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Napoleon
the first was a big collector of Egyptian items...of course
he conquered the country, so he took what he wanted in Egypt.
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Ramses the
First
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A
tomb entrance carving
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Paintings
on the ceilings all over the Louve were huge. This one is
probably 20 feet by 40 feet.
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All
over this former palace were ornate rooms, hallways and floors.
Each area was differently styles.
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Another
ceiling painting. There were probably a hundred ceiling paintings.
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A
view of a totally encloesd inner courtyard. All this is still
Louve...
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The
Venus de Milo. We also saw the Mona Lisa, but no pictures
were allowed in that area of the museum.
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It's
not a bad scupture, but just like the Mona Lisa, the item
is more famous than spectacular...at least to me.
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By
this time, ,we had only seen less than a third of the Louve
building..and it was late in the afternoon.
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This
sculpture is a trick one. If you look at it from this side,
you see a beautiful woman. If you look at the other side,
you see a male piece of anatomy....:)
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This
area was used by the Kings to pass judgement on his subjects
court cases. The entrance here is where the petitioiners would
come in. Above, would be where musicians would play to keep
the King from being too bored.
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Ancient
tiles from Pompeii.
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Another
palace gallery filled with statues...
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Time
for lunch, we we wandered a block or two away and ate lunch.
We ate outside the Cafe, and had the best pasta in our lives...it
was Awesome!
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Then we strolled
down to the Seine river.
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Here
is a shot of me with the Notre Dame island area behind me.
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NOTRE DAME HISTORY:
Proceeded by a Gallo-Roman temple to Jupiter, a Christian
basilica, and a Romanesque church, construction of
Notre-Dame de Paris began in 1163 during the reign
of Louis VII. Pope Alexander III laid the foundation
stone. The idea to replace the Romanesque church occupying
the site - the Cathedral of St. Etienne (founded by
Childebert in 528) - was that of Bishop Maurice de
Sully (who died in 1196). (Some accounts claim that
there were two churches existing on the site, one
to the Virgin Mary, the other to St. Stephen.) Construction
was completed roughly 200 years later in about 1345.
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Teresa
poses with the Notre Dame island complex behind her. Good
wallpaper sized image!
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Me
with the same shot behind me.
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The French
Assembly building.
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A
shot of a bridge over the Seinne leading to the island.
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Another view.
There are alot of bridges over the Seinne, and they are almost
all very ornate and beautiful.
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Teresa
poses, with pillars of triumph behind her.
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We
wandered up the river, looking at bridges and government buildings
that dated back hundreds of years.
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In
the background is the Eiffle Tower. A good landmark to keep
you from getting lost...
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Here
is the Grand Exposition Center. It was closed while we were
there, as they prepared for a new exhibit. It is several hundred
years old, and very beautiful.
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Across
the street is the "little" exhibition hall.
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Heh...this
is the "litle one". It was having a Monet exhibit
at the time. But by now, after several thousand paintings,
Teresa and I were "painting out".
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These
bronze horses were at the top of the entrance to the Grand
Hall.
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A
shot of us on the bridge, with the Eiffle Tower behind us.
Good wallpaper!
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It
was raining very faintly. A tour boat passed below us...it
was very romantic. But also a little chilly...
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We
crossed the bridge and headed to Napoleon's Tomb..
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His
tomb is in a church, built into the "Old Soldiers"
home built by Louie the 15th, back in the 1700's.
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In
front were many cannons captured by the French Army during
the wars.
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Some
were very ornate, some had battle damage.
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Inside
the courtyard. No pictures were allowed inside the tomb area
itself.
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A
statue of the man himself, Napoleon Bonaparte, the first.
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A
view from the other side of the building as we exited...
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A
statue in a park near our hotel.
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The
Eiffle Tower at night from our hotel room. They light the
tower up until midnight each night.
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The
next morning we left our a paid tour of the Palace of Versailles.
It was built by Louis XIV. He was called the Sun-King, a descendant
of the Bourons family. Born in 1638, he became king at 5 years
old ...although his mother and the countries minister really
ran the country until he grew older. His family fled when
he was a child from Paris due to civil unrest.
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They lived
in country estates, and he took effective reign
in 1661, where he revealed a taste for absolute power. He
built Versailles to it's level of grandure, because he wanted
the best palace in France.
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His
treasury minister had a better one originally, so the king
threw him in prison and had this palace built, to be the best
in the land. The tall structure in this imaage is the cathederal
of the palace.
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It
is a huge complex, with a thousand acres of gardens and parks.
This is a view of the backside of the main building.
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The
hall of mirrors.
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Looking out
into grounds form the side wing.
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Apartmenbts
of the King. He would stay here when he was not living with
his many mistresses on the other side of the gardens.
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And of course
decorated ceilings. were everywhere
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The
famous horse fountain in the garden.
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A
hallway leading from the queens chambers to the kings chambers.
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