Earned My Certificate

[kjtrains]

Keep those pictures coming, John!  Great!    

[yankee2500]

Here are a couple everyone will recognize.
  It was a cool and rainy day today, the first bad weather day we have had since we got here.
The first two are great but the Notre Dame Cathedral is just amazing.




A little info on Notre dame.

Notre Dame Cathedral (full name: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris, "Our Lady of Paris") is a beautiful cathedral on the the Île de la Cité in Paris. Begun in 1163 and mostly completed by 1250, Notre Dame is an important example of French Gothic architecture, sculpture and stained glass.

The Notre Dame is the most popular monument in Paris and in all of France, beating even the Eiffel Tower with 13 million visitors each year. But the famous cathedral is also an active Catholic church, a place of pilgrimage, and the focal point for Catholicism in France - religious events of national significance still take place here.

[tracker]

There is a stone in front that marks point "zero" in Paris from which all distances are measured, both highways and streets.

[kjtrains]

There is a stone in front that marks point "zero" in Paris from which all distances are measured, both highways and streets.

Here's a picture of that stone.

[tracker]

That is a beautiful stone and it took me a few trips to Notre Dame to discover its significance. I love the cigarette butt in the top right corner of the photo.

[kjtrains]

I've got a photo of the stone without the cigarette butt, however, liked this one better.    

[yankee2500]

I can tell you the the cigarette butt is not the worst thing I've seen on the street, Paris is a very dirty city.
  In some sections there are corn cobs littered about because street venders grill corn on a large tin can in a shopping cart and sell it.

Here is one such vender.

[Richard S]

Grilling corn is not the only thing I've seen Parisians do on the street. I was once walking along a side street just off of the Champs-Élysées when I happened to pass a Citroën 2CV (that little econo-can we used to call a "Deux Chevaux”) parallel parked by the curb. The couple inside, completely oblivious to any passing pedestrians, were giving a French twist to the words of that old 1970s bumper sticker, "If this van's a rockin', don't come a knockin'."

[tracker]

I have also witnessed that scene many times in the Bois de Boulogne in cars with the windows covered in sheets from the inside.

[yankee2500]

Spent the day at the Louvre yesterday. The picture is behind glass and it is hard to get a good shot.



This is one of the rooms from Napoleon's apartment.

[Richard S]

That's a great shot of the Mona Lisa, John. Thank you for posting it.

I remember when "The Lady" was loaned for 27 days to the National Gallery of Art in D. C. back in January-February 1963. I was then preparing to report to OCS, but was one of the lucky half-million who managed to file by her during that time.

http://www.nga.gov/past/data/exh222.shtm

Apart from the Mona Lisa's enigmatic smile, I find it amazing how her eyes seem to follow you as you pass before her.

[kjtrains]

Spent the day at the Louvre yesterday. The picture is behind glass and it is hard to get a good shot.



This is one of the rooms from Napoleon's apartment.

Excellent, John!  Thanks!

[yankee2500]

Here are two from the Louvre that are rooms from Napoleon's apartment. The table on the right will seat about 40 people.
You don't want to ask the person at the far end to pass you anything it might be spoiled before it got to you.  

[Richard S]

It's good to be Emperor -- at least until you underestimate the Prussians and fail to cover your right flank at Waterloo.

[kjtrains]

Magnificent, John; absolutely georgeous place; pass the potatoes, please.