France Day 2: Place St. Michel, Square du Vert Galant, Pont Neuf, Cathédral de Notre-Dame, Quartier Latin, Arc de Triomphe, Allard Bistro

Pls. note that you can click on the pictures to see a larger view.

Versailles Cafe

Started out with some hot chocolate, hot coffee and tartine (baguette) with butter.



Their hot chocolate is so different from ours. The milk tasted different too!



These cafe tables are really really small. Some even scaled to just about 24X24 in.


Place St. Michel

St.Michel square was built in the memory of an ancient chapel that used to exist here.



St.Michel fighting the dragon



Monster spouting water. These were beautiful to look at.





Square du Vert Galant

At the western tip of Ile de la Cité, Square du Vert Galant is a little garden dedicated to Henry IV who was also known as 'Lusty Gallant'. I had no idea of this at the time when I kissed Akhil.


Pont Neuf
Oldest bridge of Paris dating from 1578. Trust the Bridge.

Look at the size relationship with the man in the bright blue umbrella.



I loved the signs.



Walk along the Seine River



I saw so much graffiti during my train rides and couldn't photograph them since we were always moving. I was happy to find this scrawled on our walk alongside the river. This is obviously an uprising art of rash and rebellious budding youngsters and it secretly juxtaposes with the traditional art history that Paris offers all around openly.



We walked everywhere on these. These lovely cobble stones are all around.







Husband and wife on the Seine



These feet took us a long way. I want to thank them. :)


Cathédral de Notre-Dame
The building of this gothic cathedral church began in the 1200's.

Notre-Dame means 'our lady' in french



Western facade depicting a rose with Mary and Jesus in it's center



entryway doors



door detail



this is some serious carving



sunlit cathedral with illuminated depictions of saints and god



these are not your typical stained glass windows





Métro
After Moscow, Paris is the 2nd busiest Métro of the world.
The station architecture resonates Art Noeveau. The signs are simply fab!





Inside the métro, musicians entertain passer-by



The faint art on these tiles were truly one-of-a-kind. The picture exactly represents how faded the art looked. It was probably an intended style.





Quartier Latin Latin Square
The bohemian square once had a very different feel to it with artists and hippies buzzing around. It was an intellectual center. Now it's lined with food of the world, book stores, filled with students and tourists.




Okay, I found the stop signs really fascinating. Look at how tiny they are. And the little man is ridiculously hilarious!



This is called lovely marketing. I felt like drinking coca-cola after seeing this.


Arc de Triomphe
This is a french monument commemorating soldiers who fought for France, especially the Napoleonic war and WWII.





View from the top of Arc de triomphe after climbing 284 steps. This is just one of the many avenues extending from the Arc de triomphe—revealing the famous Champs-Élysées that is bursting and bubbling with high-end luxury stores, cinemas and cafés. From a panaromic viewpoint, it appears star-shaped spurring tentacle like avenues.


Allard Bistro
A 1900's bistro





Duck with olives. I don't need to elaborate on this deliciousness.



Raw Salmon with potatoes



what happened to it afterwards...



French Bread

Hope you enjoyed and will come back for Day 3! :)