All posts by chaput@live.com

France

Le Paradis du Fruit restaurant

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We went to this unique restaurant during the day called “Le Paradis Du Fruit”. It is located near the Notre Dame Church at a busy street corner.

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LA Paradis du Fruit restaurant

The place was busy with a great atmosphere. There were people laughing and having a good time. We got a nice table that gave us a good view of the hustle and bustle outside.

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There were unique glass lights overhead that were pretty neat.

Unique lights in restaurant
Unique lights in restaurant

The meal was very tasty. Shelley ordered a soup, quinoa salad and shrimp. Check out the size of her soup, it’s the one that looks like a shooter glass.

Shelley's meal
Shelley’s meal

The restaurant had a healthy theme and the menu focused mostly on healthy meals. There was an assortment of drinks to choose from. Shelley ordered a Cosmo which was apparently quite good.

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Shelley enjoying her Cosmo drink

I had a chicken burger with salad. The meals and the restaurant was great. Just one of the many neat spots we found in Paris.

” au revoir et bonne journee”

France

Notre Dame Cathedral Paris

Today we got up early and arrived at the Notre Dame Church shortly after 8am. There was no line up and we were able to get inside without any fuss.  To say the church is impressive would be an understatement. It was truly amazing and the pictures don’t do it justice.

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Us in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral

The gothic features of the church are truly magnificent. It was built in the 12th century and took over 300 years to finish. Apparently during that time different architects added features.

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Rear. Knew of the Notre Dame Church
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One of the arches at front of Notre Dame Church

Everyone of the statues on the church are unique there are no two the same. This arch is covered with rows of statues and is extremely detailed.

Inside the church was beautiful with lots of ornate features and numerous smaller chapels with statues. We were in awe at the history and beauty of this church. Some of the stain glass windows date back to the 13th century.

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Looking towards the main altar of the church

 

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View of one of huge stained glass windows

These are only a few of the pictures we took. We will add a section under adventures with more pictures of the church and Paris.

“Au revoir et bonne journee”

France

Pont neuf

Yesterday we went to check out the oldest bridge in Paris “Pont Neuf” The bridge has some very unique features and has been in many movie scenes. We walked the bridge admiring the architecture with ornate lamp-post, stone arches and the statue of Henry IV.

IMG_20160309_145014258There are also sections of the fence  on the bridge where  lovers would put a lock representing their love for each other. We checked out the numerous locks and read some of the love notes  written on the locks.

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Locks on fence on the Pont Neuf bridge
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Pont Neuf view from the water

The bridge which is the oldest one in Paris was impressive. The whole bridge is ornate and one of a kind. It was well worth the walk to check it out.

“Au revoir et bonne journee”

 

 

 

 

 

France

Adventures in Paris

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Today we headed out fairly early and had breakfast in a quaint cafe shop. After breakfast we walked to the Louvre museum which is located about 1.5 Kms away from our hotel. We walked around the Louvre area admiring the outside views and architecture. We did not go in today, instead we took the hop on and off bus. The bus gave us a great view of the city and we scouted out our plans for the next few days.

One of the many side street views in Paris
One of the many side street views in Paris
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One of the unique streets of Paris

We got off the bus at the opera house and did a tour of the area. There is just so much to see. We stopped at a great French restaurant for lunch. The meal and wine were excellent. After lunch we did a walk and then hopped back on the bus. We took the bus to the Eiffel Tower and got off there to admire the view.

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Shelley at the base of the Eiffel tower.

After looking at the Eiffel Tower we decided to take a cruise on the Seine river. The cruise gave us a neat view of the city and some of the great bridges of Paris.

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One of the bridges across the Seine river

After the cruise we were back on the bus and headed back to our hotel. Once we got back to the hotel we headed out to the local pubs. The local pubs are very nice and typical of Paris. IMG_20160307_175012559_HDRWe stopped into a few pups and had some drinks before calling it a night.

“Au revoir et Bonne journée”

France

We are off to Paris for a week

Today we are off to Paris for the week to check out some of the sights. Our day started off by catching the C6 bus to the airport. We are only about 15 minutes from the airport and the bus drops you off at the front door. The last time we flew we lost our luggage for almost a week so this time we are only taking carry-on.

All our luggage for the week
All our luggage for the week

We also tried to use electronic boarding passes, but for some reason Shelley’s phone had problems and we couldn’t use it. After some stress and frustration we ended up getting boarding passes printed at the check in counter. Once we got our passes we went through security but I got flagged for some reason. They tested my luggage for drugs.. Go figure…Not a good start to our Paris trip. We got to our gate and we were all set, but our flight was delayed for about 30 minutes but all was good in the end. We were welcomed by a little snow on the ground when we arrived in Paris…. Yikes. Made us feel like we were back in Canada and a little homesick.

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We took the train from the Paris airport and took a connecting subway train to the Notre Dame Church. This was one of the first sites we saw after getting off the subway. It was very beautiful and impressive.

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That was the closest train stop to our hotel. We then went for a meal and a nice glass of wine at a local restaurant near the Notre Dame Church. Once our meal was done we took a taxi to our hotel which is located on rue Buci. We are very well located right in the middle of Paris and near all the main attractions. Our hotel room is quite quaint and somewhat small.

Hotel Buci Paris
Hotel Buci Paris

We have a fairly optimistic itinerary planned and hope to see as much as possible. We may not be blogging as much this week because of limited internet and time. But we will update the blog when we can.

“Au revoir et Bonne journée”