Paris & Prague 2011

As you know I was in Paris with a tour group from October 26-November 1 and then stayed an extra night in Paris before flying to Prague for 5 nights.  Here are a few pictures from my trip.

 The highlight for me on my Paris trip was our visit to Monet's Gardens in Giverny.

 Claude Monet planted his garden and the plants around the pond so he would always have color.

 We were the beneficiaries of his planning.

 These pictures remind me of some of Monet's paintings.

 This house is in the little village of Giverny where Monet's Gardens are located.

 This is the Royal Chapel at Versailles.

 Winged victory in the Louvre.  This is a Greek statue dating back to the 2nd century BC.

This is a famous French painting.  It was painted in 1819 by Theodore Gericault.  The painting is called The Raft of the Medusa.  In 1816, a French ship named the Medusa, was on its way to Senegal. The ship sank en route.  On board were a number of officials and emigrants to Africa.  The officials and their families took the three life boats and left the 150 emigrants crowded on a raft.  When the raft was located 13 days later, 135 people had died with only 15 survivors.  The French government tried to cover up the affair but the scandal broke when two of the survivors published an account of their ordeal.  Then only 25 years old, Gericault chose to depict a moment of hope as a ship appears on the horizon to save them.

 We took a night-time cruise on the Siene River.  This is Notre Dame from our boat lit up at night.

On the Prague.  Prague is a very interesting city with many different architectural styles.  The compact "Old Town" was an easy walk from our hotel.

 The older part of the city retains it "Old World" feel.

 This is an astronomical clock.  On the hour, figures come out of the little doors above the clock and tell a story.

Something Prague is known for are their marionettes.  They have lots of these marionette shops and several marionette theaters.  I went to one that depicted the opera Don Giovani.

 Another thing they are know for are their painted Easter eggs.

This shows one of the many churches in Prague lit up at night.  This is taken in the "Old Town Square."  There are a couple of buildings in the very front of the church.  The 11th century Old Town Square was the city's original marketplace.

The old city had gates to control commerce and who came into and left town and to collect taxes.  This is one of the old city gates.

Stained glass window in the St Vitus Cathredral.  This Gothic Cathedral was founded in 1344 but not completely finished until 1929.  There are several kings buried in the church including Good King Wenceslas.  We know him best from the Christmas carol with his name.

Our hotel is located on the Vltava River which bisects the city.  There is a nice pedestrian promenade along the river.  Very inviting to just sit down and let the day pass you by.

This is located inside the Prague Castle.  The word castle is a misnomer as far as what we traditionally think of as a castle.  The Prague Castle is similar to the Vatican in Rome.  It is more like a walled city.  The Prague Castle consists of over 45 acres of palaces, churches, fortifications, official buildings and residential structures of many architectural styles.   The Prague Castle was the original seat of the Czech princes and kings and since 1918 the president of the republic lives in the Prague Castle.

The Prague metro has been in operation since 1974.  Although not as extensive as the Paris metro, the trams, busses and subway serve the city well.  Prague is much more compact than Paris.  The entire city of Prague consists of 1.2 million people.  The entire Czech Republic is just over 10.5 million.  By comparison, the city of Paris has over 2 million inhabitants with over 12 million in the Paris metropolitan area.