K&G go to P&B (Our first full day in Paris)

Hey folks, hope everyone had a great holiday season and new year. Last August, Gina and I decided to bite the bullet and plan a trip to Paris and Barcelona. Neither of us had ever been and we were tired of procrastinating. So, because I hate crowds and Gina works at a school, we decided we would take our trip over Christmas. After 16 hours of flying and layovers the first thing we did in Paris was take a 3 hour nap. Once we got out and about, we discovered a Paris that very few vacationers have been lucky enough to see and it was amazing. I will be doing several posts over the next few weeks starting in Paris and ending in Barcelona. Because of the sheer volume of images I am going to show you, this post will be very light on the literary content. However please feel free to shoot me any questions you have and I'll be more than happy to provide you with an extensive dissertation on the subject matter. I hope you enjoy our trip!

Click on the pics to see them full size

France's ingenious bike program allows Parisiennes to pay 30 euro a year to have access to community bikes that are maintained and restocked nightly all over the city



Newly delivered Christmas trees on Rue Cler



Cheese


We stayed in the Rue Cler neighborhood. Rue Cler is packed with cheese shops produce markets, and boulangeries where the locals go to by groceries. Very charming.
p.s. this is 8:30AM. In winter the sun is only up for about 8 hours and the people follow suit. We got up at 6 something and thought we'd get started early only to find out that things don't open until 8:30 or 9. It took a little adjusting.



Our first "American Breakfast" in Paris. Gina with her trusty map planning our day.



Voltaire monument off of Rue St. Germain near the Latin Quarter


This is the little known Notre Dame. As if you didn't know what it looked like.



The vast and incredible interior of Notre Dame





The original rose window


Tombs along side the main altar


Welcome to the world famous Notre Dame... and here is the beautiful and elaborate nativity scene constructed out of plywood, house paint, some figurines purchased at walmart and glitter.
Really?


The side facing the Seine







On our way to the next stop along our walking tour, we passed this OFFICE BUILDING! A prime example of how even the most ordinary things in Paris are magnificent.


This is the oldest tree in Paris


The Shakespeare and Company bookstore and reading library opened in the early 1900's by Sylvia Beach was a meeting place for the likes of Hemingway, Man Ray, Gertrude Stein, F Scott Fitzgerald and others. This is not it. The original was closed in 1941 because of the war. This store was opened in 1951 by George Whitman under the name Le Mistral. After Sylvia Beach's death the store was renamed Shakespeare and Company in honor of the original.


The creepy gargoyles/raingutters on the exterior of St. Chapelle Cathedral.




Inside St. Chappelle










The whole upper floor of St. Chappelle was reserved for royalty and clergy to pray. No commoners allowed!








This is some awesome neighborhood I can't remember the significance of.


At the end of our first full day in Paris, Gina and I ventured to Rue Moufftard to find dinner. Much of the street is pedestrian and is a popular meeting place for locals. Dinner was as you would expect, delicious, and the house wine was very tasty and very cheap. Gina liked it so much that she drank two carafes by herself. Atleast that's how she recalls it.