The Paris Edition

Bonjour! And welcome to The Mintzer Chronicles: The Paris Edition! Last weekend, we spent three days in Paris - and took enough pictures to publish a book. Although by the end of each day, our feet were throbbing, it was well worth avoiding the metro and walking all around the city. We loved it all - the sights, the food, the architecture, the history, the ambiance...the list goes on and on. Take a look for yourself at everything we think is worth remembering about Paris.

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The Palace of Versailles

The palace of King Louis XIV was spectacular. These are the photos of the gardens and the exterior views of the palace.

While looking inside the palace at night, I pictured a grand

ball going on inside...Pride and Prejudice style.

Next are the interior photos of the Palace of Versailles. As you can imagine, I (Naomi) went crazy taking pictures!

I absolutely love the gold and lavender color combination.

It screams royalty.

Marie Antoinette's bedroom

The moldings and architectural details throughout

the palace were truly breathtaking.

I absolutely loved the ornate ceilings and chandeliers.

The Hall of Mirrors was the most

spectacular room in the palace.

The St. Michel Fountain:

This beautiful statue represents the angel Michael throwing satan out of heaven.

The River Seine:

Jason took some amazing photos of the river that runs throughout Paris. I think it's incredible when the water looks like paint due to the photos being taken with a slow shutter speed.

The Concorde Square:

King Louis XVI was guillotined in this square.

Parisian Streets

These photos represent some of the most memorable streets in Paris.

I was thrilled to find holiday lights! What better place

for them than in front of the charming flower shop

and adorable street-side restaurants.

I know this photo is a tad blurry, but we couldn't

pass up the "Sexy Bar for Crazy Night"

with bra's hanging from the light fixtures!

One of my favorite street photos!

A Parisian Christmas tree lot! A bit

smaller than those in California.

The Cathedral of Notre Dame:

One of the world's most beautiful cathedrals.

Merci:

A friend of mine told me that we had to visit a store called Merci while in Paris, and I'm so glad she did! It was well worth the adventure we went on to find it. It is Paris' version of Anthropologie - selling furnishings, clothes, and accessories. The interior design of the store is incredible, as well as the product displays, and the products. All together, a must-see for any interior designer visiting Paris.

I love, love, love chandeliers!!!

Such a beautiful photo of their holiday decor!

Although the majority of our blog-worthy

photos were taken by Jason, I (Naomi) am

proud to take the credit for this one!

Even the dressing rooms were chic.

I have never seen a more creative

way to display scarfs than on

a giraffe's neck...genius.

This photo was taken in the charming courtyard.

And doesn't Jason's hair look fabulous?!?!

The front of the store was a flower shop, selling

the most beautiful star-shaped, twinkle light

wreaths. The store also had an adorable cafe and

a library selling used books.

The Louvre:

Although there is enough art to spend an entire week at this incredible museum, we still made the most of our time there viewing some of the world's greatest sculptures, paintings, and interiors/furnishings.

Some of the Louvre employees were striking during our visit.

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I (Naomi) am also proud to say that I manned the

camera during the majority of our little photo-shoot

of Napoleon III's glamorous apartment at the Louvre.

This was definitely my favorite part of the museum!

Moving on to the paintings...

Although Dan Brown warned us, the Mona Lisa was still a bit smaller than we'd imagined!

Jason's favorite part of the Louvre was this sculpture.

The Louvre:

Here are some exterior photos of the Louvre. The building itself was phenomenal!

Lets eat!

The crepes in Paris were, by far, the most amazing crepes we've ever had! Every morning we started our day with a delicious ham, egg, and cheese crepe, and we snacked on numerous nutella banana crepes throughout the rest of each day! I've only been back in Barcelona for four days, but I already miss the crepes.

I know this is a horrible picture due to Jason's

closed eyes, but it was our only picture showing

our favorite crepe guy! He was super friendly.

What better way to start the day?

Big smiles after our breakfast crepes.

Technically, this photo shouldn't be under

the "lets eat!" category, but it will take too long

to move it, so here it is! Surrounding the

Arc de Triomphe are these beautiful

buildings with ornate fences. Can you imagine

living in a house like this!???! I can.

Jardin des Tuileries:

This beautiful garden was located at the end of the Champs Elysees, just before the Louvre.

A bird landed on the statue's head

just as Jason took this photo.

This lion / crocodile statue was a

must-see for Jason.

For some reason, I loved this charming,

abandoned-looking merry-go round.

L - O - V - E these chairs!!!

There were hundreds of them

throughout the park.

Hotel de Neville:

We absolutely loved our hotel, and it's location. Here is a photo taken from our window showing the surrounding neighborhood.

The Eiffel Tower:

We made it to the Eiffel Tower just in time snap a few photos of it, and then enjoy the light show. Sparkly lights, purple lights, flashing lights, you name it! We didn't take the elevator up, as the line appeared long enough to take an entire day's time, but still enjoyed our visit.

What would we do without

Jason's tripod?

The Christmas Street Fair:

As we walked down the Champs Elysees towards the Louvre, we happened upon the most charming Christmas street fair! Each booth was set up in an adorable white cottage with white christmas lights dangling off the roofline in icicles! Dad, you would have loved it!

Crepes, crepes, crepes!!!

This is another photo courtesy Naomi!

Parisian Architecture:

Here are some of our favorite photos of the architecture in Paris. Hopefully the combination of street photos, individual building photos, and close up shots will help paint a picture of what we liked most while wandering the streets of Paris.

We loved the tree-lined streets.

This building really stood out to me. Notice

what a difference good lighting can make!

Yet another photo showing me as bundled

up as an eskimo.

Champs Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe:

The Champs Elysees is a beautiful street full of fancy shops and restaurants that starts at the Arc de Triompfe and leads you straight to the Louvre. I was so excited to see the holiday lights, as Barcelona hasn't put near enough effort into their holiday decor (that I've seen, at least), and I was really hoping for a good dose of Christmas Spirit!

One last thing...

Here is a video of the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. Check it out!

Well, that wraps up The Mintzer Chronicles: Paris Edition. It won't be long, though, until our next post! We leave Saturday for our three week European adventure. But for now, Adios...or should I say, Au Revoir!