Paris on the Outside

We're back in Austin, but we still have adventures to share. Paris is a city filled with an extensive history and incredible sights. These are a few of them.



This is the Panthéon. Originally it was a church, but now it is also a tomb for famous people. Like who, you ask? Like Voltaire. And yes, that is a very candid answer.



Cathedral Notre Dame - made famous by the story of a person who wasn't pleasing to the eye but inside was something special. Think Susan Boyle (at least according to the American press).



The Basilique du Sacre-Coeur provides an incredible view of Paris from the hills of Montmartre.



It seems the Parisians like their fires, or at the very least, their chimneys.



Apparently the Panthéon wasn't enough for Napoleon, so he was buried under this gold dome. I guess someone has his own complex.



The less photographed yet still interesting underside of the Eiffel Tower.



The Eiffel Tower has sparkling lights on it. It's a giant Christmas tree. But they only sparkle for five minutes on the hour. So you have to open your presents up really fast.



The Eiffel Tower is often noted as being one of the shorter modern marvels of the world. But when you see it up close, it is actually much larger then one might expect. This might be because there are no other large buildings near by, but nonetheless it is an impressive structure.



The Louvre is one of the premiere museums in the world, holding a variety of masterpieces in its collections. Formerly a royal palace, someone had the bright idea to put a big glass pyramid in the middle of the courtyard as the main entrance. Fits in like a porcupine at a balloon party.



The Arc de Triomphe is surrounded by a huge roundabout, and has twelve, count them, twelve roads leading into it. Also of note, the roundabout goes counter-clockwise.



Well, that's all for the outdoors. Next time we'll show off some of those masterpieces we saw indoors while in Paris.