The Last Few Days...

If you missed the last post in June, be sure to look at it - Kavin took some incredible pictures as we flew over Greenland and the Pole.

Yes, we're home, but we neglected the blog for a few days, so here's the rest of our Parisian holiday. I've tried to get some short videos in here, but it just wouldn't work. 

On Thursday, since it was partly sunny, we went to the district called Momtmarte, a very hilly and picturesque old village. We rode the "funiculaire" (sort of a cable car) up to Sacre-Coure, a beautiful basilica with a great view of the city.

The newest street performers are those who stand perfectly still for hours at a time, and only move when someone gives them money. We saw them costumed in all white, in gold, in silver (Tin Man from Wizard of Oz), but this girl was the best.

Another trip to the patisserie that night...

We decided it was time for some serious shopping, so headed on Friday to the "Grand Magasins" of Paris - the huge department stores that are unlike anything you'd ever see in the states, especially in Kodiak! They have up to 9 floors and two or three buildings, and one of them (the Galleries Lafayette) is almost as decadent as the palace at Versailles. Unfortunately, they were seriously hot, crowded, and expensive, so we bought little but went up to the terrace for a bite to eat and the view. Here's Kavin holding up the Eiffel Tower!

That night, after dinner with Sandy and Phillippe, we headed back to the Eiffel Tower to see the special night lights. The sun didn't set till 10 so that's when we went. There's not much you can say about Eiffel at night - it's that spectacular. And the party never stops - people, music, food, venders everywhere.

The regular nighttime lights -

The special blinking lights - only done on the hour for 5 minutes -

Saturday morning we made our second trip to "Breakfast in America," where you can get an American breakfast (not available elsewhere) and burgers and such in a 50's diner atmosphere - surprisingly, there are at least as many Parisians as Americans eating there. We went for our last shopping foray down Rue Mouffetard - came home with some special gifts for friends and relatives. Then we packed up and got ready to leave on Sunday.

One last look at the Rue Monge end of our little street.

Loooong trip home - Paris to Reykjavik, then to Anchorage, then hours in the airport, then home on the last plane... exhausted but happy.