Peter and I started the day soon after sunrise (which is at 8:43 a.m. here in Paris) at the Grand Palais. We'd purchased tickets before we left the states for a 9:00 a.m. entrance to the Monet exhibit. What a wonderful way to spend a morning - with hundreds of Monet's paintings. When we finally left those hallowed halls it was just before noon. It was still gray with snow flurries, and we decided to walk along the Champs-Elysées to the Place de la Concorde to check out the ferris wheel. The boulevard was lined with tiny one room white-wooden shops selling everything from scarves to spices, from crepes to caviar - which of course is where we stopped for a quick pick-me-up - a blini with a good dollop of caviar and a shot of ice cold vodka.
When we reached the Place, we decided there's no better time than the present, so we climbed on board the ferris wheel to see what we could see. I'm sure this is spectacular on a clear, sunny day but we really enjoyed this perspective on what appeared to be a black and white Paris. We could see all the way down the Champs-Elysées to l'Arc de Triomphe; la Tour Eiffel was framed at times by the golden statues on the Pont Alexendre III; and, to the east the Tuilleries led to the Louvre and in the distance we could even see the towers of Notre Dame. We hope you enjoy the views too.
Merry Christmas one and all.
Thanks Ally. It took days to get home but more on that later. The ride was not too cold as you're enclosed (not sealed) in a bubble. Pretty neat!
Posted by: Claudia | Sunday, January 02, 2011 at 08:29 AM
Tres magnifique! Merci...
Posted by: Barbara Andolsek Paintings | Thursday, December 30, 2010 at 12:13 PM
Wow, that was really cool!
Thank you so much and I bet it was pretty chilly on your ride.
I hope you are able to fly home okay- things are pretty immobilized here with the snow or at least they were yesterday on sunday.
I wonder if christmas trees are blowing around the beaches again in the Hamptons- one of my favorite things ever of yours on this site.
enjoy your last few days there.
shame you cannot give us a slide show of monet- that would be completely amazing.
Posted by: ally | Monday, December 27, 2010 at 06:59 AM
Spectacular view!
Posted by: Sally Ward | Saturday, December 25, 2010 at 10:24 AM