rick steves is my new best friend

Versailles!

The chateau enorme that Louis XIV built to glorify himself was quite the fun day trip for us. We took the train out to the city of Versailles and explored a teeny tiny fraction of the castle first (you can only go through the chapel, king and queen's chambers, the Hall of Mirrors and a few other rooms). The extravagance in that place is overwhelming. I just kept thinking, "No wonder the French people stage a revolution..." The entire court of the king used to live in this place, and it is huge huge huge. I tried to take a picture of the entire thing, and I couldn't fit it all in, even a hundred yards back from the gate. Afterward we rented bikes and biked all over the grounds. Somehow we missed the place leading to the Grand and Petit Trianons and Marie Antoinette's little hamlet, so we biked forever around all the canals. Eventually we did stumble upon the hamlet and had so much fun pretending to be cute French peasants ourselves. Afterward, at the recommendation of Mr. Rick Steves and his guidebook, we ate at this delightful little creperie. Twas delish. And we're now sick of crepes.

Today was filled with open air marketing, Louvre-ing, and Monmartre-ing.
Becky got a caricature.
I got to see Les Deux Moulins, the cafe where Amelie works.
We both got a photo in front of a poster for Le Dernier Maitre de L'Air!!!!! aka Avatar: The Last Airbender!!!! It comes out on July 28th in France, and you can bet that I will be watching it that very night.

Bon soir, mes amis!

la vie en rose

Once upon a time, three kids and a mom went to Paris.

They were highly indecisive about where to go their first morning, but after seeing the hour long wait at the Musee (can't find the num lock, pardon my not using any accents) de l'Orangerie finally settled on going to the Musee de l'Armee (basically a huge museum that covers all wars in French history).

They then walked in the rain over to Les Invalides, or Napoleon's tomb, which, for such a short person, is huge-seven caskets huge (compare the height of the people in the background to the height of the casket).

They then happened upon the Centre Pompidou, the national modern art museum. Some pieces were a little sketch (video of naked lady swinging barbed wire hoola hoop around her waist, anyone?), BUT, there was some sweet art in that place. Also, the building looks like it's inside out.

 

And after having their fill of modern art (approximately 20 minutes worth), they were indecisive some more about which crepe stand to eat at, finally deciding to return to the little creperie near the hotel a short metro ride away.

And the next day they woke up early and went to Versailles and took a million photos that the author of this story does not feel like sorting through right now to do that place justice. Also, she feels like killing her siblings, because they are so obnoxious. And she woke up early. And is therefore rather cranky.

But here's a sneak preview of that ode to Louis XIV's opulence:

That would be Jeff, posing like the liberal hippie he is with his Amnesty International bracelet (sick sick sick) in Marie Antoinette's petit hameau (the peasant village she built for herself so she could escape the harsh reality* of being queen of France and play pretend).

*you know, playing cards with people waiting on you hand and foot, dancing, eating the best food in France, man it sucked.