markets, hat shops, and cafes. 

...a very necessary mid-afternoon cappuccino break…

We both probably enjoyed Nice best out of all the places we visit. With a seemingly endless coastline to walk along, a little town to explore when the heat of the ocean-side path became too intense, a warm ocean to swim in, a balcony to sip coffee on in the evenings, and friend to do it  all with…
... pretty special…:)

...catching the sunset across the mediterranean ocean...