Our apartment was beautiful and very romantic. It was reminiscent of Fran and Reed's house in Chicago, full of charm and tastefully decorated. There were windowboxes that Marlene carefully tended each day. Wonderful tapistries covered the walls and we could play beautiful music through the stereo system that we found in the living room. It was fun aclimating ourselves to the apartment. Everything was there that we needed. There was construction goingon behind, but we did not let that bother us. The apartment was on the 3rd floor and we could either walk the circular stairwell or we could ride the petit elevator. As I recall, the elevator could hold one adult and one piece of luggage. 
Our apartment was a block away from the Champs-Elysees. To the right is the Arc de Triomphe and to the left is the ferris wheel in the jardin des Tuileries. The tree lined streets were lovely to walk and the light was marvelous. If you look carefully, you will notice just a tinge of color to the trees that line the street. The leaves were falling during the time that we were in the city.
Walking along the Seine was both relaxing and exciting. Strolling along the walk the we encountered beauty at each and every turn. From the Tour Eiffel to the tree lined streets along the walkway. Busy professionals and common workers. The little boat docked alongside the walkway was from The Netherlands. It was called the Frisia and its owners were engaged in a romantic little dejeunier.
This bridge by far is the most elegant bridge, ornamented with fine sculpture work, adding its own charm to its already beautiful site.
Bagpipes in Paris? Sure enough when you are host to the World Cup Rugby. We came upon this Irish group after lunch at La Flore and there were many, many onlookers. They would play for a bit, then walk down the street to another location.
There is nothing as awe inspiring as the Musee D'Orsay. It's an old railway station that was scheduled for demolition not long ago. The station was converted into a museum that boasts one of the most extensive collections of impressionist work as any in the world. The layout of the building is marvelous. The lighting is magnificent. The ambience is breathtaking. We were litterally smitten. We were in awe. We will certainly return again. After our return we will make another return. This museum is simply marvelous. On former trips we never connected until now.
The dome of the building is centered over the casket. From the picture you can tell that the casket is quite large. When entering the building, you look down on the casket from above on the main floor. Once you have circumvented the opening from this perspective, you go down to the lower level, the level on which the tomb is. Surrounding the tomb are a goodly number of statues, Greek statues symbolizing virtue, honesty, etc.
Of course the most familiar sculpture by Rodin is The Thinker. If you "click" on the photograph you can see the words that have been etched into the marble base.
On this sculpture as well, you can click to enlarge. In the middle there is The Thinker. Atop the Gates of Hades are the three characters pictured at the bottom of this blog.
Frederick Chopin is buried here and many, many people visit the grave site each and every day with flowers and other tributes.
