A Day in Paris...

I had one quick and very full day in Paris, before heading to Blois today. Here are some of the highlights!

I got a chance to watch the leaders in the Paris Marathon as they passed my hotel (Hôtel de la Porte Dorée) in the 12th:

And then there were all the others!

By Métro over towards the Musée Jacquemart André with a walk along Boulevard Haussmann. Doors, shop windows and "publicité":

The museum, the exhibition (Le Crépuscule des Pharaons) and lunch in the restaurant were all superb, as usual! The show was a great reminder of how beautiful many of the artifacts from the Egyptian Late Period are. Do go if you're in Paris before July 22.

Then by Métro to the Hôtel de Ville, where I had hoped to see the Doisneau show, forgetting that the Hôtel is closed on Sundays! Not wanting to go underground again quite yet, I strolled along the Seine and up to Bastille where I grabbed another train back to my hotel.

Charming period dresses for little girls

After some R & R back at the hotel, I hopped back on the Métro and rode all the way across Paris to Invalides/Tour-Maubourg because, thanks to the heads-up from my friend Andrea (Merci mille fois!), I had purchased a ticket to the 3D spectacle titled "La nuit aux Invalides" which was running from April 11 to April 18. I had not been to the Hôtel des Invalides since the summer of 1972, during my first visit to France. We had to stand outside the cour d'honneur for almost an hour before we were admitted for the show and I have a few pictures of the exterior of the hôtel:

The spectacular "spectacle" covered its history from its establishment by Louis XIV through the Napoleonic era and into the 20th century. Astonishing images which are quite impossible to describe adequately! Here is a video which demonstrates a little of what we experienced:

I had purchased the ticket which included a "visite" to the dome des Invalides, where Napoleon's tomb is located, after the show. Some images:

Yes, that's liquid nitrogen! Quite atmospheric...

All in all, a full and fulfilling first day in Paris! Also an exhausting one...