We stop in Paris for a day on our way to Montpellier, France, where we have an apartment rented for two weeks and plan side trips up and down the Mediterranean coast. Our hotel room in Paris offers great views across the city and of the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe
Views of Paris
As we start to walk through the city, we see that many of the restaurants are decorated with lots of flowers. We never discover why, but it is really pretty.
Restaurant decoration
We pass the Grand Palais exhibition hall and follow the Champs-Elysées to the Place de la Concorde, where the plants in Jardin des Ambassadeurs (across from the US Embassy) are in full bloom.
Grand Palais, Champs-Elysées
Jardin des Ambassadeurs
Insect hotel (hôtel à insectes)
We cross Place de la Concorde and enter the Tuilleries Gardens, which stretch to the Louvre, finding more fabulous floral beds, this time roses and accompanying plants
Jardin des Tuileries
Rose gardens
We stroll through the Tuileries, past the courtyards, gardens, and decorative sculptures, heading toward the Louvre, where we will turn left and walk towards the opera.
Sights of the Tuileries, approaching the Louvre
Passsng by the Opera, we reach Boulevard Hausseman, home to the two great department stores, Galeries Lafayette and Printemps. We first walk up the street to check out the store windows.
Windows at Galeries Lafayette
We wander through Galeries Lafayette to view the temporary warpping of the dome (by Korean artist Kimsooja) with a diffractive film that transforms the dome into a iridescent landscape that changes colors throughout the day. And, of course, for a quick look at the new colors and fashions throughout the store.
The dome
The fashions
Wandering back out to the street, we pass the windows at Printemps.
Windows of Printemps
Returning to our room, we admire the view across the rooftops of Paris, which get even more spectacular as the sun sets.
Day view
Night view
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