Sadly this was our last day in Paris. We had filled a week and could easily fill another, but it was time to move on.

For our last day we filled in the last few things we wanted to visit. First up was a trip to another museum, this time the privately owned Musée Jacquemart-André. This was a private house and collection put together by Édouard André and his wife Nélie Jacquemart in the 1800’s. Kate likened it to the Frick in New York (one she loves but I’m not familiar with) so was happy to visit.

We were starving though so it was time for an early lunch in the attached tea rooms. Goats cheese and tomato quiche… delicious!

 

 

It was then into the museum proper and it was quite nice to wander through a museum of a different nature. It was quite modest in size, but fascinating to be in (what was) a personal home and see how they would have lived back then and casually surrounded by artistic masterworks. To be in a house with such elaborate staircases and Bottecelli’s hanging casually!

 

 

Nelie was quite the artist herself and it was interesting to see some of her works casually hanging with the rest of the collection, including this bust of her husband. She must have been a supreme talent, both artistically and as an art collector and historian.

 

 

We spent an hour or so just wandering about. While not massive it was well worth the visit.

Next it was a wander back to Opera after our previous shopping trip. This time it was to pop inside and check out the opulence within.

 

 

Designed and built by Charles Garnier in the late 1800’s, the Palais Garnier is one of the primary opera houses in the city, and certainly the one people flock to to see 1800’s extravagance.

 

 

 

 

The self guided tour led us through the main parts of the opera house. 7 types of marble? Check. Elaborate staircases? Check. Gold leaf? Check. They certainly spared no expense!

 

 

In our wandering we came across booth #5, better known as home to the Phantom of the Opera. The door was locked so alas was not sure if he was still haunting the theatre.

Inside the main theatre, there was much going on. It would go dark, then lighten up, then the stage would glow different colours. Seemed production tests were happening, so we picked our times to get a glimpse of the inside of the theatre. It was certainly in tune with the splendour of the outside rooms.

 

 

On the roof was a mural by Marc Chagall. I found this intriguing that an 19th century theatre would have a roof by Chagall, but the audio guide explained. The original roof was painted on a removeable frame in the 1960’s to cover the original. Fascinating! I wonder if they will feel compelled to reveal the original again or get a contemporary artist in another few decades?

 

 

We made our way back through the other rooms, being blinded by the constant gold and made our way out into the Parisian afternoon.

 

 

We were pretty much done with our must dos, but I added a late visit to our schedule. At the Petit Palace was a temporary exhibition that seemed intriguing. Called Fantastique it combined two separate but thematically related exhibitions. The first was my most intriguing, a collection of over 200 woodcut prints from 1800’s Japan, particularly those by artist Kuniyoshi.

 

 

 

 

This was incredible. The vibrant woodcuts were full of such iconic Japanese imagery. Every Japanese tattoo was undoubtedly influenced by the works on the wall and to see so many in the one location was amazing. I had only seen some here and there in other museums at home and overseas.

 

 

The second half was another set of prints, but this time eerie black and white prints by such masters as Goya and Durer. These were a different type of fantastique… all about the creepy and gothic rather than the Japanese take on things.

 

 

 

 

This was quite cool too… the detail in some of the prints was amazing. And who knew Victor Hugo was also a print artist? Not me!

There was almost too much work in the collection to take it all in. Plus we were at the end of our day (and week) and reaching our plimsoll line with regard to museum visits. So with that we called it and hit the streets…

 

… and into the driving rain! We were greeted with rain on our first day, but after that had cloud, but no rain. But Paris decided to leave us with a parting rainy gift. We had been so lucky with the weather that we didn’t mind. We decided to try and get a last Parisian selfie before heading to the train station and back to our hotel.

 

 

 

So with that, Paris was done. We both loved Paris before and both still love it. The city seemed to be doing well given recent events. I can’t say I had really been through so many security checks (even wandering into supermarkets), but we got used to it by the end. Everyone was lovely, the food was delicious, and Paris was as beautiful as ever. No doubt we will see you again in the not too distant future Paris.

 

The 14th of December! A big part of the reason for our travels. I think most of you know that a trip to Paris in December was in part about getting away but mostly it was for Kate and I to celebrate our first wedding anniversary somewhere special. And with Paris that’s what it was.

 

 

A slow start to the day and we headed for probably the main destination of our whole trip (no, Star Wars was not out yet!)… the Eiffel Tower. Really? you ask. The Eiffel Tower? Yep. We thought having lunch at a Michelin star restaurant up the Eiffel Tower was as good a way as any to celebrate.

 

 

It was a bit foggy so seeing the top of the tower was impossible. It added to the atmosphere though, and we could see our restaurant level,so we knew all would be cool. Being a little early we did the obligatory wander for selfies about the tower. Clearly something was up however, as much of the surrounding gardens were off limits, with dozens of police and military all about. Strange. We couldn’t quite work out what was happening, but there was definitely much less hustle and bustle than we were used to.

 

 

12:30pm arrived and it was lunch time! No waiting in queues for us… it was straight to our very own special elevator for a quick trip up to Le Jules Verne.

As soon as we entered it was a different world, that admittedly I am not too used to. Sure I eat at lots of good places, but not typically waited on like this. I guess you get what you pay for!

 

 

From that moment I have to say it was pretty mind blowing. Everything that had happened for the past year or so, and now being up here was just nuts. Kate was grinning from ear to ear the whole time and I was just trying to wrap my head around it all.

 

 

For lunch we had to choose from a number of options. Kate opted for the Parmenteir (soup with truffle), the venison, and the chocolate tower, while I opted for duck pate, veal, and quince & grapefruit vacherin. Decisions decisions!

Of course there was also champagne aperitifs and wine to follow. We were making the most of it.

 

 

 

 

For the next 3 hours time just flew by. The combination of being up the Eiffel Tower, being waited on so expertly, the food, and the occasion meant that it just went by so quickly. Both of us were reluctant for it to end!

 

 

 

As our desserts came out we had a little more celebrating, with the staff wishing us a happy anniversary in their own way. Mmm… macarons!

 

 

Alas, time had come to leave. The other advantage of our lunch locale was easy access to the main observation deck. While in the restaurant our view had cleared spectacularly and we were greeted with a glorious Parisian day. We couldn’t believe how fortunate we had been… some rain on our first day and that was it.

 

 

By this time it was 4pm and we kept moving. Kate was keen for a little shopping, so we did the wander from the Arc de Triomphe, down the Champs Elysee, toward Opera. Thankfully Kate wasn’t really interested in too much outside of some Parisian staples for herself and her sister (i.e. handbags and makeup) so we enjoyed the stroll more than anything.

 

 

There were a bunch of Christmas type markets along the Champs Elysee. One advertised XXL Sausage, but I was determined to wait until Berlin for my XXL sausage thank you very much!

 

 

We ended up at Opera and wandered into a nearby Uniqlo (my favourite after discovering them in Japan 5 years ago). Why Uniqlo? Well, the combination of winter and Star Wars meant I got myself a Star Wars down jacket! Yes! Now you know what to expect to see me in wearing in most photos from here on it 🙂

 

 

By this point we were about spent. Our amazing day was about done, outside of the metro trip back. On the walk back to the hotel I spied my 3rd invader. Sadly I had not seen anymore in my wandering… I must have just been oblivious with the other beauty of Paris surrounding me.

 

 

Back at the hotel, we finished off the day with our little takeaway treat from Le Jules Verne. Mmmm… what a sweet way to end the day.

 

Today was our last museum pass day but we had a quiet day planned of just filling in some gaps. I wanted to drift through the Louvre some more, but outside of that, it was going to be pretty easy going.

We started with a visit to Saint Chapelle, a gothic chapel just near by Notre Dame. The number of visitors to this place is WAY less than its more famous neighbour (and I had never thought to pop in), but having talked about it with Kate the other day when we saw some of its stained glass at the Museum of Medieval Art, she thought we should pop in.

 

 

We entered into the small but ornate lower room. The roof was quite something and it was quite a quaint chapel. But then Kate led us upstairs to the main room.

 

 

Bam! I was not expecting that. It was an explosion of colour from the thousands of stained glass windows. I can’t say I had ever seen anything like it. It was just an overwhelming sensation being surrounded by it all. Kate thought my face said it all when we went in and was quite chuffed at my reaction.

I can’t believe I hadn’t been in before and that most tourists that come to Paris probably don’t get to see it. I guess we are just lucky to have so much time here to experience all the other things there are to see.

 

 

From the outside it was hard to believe that all that colour came from those seemingly lifeless windows!

 

 

From there, we decided to wander toward the Louvre. We wandered past a flower market that on Sundays seemed to double as a bird market as well. These little finches were quite cool although I think we would have trouble getting them through customs.

 

 

And this little guy was capturing everyone’s attention! Not sure I had ever seen a chinchilla before. Well, another first for the day.

 

 

In no time we were back in the happiness that is the Louvre. This visit was all about some aimless wandering and seeing some of the other favourites that we missed the other night. You can wander for days, so we mapped out a bit of a plan and visited the main areas that we wanted to revisit. More Italian masters, but mostly a lot more of the sculpture work and antiquities.

 

 

 

“That’s a big vase!” I remarked as we entered one room. Ha ha, said Kate, humouring me as usual. Until I looked at what the piece was actually titled. It was called “Vase Colossal”. Yep, I know my art alright 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

I won’t bore you with all the details, but it was great to just wander through as always. This is the one place I feel as if I could come back to over and over and over again and never get tired of it.

 

 

During our time here I had noticed LOTS of people with Nintendo 3DS around their neck. Turns out they are the official guide for the Louvre. No iPods here! It was hilarious to see all these people with their two screens, calling up info. I was stoked to find that I could buy the actual game cartridge! Yes! Of course I grabbed it and will be running my own virtual tours on our return home (damn, I wish I did bring my 3DS with me).

But alas it was a bit after 4pm and we had one thing left on the plan. On Sunday evenings, small organ recitals were held in Eglise St-Eustache, home of the largest pipe organ in France. Why not finish the day with some dramatic pipe organ music?

 

 

Much less touristy than everywhere else we had been (discreet entrance, no security) we wandered in to the middle of a full choral concert in action. We grabbed a seat and soaked up the crazy acoustics inside the building. As it was finishing, we wandered about inside. It was much less ornate than where we had visited, and even had a distinct modern edge. While some Rubens proudly hung, so to did modern works, including a Keith Harring metal triptych. Weird! Last place I thought I would find his work! Intriguing to say the least and a welcome surprise.

 

 

We then settled in for some organ music. As expected, it was over the top and dramatic. Not sure it is my thing… some of it is pretty crazy. But the sheer musicianship to get that thing making noise is something else… all those keys and pedals.

With that we wandered into the brisk Parisian evening. A really delightful dinner in a nearby quintessential cafe was a great finish to the night.

 

So I guess between Kate and I, Paris has two of the happiest places on earth. I have already gone on about the Louvre, and maybe you can  guess Kate’s. Yep, we were off to Disneyland.

Paris Disneyland is not necessarily up there with the best of the parks, but you know… it’s Christmas time, there are rides to be ridden, and who can be in museums and galleries for a week without a break? Not us! So we jumped on the train and headed out there.

 

 

There are two parks at the Disney site… Disneyland and Disney Studios. Kate had not been to the studio park before, while I had 10 years ago when to be honest it was really very mediocre. It was not much but studio tour train ride from what I remembered. I certainly didn’t spend any real time in the park. But it had been bolstered with a bunch of new rides, so we opted for a 2 park pass and started our day in the studio side.

 

 

While there was a bunch more added in the past decade, the Disney Studio park is still not huge. The main reason for heading in was for the Ratatouille ride. Yes! One of my favourite Pixar films had a dedicated ride! To be expected I guess given what country we were in. So we headed there to find an hour long wait. Boo. We got fast passes to go back in a few hours, but decided we couldn’t wait that long and headed into the single rider queue. We would be split up, but a 5 minute wait compared to 60? We would take that and ride together later!

So in less than 5 we were on the ride. Man, this one is fun! You jump in a small carriage and take the role of a rat running around in the kitchen. The ride is a mix of scuttling through huge sets and props, combined with huge 3D video projections to make you feel like you are zooming about as well. The mix worked really well and gave a great sense of frenetic movement and rushing about. The odd spray from a popping champagne cork was fun too.

 

 

We both loved it and were keen to jump on again later. In the area they were obviously capitalising on the Parisian nature of the movie. Remy even had his own up market restaurant. 40 euro for a meal at a Disney restaurant? As cool as it might be, no thanks (it did look cool inside though!).

To be honest there were not many other rides of interest in this side of the park. There were some Toy Story themed ones more for kids that we rode in California a couple of years ago, but we gave them a pass. We jumped on the studio tour type train ride that seemed pretty long in the tooth and not really showing anything new.

I was excited to jump on the Twilight Zone themed Tower of Terror ride (as always) as it is one of my favourite Disney park rides. Kate happily get a single fast pass for that and jump on myself. I have probably written about this one before, but it is essentially a haunted elevator with a mind of its own, shooting up and down. This is so much fun as much for the reactions of everyone in there with you.

 

 

 

 

Otherwise we didn’t really do too much else on the studio side. There weren’t any characters wandering, so we popped into the shops for some fun pics before jumping on the Ratatouille ride again and calling the park done.

Now it was time for Disneyland proper!

 

 

In many respects we had the luxury of being able to chill a bit. We had both been to this park before and having been in California only a couple of years ago, much was still fresh. So we targeted our favourite rides rather than try and fit everything in.

 

 

First off was Haunted Mansion, or rather Phantom Manor as it is called here. Christmas Jack Skellington was hanging about out the front so we couldn’t resist saying hi and getting a picture. Our only character picture of the day! He seemed in good spirits in that big head of his.

 

 

 

The queue for Haunted Mansion was fast moving so in we went. Both of us dig this ride for whatever reason, and as we were moving about inside it dawned on us how different it is. There were many parts where we were looking at each other saying “I don’t remember this?!”. Made for a different experience, but not quite the one we were expecting! Still fun regardless.

 

 

 

 

Night descends fast here in Paris, and in no time at all it was time for the night time parade (5pm!). It was your typical Disneyland parade… all the characters ad floats wandering past. It is times like these Kate is always in her element, loving it all! And you know… the little kid inside you can’t help but get right into it.

 

 

The park is very different at night and it seemed quite dark to be honest, not the bright place we typically think of it. But that was OK… it meant the crowds started to thin out and let us get on to some of the other rides pretty quick. After the parade we hightailed it to Pirates of the Caribbean and were in in no time at all. Unlike California, there was a distinct lack of Captain Jack Sparrow (well the Johnny Depp version) around which was kind of odd.

We also jumped on Pinocchio as we went past too to continue with the old school ride theme.

 

 

But we needed to make sure we got a session in on the Buzz Lightyear Space Blasters ride, one of our favourites. I was current champ on this one, so we were looking forward to getting in the buggy and zooming through, taking shots at evil Zurg. This time I got ahead again with a score of over 300,000. My aim was true today.

 

 

The only other ride I was keen to jump on was Space Mountain, as it hold a place dear in my heart at Paris Disneyland. Many of you have heard this story, but the short of it is that when I was here with my sister Meagan about a decade ago, we got stuck on Space Mountain. Yep, we were stuck on a rollercoaster. Not upside down, but a severe upward-facing angle, for 10 minutes before we had to get rescued off by staff. Cool huh?! I wanted to relive the past and had gotten a fast pass for it. I went back at my allocated time… temporarily closed! I wonder if it was doing the same tricks. Part of me wished I had gotten on it again, but the sensible part said to quit while I was ahead.

 

 

By this time it was getting quite late, and with some shopping done, it was time to call it a day. In 12 hours or so we did the two parks pretty cruisey and had enjoyed another Disney Christmas. Who knows when we would be back at another Disneyland (I am guessing in the not too distant future).