More from Paris

In total we've had 6 nights in Paris, staying at the Hotel Alhambra.  Our hotel is only a couple of blocks from where the terrorist attacks occurred in mid-November, where about 130 people died.  There's plenty of evidence of increased security around with police and soldiers stationed in our street and in all places where crowds gather. Entry into the large shops and shopping centres requires a bag search, as does entry into most tourist venues.  We spent a day just wondering around looking at some of the sights.  We visited the Galeries Lafayette department store with its spectacular Christmas decorations.

Then we walked to the Hotel de Ville, the City Hall, where there is usually an ice-skating rink in the winter.  This year there's no skating. but we did find these turtles.









The next morning we caught the metro to the Louvre.  No visit to Paris would be complete without a visit to this amazing museum with its world famous works of art.  As well as classical works we saw oceanic art and central american art.










We played "Ninja Turtle Bingo" as we sought out works by Leonardo da Vinci, Raffaello, Michelangelo and Donatello.  We saw the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory and Venus de Milo.









There were plenty of people around but the Louvre wasn't crowded and there was no queue to buy tickets.  Once again Robert's"magic" ICOM card gave him free entry and a discount at the gift-shop.










The glass pyramid in the Louvre was commissioned by President Francois Mitterrand and it's reflected by the inverted pyramid in the Carrousel Shopping Centre which is underneath the Louvre.

After our visit to the Louvre we had lunch and decided to buy a 2 day ticket for the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus to explore Paris for our last 2 days there.  We rode around on the bus past Paris landmarks - The Notre Dame Cathedral, Arc de Triomphe, French Academy.  The Christmas Markets are in full swing along the Champs Elyssee.

On our last day we walked to the Place Bastille, where the infamous Bastille prison was previously located and from there to the Place de Vosges, a lovely park which had been recommended to us.  We walked past Victor Hugo's house (now a museum) and a statue of King Louis XIII and had lunch in the sun overlooking the park.  Then we got back on the bus and toured the streets of Paris some more.




During our stay at the Hotel Alhambra we became regulars at the nearby Cafe Metro for dinner each night.  We bid farewell to our regular waiter as we are off to Sweden in the morning.