Here is a shot of the royal opra house in the palace.
The stage could move forward and backwards, even up and down. The accoustics were spectacular, and the stone walls were actually wood painted to look like marble. All to improve the accoustics.
A view into the chappel. no photos were allowed inside.
A hallway with kings of old lining the way.
Statues of saints and angels on all the roofs.
A ornate tomb of a royal lady. Sadly, my memory stick in my camera started acting up...and I was unable to take any more photos of Versaille.
The next day we started our tour of the area near our hotel, such as the Eiffle Tower!
Sadly the famous fountains below were under repair. But we got to check out a Maritime musuem, and see some great sites!
It was a beautiful day...and we wandred around some museum complexes on the hill over the Seinne and the tower.
The Eiffel Tower was built for the International Exhibition of Paris of 1889 commemorating the centenary of the French Revolution. The Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII of England, opened the tower. Of the 700 proposals submitted in a design competition, Gustave Eiffel's was unanimously chosen
At 300 metres (320.75m including antenna), and 7000 tons, it was the world's tallest building until 1930. Other statistics include:

2.5 million rivets.
300 steel workers, and 2 years (1887-1889) to construct it.
Sway of at most 12 cm in high winds.
Height varies up to 15 cm depending on temperature.
15,000 iron pieces (excluding rivets).
40 tons of paint.
1652 steps to the top

 
A view looking at all the support struts.It was almost torn down in 1909, but was saved because of its antenna - used for telegraphy at that time. Beginning in 1910 it became part of the International Time Service. French radio (since 1918), and French television (since 1957) have also made use of its stature.
The tower has three platforms. A restaurant (extremely expensive; reservations absolutely necessary), the Jules Verne is on the second platform. The top platform has a bar, souvenir shop, and the (recently restored) office of Gustave Eiffel.
From its platforms - especially the topmost - the view upon Paris is superb. It is generally agreed that one hour before sunset, the panorama is at its best
A view from the top looking down at Napoleon's Tomb.
Down to the plaza and fountains.
The next day we decided to see what the suburbs were like. We took a self guided walking tour of the North Eastern area of Paris.
Teresa poses in front of ivy covered apartments.
A view from the hill towards the Sacre Coer cathederal. Started in 1875, and finished in 1914.
A view of a park we visited.
I pose on top of a hill top gazebo.
From the bottom looking up at the same gazebo.
Closer to the bottom of the hill, there is a cave and bridges. All closed for repair.
Later we headed back to downtown Paris to check out more historic buildings. We ate at Pizza Hut of course...:)
We were tired of experimenting with different foods, and wanted an American style meal.
Then off to explore Notre Dame.
But first a stop at the Pompidou Center. The exposed pipes caused a scandal when the Centre Pompidou first opened in 1977.
From the roof area tho, there were spectacular views in all directions of the Paris rooftops. Eiffle Tower in the distance.
Sacre Coer in the distance. The building was filled with "modern" art. It gave me a headache pretty soon...:)
Then onto the island. This is the "La Concierge". It's a fortress like building built in 1284, and was used as a place of imprisonment, torture and death. Among its more famous prisoners were Marie Antoinette, Charlotte Corday, Danton, and Chenie. Marie Antoinette's cell is now a chapel to her memory, and includes her crucifix, and two portraits of her from life.
The outside of the Notre Dame Cathederal. The main entrance is not too spectacular.
Even if it does have tons of very well done carvings at the doors.
I was fun to image Quasimoto swinging around on topes up there. We toured the inside of this building, but we were not susposed to take any photos, so I didn't. Most of the other tourests did tho. They were noisy too, even tho the priests asked everyone to be quiet.
There were many people praying inside, and the atmosphere was pretty cool. The stained glass windows everywhere were ancient, numerous and huge. We also toured thru a collection of Pope and Cardinal items, which were gold chalances, etc, filled with diamonds and other precious stones. It was quite something to see.
Then we headed outside to the east side of the Cathederal. Although started in 1163 construction was completed roughly 200 years later in about 1345.
The reigns of Louis XIV (end of the 17th century) and Louis XV saw significant alterations including the destruction of tombs, and stained glass. At the end of the 18th century, during the Revolution, many of the treasures of the cathedral were either destroyed or plundered. Only the great bells avoided being melted down, and the Cathedral was dedicated first to the cult of Reason, and to the cult of the Supreme being. The church interior was used as a warehouse for the storage of forage and food.
During the Commune of 1871, the Cathedral was nearly burned by the Communards - and some accounts suggest that indeed a huge mound of chairs was set on fire in its interior. Whatever happened, the Notre Dame survived the Commune essentially unscathed.
1239; The Crown of Thorns placed in the Cathedral by St. Louis during the construction of Sainte-Chapelle.
1302; Philip the Fair opens the first States General here.
1430; Henri VI of England is crowned here.
Mary Stuart becomes Queen of France after her marriage to François II, and is crowned here.
1572; Marguerite of Valoi is married to the Huguenot Henri of Navarre here.
2 December 1804; After the anointing by Pius VII, Napoléon seizes the crown from the pontiff and crowns first himself, then Josephine.
26 August 1944; The Te Deum Mass celebrates the liberation of Paris. (According to some accounts the Mass was interrupted by snipping from both the internal and external galleries.)
12 November 1970; The Requiem Mass of General de Gaulle is held here.
31 May 1980; After the Magnificat of this day, Pope John Paul II celebrates Mass on the parvis in front of the Cathedral.
A 10 year program of general maintenance and restoration has begun, and sections of the structure are likely to be shrouded in scaffolds for the foreseeable future.
I really liked all the stone gargoyles all along the top of the walls. Paris has beautiful architecture, but the air polution has turned alot of buildings grey and dirty looking.
Soon it was our last day. Early on Sunday morning, about 3am, people started setting up the weekly market under the train tracks. Later that morning we wandered down to check it out.
I wish there was a market like this in Tokyo. Even tho there are trashcans everywhere, the Parisians throw alot of garbage on the ground. The city sadly has a lot of garbage everywhere on the streets.
 
The market had hundreds of stalls, filled with fresh produce...
Hundreds of kinds of cheeses, most of them locally made...
Another cheese table...
Fresh seafood...
Flowers...Teresa really liked these...
More seafood, wine, roasted chickens, geese, pre-made dinners...
More cheeses, clothing, furniture, dishes,...
and many many many tables with fresh deserts and breads...
The breads in France really are top notch, and nothing I've seen in the US or Asia compares. We were not as impressed with the dinners we had at the resturaunts however.
A fresh raspberry tart...a great last snack in France! Teresa and I had a good time in France, and were impressed by the amazing architecture, the bakeries, the old palaces and the markets. It was a fun vacation, and we were glad we saw Paris.