Paris Part 3

In part three of our Paris adventure, Lies and I strolled along the Champs Elysees, which was rather fabulous actually! I had not done this in my previous trips to Paris. May sound crazy I know, but there is just so much to do in this incredible town!

Liesl fell totally in love with the Arc de Triomphe, and we spent quite some time cacking ourselves at the super crazy traffic whizzing around that beast! It really seemed like complete mayhem. This was of course before we got to observe the absolute and total mayhem of Italian traffic, but more of that later! While I too found the Arc beautifully impressive, I also had to give some love to the under- appreciated neighbours!

One of the craziest things about the Champs though was that they actually trim the trees with a scythe like instrument. Liesl and I saw this guy hanging out of a cherry picker like contrapment, miles in the air, swinging this blade along the tree edges. Imagine your arms at the end of the day if that was your job! The Champs is long man! Very very impressive!

After we had walked up the Champs, we walked back down the other side to visit the Louvre. Again, I had been there before, but with so many kilometres of gallery, once will never be enough! I was, however, most pleased that Liesl found the Mona Lisa as intriguing as I do. There is just something about that painting that is different in real life. You see so many images of it, and it is so familiar to you, that you would almost think that there is no reason to see it; but really, there is something incredibly engaging about that smile in real life. She really draws you in. When I see her in the flesh, it never feels right for me to photograph her - she gets lost in reproductions anyway. Even though you are surrounded by loads of people, all chatting and clicking away, somehow, for me, they just all seem to fade away when she is there smiling in front of me. Seriously siren like! So all I can say is, if you get the chance to see the Mona Lisa, you should take it. Here, however, you only have the chance to see me, lining up to see the Mona Lisa!
xxx.