Day 7: Paris, France

Our first day in Paris, France began with a tour of the Musée d'Orsay. The Musée d'Orsay is one of the world's great museums that was converted from an old rail station (Gare d'Orsay). It is across the Seine River from the Louvre and the Tuileries, and the collections range from the years 1848 to 1914. The Orsay was my favorite museum! The museum contained paintings by the Impressionists and post-Impressionists, including Manet, Monet, Cézanne, van Gogh, and Renoir. I have more pictures than the ones posted below, but you can get a glimpse of what we were able to see.

After the Orsay, we decided to go ahead to Versailles because we were not sure what the weather was going to be like the next day. Jeff had visited Paris during a study abroad stint in college, and Versailles was one of his favorite places. You have to take a city train out to Versailles, and you could spend an entire day there. Château de Versailles was once the hunting lodge of Louis XIII, but it was later transformed into the seat of government of France. It is one of France's greatest treasures. It was beautiful! The entire time, Jeff would say "If it looks like gold....it is gold." At the Orsay, we had booked a Paris Museum Pass (which is the way to go!), and we were able to skip the long line to get into the main building. Our Museum Pass allowed us to visit the Grand Apartments, the Hall of Mirrors, and the Gardens of Versailles.

After Versailles, we wanted to take a boat cruise on the Seine River. If I only had one day in Paris, I would recommend a river cruise. You can see so much from the river! On the way to the cruise, we passed the spot where Princess Diana was killed (the picture of the memorial with the flame). After our great cruise, we went over to the Champs-Elysées for dinner at a sidewalk cafe. After dinner, we climbed to the top of the Arc de Triomphe for an amazing view of Paris. We were at the top of the Arc at dusk, and we were able to see the Eiffel Tower begin to sparkle at night!