Disneyland Paris

Our visit to Disneyland Paris in August 2010 during our trip to France.

It is an easy train ride from Paris for a day trip. I recommend buying your tickets in advance and getting there prior to the gates opening. We lost an hour waiting in line to buy tickets to get in. Prepare to spend much of your day waiting in lines…even at the food counters. Service isn’t efficient there. All and all it was a nice day at the park.

The guests can totally sit in the planters during shows

Seriously. I used to work at Magic Kingdom in Orlando doing crowd control and this would NEVER happen there. I don’t think my former cast members would believe me unless they saw this pic.

Stage show

Show went back and forth between French and English.

Its a Small World

Sorry about the blur…I am still getting used to my new DSLR.

Fantasyland

The rest of these were taken with the phone and are of bad quality. I guess I got tired of using the fancy camera?

Haunted Mansion

Thunder Mountain

Tomorrowland

The most painful Space Mountain I have ever been on.

Seriously. Do not go on this unless you like having your head banged around painfully and want to walk off with a concussion. Our heads were throbbing post ride.

Snow White

Alice’s psychedelic labyrinth

This whole area felt like a strange psychedelic trip. We liked spending time wandering around here.

The Storybook ride

Such a cute ride, even the one in Disneyland in California.

Casey Jr

A cute train ride with a catchy tune.

A week in Paris

We were able to spend a week in Paris in August 2010. Paris still remains one of my favorite cities. I will always remember the experience we had there. We were greeted with such friendliness by Parisians that to this day people do not believe. Parisians can be very friendly and open if you give them a chance.
We stayed in the Marais neighborhood. It was a former Jewish quarter with lots of character. You can still see many traditional Jewish shops as well as antiques and trendy cafes. We were extremely happy to spend a week in that part of town. I only wish I took some photos of the neighborhood to share.
Here are some pictures from our visit.

We thought the locks on the bridge were very interesting. Years later they find that the locks cause add weight and cause great damage to these bridges. Please do not do this to a bridge.

Sacré-Cœur Basilica

Montmartre

Down from the Sacre-Coeur lies an interesting part of Paris. Montmarte has a rich history of its own and only some of it involves the sex industry. One of my favorite museums was the Musee de Montmarte. It contained a detailed history of the cabaret scene in Paris along with a myriad of famous posters from artists like Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.

We also broke down and went to see the cheesy Moulin Rouge show. It was quite pricy and we were put in bad seats. I suggest doing some research for another show which might be slightly less touristy (if possible). They seemed to treat those who ordered dinner with their show much better than those who only ordered drinks; keep that in mind if you do decide to go.

Saint-Jacques Tower

Arc de Triomphe

Deportation Memorial (Memorial de la Deportation)

Part of France’s dark history was their cooperation in the Nazi holocaust. 200,000 French were handed over to the nazis during this time. We got to visit this powerful memorial in Paris.

Pompidou Center

The pompidou was quite the interesting museum. It is the largest modern art museum in Europe. There were various street performers entertaining outside. Inside we got to see various artworks from famous artists. Some standout exhibits were the fox chair, a bunch of dead looking people in chairs, and Yoko Ono’s artwork : a video of butts – yes butts.

Notre Dame and Père Lachaise

During our August 2010 trip to Paris we spent some time at both the Pere-Lachaise Cemetery and the Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris. Below are the pictures from our visit.

Pere-Lachaise Cemetery

I have a slight obsession with old cemetaries, especially ones with family crypts. A visit to the famous Pere-Lachaise Cemetery did not disappoint me. It felt other worldly. The scenery was beautiful and the gardens were peaceful. We only allocated an hour or two here but I could have spent much more time. Numerous famous greats from literature are resting here as well as the mysterious and talented Jim Morrison.

Jim Morrison’s final resting place.

This one looks middle-earthy.

The trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit. -Moliere

Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris

The Notre Dame cathedral is amazing as well. This was my second visit and I am still in awe of the stained glass windows here.

I apologize for the blurry photos. The camera was new and I was still learning how to shoot in low light.

I love Paris in the …late summer

Today’s post consists of photo journey of gardens and garden related things from my recent trip to France. Enjoy!

Paris

Versailles Gardens

From Paris

From Paris

Palais de Tokyo GardensA garden I stumbled upon while lost in the streets of Paris (I think we were trying to get to the Champs Elysee from the Eiffel Tower). It is a lovely mixture of flowers and edible plants.

From Paris

From Paris

From Paris

From Paris

Père Lachaise Cemetery Garden
Cemetery in Paris where many famous people are buried. I found this nice little garden inside.

From Paris

St. RemyEvery Wednesday, St Remy has a farmers market. It is recognized as one of the biggest and best markets in Provence.
Baby Olive Trees for Sale

From St Remy

Dried Lavender

From St Remy

Côtes du Rhône vineyards

From Vineyards

Espace Van Gogh in Arles

Monument made famous when Van Gogh was committed here in the 1800’s after cutting off his ear. Gardens are maintained to resemble what it would have been like during his stay.