Paris, July 2009

Judy and I went to Paris from July 13-22, 2009. We did the standard tourist things and one extremely un-tourist-y thing. I'm sure that I've put up too many pictures, but there were lots more that I didn't put up.

We flew overnight and arrived on Bastille Day. We almost saw the fireworks at the Eiffel Tower, but the crowds were so large that by the time we got out of the Metro station, all we saw was a lit-up night sky. Afterwards, we wandered around and saw the Eiffel Tower lit up and talked to people.

Over the next few days, we visited a number of museums, d'Orsay, Louvre, Picasso, Rodin, Pompidou Centre, and Versailles. We went to le Marais, a Jewish area, where I was nailed by some Chabadniks and put on t'fillin. We went to the second level of the Eiffel Tower and to the top of Notre Dame each of which afforded great views of Paris. I also made a very big panorama of Paris (I think close to 180°) from the top level of the Pompidou Centre.

We also wandered through a few markets, spent a number of hours and had a picnic at a park, Parc Butte Chaumont, that didn't seem to have any tourists except us. That day we also went to the Arc de Triomphe where we were recruited into the honor guard for the daily laying of wreaths at the tomb of the WWI Unknown Soldier.

It was a great trip. We ate well, drank some good wine and failed to see everything—so I guess we’ll have to go back.