If you give a pigeon a bread crumb...

...they ambush you!

So, there was no bird lady on the steps on St. Paul's in London like Mary Poppins said. But there was one who was passing out bread crumbs in Paris by Notre Dame, and even more surprisingly, Victor actually participated in the bird feeding. It was surprising because he usually refers to pigeons as rats with wings. It was short lived, because soon he had pigeons swarming all over him.

 The only pigeon feeding I was going to participate in was on the steps of St. Paul's, because Mary Poppins told me to. 

And those birds at St. Paul's have been fed by one too many Disney enthusiasts, because they didn't hesitate to get all up in your grill.

St. Paul's was really cool too, by the way. But once again, no photos allowed!

Our Last Day in Paris

Palace of Versailles: pretty obnoxious. And I'm not just talking about the extreme hoards of Asian tourists. This place was way too big. 

We spent a lovely evening in Montmarte. We ate at a traditional fondue restaurant where they serve you your drink in glass baby bottles. Also, did you know that traditional fondue is only bread and cheese? Yeah, we didn't. Let's just say that I was ok with it, but someone else was not very happy that that was all he got for dinner.

Just like Amelie

 And we finally had a non-rainy, pleasant temperature evening in Paris. So we revisited some sights to enjoy the city lights.

photo by Victor.

And then we got on a bus the next morning to go across the Channel into jolly old England. And that whole Chunnel business?? Totally not what I was expecting. My naive self thought it would just be a longer version of the Holland or Lincoln tunnel or something. It was trippy! We were in a bus, so it looked a little something like this.

Anyway, next stop: London.

Notre Dame vs. Saint Chapelle

This was a draw. Both of these were really cool. The stained glass in Saint Chapelle was breathtaking, and the views from the top of Notre Dame and just its overall history was awesome.

And Saint Chapelle: Exterior shots of this one were difficult because it's wedged in between a bunch of government buildings.

Paris Yummies

From top left: oh so yummy nutella cookie, melt in your mouth macarons, crepes, and a chocolate croissant.

And those were the only ones that I took pictures of. There were a lot more chocolate croissants where that came from.

Oh, I want to go back!

Louvre vs. Orsay

We only had a few days in Paris, and I'm realizing now with looking back on how many museums that I missed, that it wasn't enough. We were torn because of all the differing opinions and time constraints, so we narrowed down our museum intake to the Louvre and the Orsay museums.

So the Louvre, naturally, was a sweet museum. It was insanely huge, so we planned our visit very carefully to make sure we saw what we wanted to. If you only like paintings before the year 1850 (rough guess) and nothing that can be termed "modern," then the Louvre is your museum.

Cold and rainy. Just the way we like it!

Greeting us at the top of the steps. My favorite. 

From the other side of the Mona Lisa

If you wait long enough in the museum, the rain will be gone when you get out. 

Then, there's the Orsay Museum. The location itself is awesome--in an old train station that reminded me so much of Hugo Cabret.

It also had plenty of gems in there. All "modern"---like Monet, Manet, Renoir, VanGogh, Degas, etc.

So the winner in my book was the Orsay. I don't regret going to the Louvre, but personally, the Orsay is full of more of my favorites, and in my opinion won't leave you feeling slightly disappointed (Mona Lisa, I'm looking at you)

The Eiffel Tower.

 I'm not usually a cheesy person, but this is one type of photo that I have always wanted. And you better believe that we set up a tripod for this shot. I hate asking strangers to take kissing pictures.

But the Eiffel Tower really was that cool. After the rainstorm cleared, that is.

Paris is Always a Good Idea

Name that movie.

We had a lovely old time in Paris, the city of lovers. It really is a romantic city, but if you have any notion that rain makes the city more romantic, then you are completely wrong. Paris was cold and windy, which we weren't expecting. I mean, it was warm in D.C., so why wouldn't it have been warm in Paris? Silly us. But we survived and had a great time, but I could also title these posts about Paris and London as "The Week I Wore the Same Two Outfits Everyday."

Anyway, how about some photos?
Day one in Paris:

We stayed in a little apartment near Montmarte. How adorable was the building and courtyard??

Luxembourg Gardens. 

"It takes you past all the bridges of Paris... twenty-three of them. And you find one you love and go there every day." Have you figured out the movie yet??

Here's another hint: my one souvenir from Paris was an Eiffel Tower paper weight.