Paris - part 7

These final two Paris postings are just mixes of random other things we did while we were there. Some of them happened in the order presented and some of them were just random pictures that were between other posted subjects. But that doesn't matter to you. In fact, forget this entire paragraph.
This is an exciting posting though because it is my first posting that makes use of a new technology called video. Don't skip ahead. Just arrive at the video in the natural order of things. I must warn you though, that it is nothing exciting. In fact, I am being a turd in the video because I did not want said video to be recorded at the time. I never think to record videos while traipsing about Europe (like I do), Sarah just grabbed my camera and started rolling. However, digital video does not roll. Maybe I'll remember to use high-tech video technology in the future. Anyway, on with Paris.


This is a view from our hotel room. This looks similar to most streets in Florence (except prettier, kinda), except this is a small side street. In Florence it seems like even the main traffic arteries are this size. Except for the few multi-lane viale's and the highways outside of town, pretty much all the roads in Florence are tiny one-way, one-lane roads and some two-way roads. I don't know how they planned the traffic patterns (apparently they didn't give too much thought to automobiles in the previous centuries) but some of the one-way main arteries baffle me due to their tiny size with barely room for one car to squeeze through. This rant might be due to the fact that I walked home from work yesterday (hour-long walk, fast speed) and felt like I was inches away from the non-stop cars flying by.


And here's the view to the right from our hotel window. The beautiful Hotel Rocroy was so well-prepared that, even though we arrived two hours late to check in, they still didn't have half of our rooms ready. So we piled our luggage into a side room as we headed out to the Louvre. They were replacing all the mattresses, as I think I mentioned in a previous post. The rooms were actually pretty nice.


Jump ahead about 12 hours (I can't remember what time it was, or if it was the same day) and Sarah and I went in search of the bar she had found online that had shown the Ohio State-michigan game in previous years. It was our best hope as there is no longer an alumni club in Paris for some reason. It was a Canadian sports bar near the Seine. Most of the crowd was watching soccer or rugby on the televisions, but there were about 15 people in the back watching the game on two tvs. I think there were two other Ohio State people (we talked to one who was from Bowling Green) and there were at least 10 people wearing those disgusting colors of that school up north. I wore my Ohio State t-shirt with pride. Those who recognize this shirt know what it says on the back.


And there it is. Final score: 42-7. Sarah wrote down some great quotes from the ESPN commentators such as, "Awww, just give it to 'em," when there was some question as to whether Michigan scored their only touchdown. I hope my cousin Jennifer reads this. But I'm allowed to gloat after the heartbreak that was the John Cooper era (which coincided with my time at Ohio State, though we did beat Michigan once during my time there - a game which I attended). This is very important in the Paris history lesson.


Here's a shot of Notre Dame from the Left Bank, aka the south side of the River Seine. Also visible is the Petit Pont, or Little Bridge. Bridges have been used in this exact spot since antiquity to take advantage of the narrow crossing around the Ile de la Cite.


And here is Sainte-Chapelle from the Boulevard du Palais. I guess that is part of the old royal palace which surrounds it.


This marker indicates the spot where my grandpa was born. I think this was along the Rue de Rivoli, but I'm not sure.


We walked out and stood in the middle of the Champs-Elysees where the famous road ends at the Place de la Concorde. Here we are facing east towards the Place de la Concorde with its ferris wheel and the Obelisk of Luxor. The over 3,000 year old obelisk once stood at the entrance to the Luxor Temple in Egypt. The over 1 year old ferris wheel once stood at the entrance to the McDonalds on 6th Street in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
This famous square also hosted some very famous executions during the Reign of Terror. King Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, Madame du Barry, Danton, and Robespierre were all guillotined here.


Now we are looking west onto the Champs-Elysees. Here the avenue is surrounded by parks. Further west the avenue is lined with some extremely expensive shops. In fact, at $1.5 million a year for 1000 square feet in one area, it is the most expensive real estate in Europe.


Here, we take advantage of technology once again. This time it's the zoom feature. I'll talk more about the Arc de Triomphe in the next posting, if I feel like it.

Well, here it is. My first video on this site. Please ignore me as I tried to ignore the camera man. Camera person. Camera Sarah. They'll get better. Hopefully.