Journaling Paris...

Right after stowing our luggage at the hotel, we walked over to the Eiffel Tower. Of course this has been on my bucket list forever, and it definitely did not disappoint. It's every bit as beautiful as I imagined, and the views are fantastic!

 I made a little pocket for my Paris Pass. I couldn't bring myself to throw it away, so now it's part of the souvenirs. I put more of the little photos I had printed in these pages. These are just cut and paste over some of the pages I'd painted up before leaving home.

 Here is Jennifer looking out over the city and Pat, Jennifer, and I up high in the tower.

Later that night, we saw the tower glowing with golden light, and it several times in the evenings it puts on a sparkling show.

 We stayed at the Hotel Duquesne Eiffel, which was charming. Old and yet, modern...a nice combination. We could see the Eiffel tower if we opened the window and looked down the street.

 Another pass I kept, Plus a little map torn out of a guide.

 I drew this as we sat at a café by Notre Dame and drank mulled wine (it was pretty chilly out).  The cathedral is stunningly beautiful, and also a moving place to visit. Mass was in progress while we were visiting.

Here is another page that is totally cut and paste. So many of the maps you pick up are wonderfully drawn and colorful. This one was for the Big Red Bus. It's one of those hop on, hop off tour buses, and it had the tour on tape in many languages. It was a nice way to see some of the city, and give our feet a rest at the same time!

 Musée de l'Orangerie was also a bucket list site. I 've always wanted to see Monet's large water lily paintings. They were simply amazing. It was a moving experience to sit and soak them in. While I was sketching I saw another sketcher, so I sketched him too. This was one of my favorite moments in Paris.

 We spent one whole day at Versailles. It's hard to imagine the expense that went into creating this palace...which was the summer palace...it's incredible. It also makes you think back on the history of the time, and maybe understand some of the angst and frustration of that time in history. It makes me glad that it's a place everyone can visit.

 We had to try Ladurée's macarons while in Paris! Lovely treat!

 Here's a page with a photo of the three of us in the garden at Versailles and a bit of a post card of the chapel there, and a little drawing of a settee/bed in one of the bedrooms. Everything at Versailles is incredibly ornate.

A cut and paste using a pretty postcard.

Pat treated us to a wonderful early dinner at the restaurant in the garden. These images are cut from some paper placemats that the waiter gave to us, after we explained about our journals. There were nice fabric tablecloths on the tables, but maybe they use these outside. The artwork is charming! Cut and paste makes for a quick page and captured memories.

 Jennifer had been doing some reading about the Petit Trianon, a village built for Marie Antoinette to get away from her responsibilities at the palace (a summer place away from the summer place). She had it built as an idyllic country village.

 I just used the beautiful map of the gardens for this page. It was like something straight out of storybook. It was not the easiest thing to find..even with a map. I think they could benefit from a few signs to lead you through the garden to the hamlet.

Here is the queen's boudoir. I sketched this little building from one of my photos after we got back to Ireland, because we were on a pretty tight schedule in Paris. This was in the hamlet, separate from la Petit Trianon. As I said, the buildings are STRAIGHT out a storybook. If you'd like to see some great pictures of a very charming place go to this site: The Queen's Hamlet.

Well, that's enough for today. More of this journal on another day!