Flight to Paris
We departed Denver on Thursday May 5th on Iceland Air, stopping to change planes in Reykjavik, Iceland.
We arrived in Paris on Friday about 1 PM local time and proceeded via taxi to our hotel, Citadines Saint-Germain-des-Prés on the banks of the Seine.
After some down time we went to dinner at a La Procope, a historic restaurant recommended in Rick Steves' travel book on Paris.
After dinner we walked and took our first pictures of the Seine which was right across the street from our hotel.
On Saturday morning we explored the Left Bank around our hotel.
We visited Luxembourg Gardens.
We then had lunch at Le Moliere café on the Rue de Buci and watched a Dixieland band perform.
Dixieland on the streets of Paris:
After meeting our photography instructor, Serge Ramelli, and the rest of our workshop group, we explored before dinner, taking some long exposure shots of the Seine and visiting the Church of Saint Germain des Pres.
We took a few pictures of the Seine before dinner.
We had a great dinner at the Hotel Victoria on the Right Bank of the Siene.
And then it was out to take some great pictures at sunset.
On Sunday we started the day with a walking tour around Notre Dame and Île de la Cité.
Our group headed out in late afternoon to capture our first images of the tower in daylight and from some non-traditional locations.
After dinner near the Eiffel Tower we went back to the grounds and for sunset and the tower's light show which started at 10 PM. Quite a crowd was gathered to take in the event.
On Monday we headed out early to visit the Museum de l'Orangerie about a half mile from our hotel. The museum, originally constructed in 1853 as an orangery of the Tuileries Palace, features an extensive collection of impressionist paintings, including many by Monet. His Water Lilies Collection is a central part of the museum.
In the afternoon, our photography group took the bus to the Montmartre section of Paris. High on a hill overlooking the city with fabulous views, it is the location of Sacre-Coeur cathedral. The front of the cathedral was filled with tourists, but Serge took us behind the church where there were very few people.
After taking these pictues and scouting some additional locations we had dinner at Chez Plumeau near the scenic Calvaire Street Stairs.
And after dinner we were off to take more pictures.
After the sun went down, we circled back to the square, the Place du Tertre.
On Tuesday morning we visited Saint Chapelle
Panning the interior:
Afterwards we continued to explore Île de la Cité.
After our afternoon retouching session, we went out for our photo shoot. Serge, our photographer, had arranged for a model friend of his to pose for us that evening. We met in Place Dauphine, a square near Pont Neuf. After some pictures there we had dinner in the square at restaurant Le Caveau du Palais.
And as the sun went down we took pictures of the main courtyard of the Louvre.
We boarded buses in the morning for the approximately 4 hour ride to the Normandy Peninsula and Mont-Saint-Michel. We stopped at the city of Caen for lunch.
We ate outside at the Cafe Henri across the street from the impressive St. Peter's Catholic Church. After lunch we spent some time visiting the church.
We arrived in late afternoon and were able to catch some impressive pictures of sunset.
And we were up in time to catch the sunrise
About mid-morning we boarded the bus again. This time our destination was the nearby town of Saint-Malo.
Saint-Malo is a picturesque ancient walled city iin Brittany on the English Channel coast founded in the 1st century BC. We walked the streets looking for great photos.
On Friday morning we went to visit to d'Orsay Museum
Our photo excursion that evening took us to the top of Montparnasse, the tallest building in Paris, to watch the sunset over the Eiffel Tower.
We were not alone of course. The observatory was quite crowded. We had to elbow our way to the edge to get our shots.
With the photography workshop completed on Friday, we set out on our own on Saturday. Our first stop was the Louvre.
Waiting for Mona Lisa
We only scratched the surface of the museum in the several hours we spent there. We headed over to Saint Michel Square for lunch.
And then proceeded to explore more of the Left Bank on foot.
Our first stop on Sunday was the Eiffel Tower. We waited on line about 45 minutes to take the elevator up to the second level for some fabulous views of the city.
From there we crossed the Seine to the Tracadero and, after some pictures, had a late lunch across the street at La Malakoff Café.
We took the Metro to the Arc de Triomphe and walked the Champs-Elysees
After dinner we did more sightseeing. While having a cognac at an outdoor cafe, we experienced the first rain of our trip.
On Monday we caught an Uber to Charles De Gaulle Airport. Once again we transferred planes in Iceland. We were a late getting there and the airport was very crowded. We had to go through a long line at passport control but we made our connecting flight.
It was a great trip but, as always it was good to get home.
Credits:
All pictures by John Mackin