First off, sorry for the hysterics yesterday. It was a scary day. My domain name was set up to be automatically renewed- with a card I had to cancel long ago and forgot about- and the notifications from Google went into my junk folder. So right when it expired, the lovely GoDaddy.com put it up for auction and sold it yesterday for $700 without my knowledge. I think I have retained it though, legally I have a week to reclaim it after sale and the process has been initiated, so please cross your fingers that all works out. If there is any issue with this domain though, please note that the blog would automatically be transferred back to the old blogspot address of
www.elementstyle.blogspot.com should anything happen. I don't want to loose all my amazing readers I've worked so hard to gain! Thanks for all your concern. Also, I know that the page has been loading slow- I'm in the middle of having the blog redesigned to be better and faster so you all can enjoy it more easily! Reveal to come later this month!
Now, back to important things. Like Paris. These are the last of the photos I have to share from our cultural adventures at the Louvre,Musee d'Orsay, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and other architectural splendors.
First off, the Eiffel. It is HUGE. Really huge, and it causes you to just be speechless in amazement pondering the actual construction of the thing. I captured this little boy who expresses it just right. We went to the top (froze our butts off) and marveled at the lack of skyscrapers in Paris. It was beautiful.
Ahhh, the Louvre. We went straight off the overnight flight from Boston. It is the most massive museum I've ever been to and it was almost too overwhelming!
We waited in this line at 9 am and then made a run for the Mona Lisa since I know it gets crowded fast. you can;t get close and it's a bit underwhelming in it's size, but it still amazed me.
I noticed a lot of a certain color scheme in a lot of the art that I just loved- greeny turquoise, bright red and pinks. I would love to do a room based on these colors! I simply adored these works...
Big enough for ya?
this hall was mind blowing. The level of detail work on the ceiling nerly made me fall over! Not to mention these doors and the fantastic jeweled goodies inside the room!
You are going to laugh at my lack of cultural depth on this one, but when I saw all this jewelry the first thing that came to my mind was "This looks like Banana or J.Crew!" Perhaps Jenna Lyons gets inspiration from such historical collections?
This sculpture left us in AWE. We stood looking at it for some time. The ability to carve marble into "cloth" like that is just beyond my comprehension.
Outside the Louvre is the beginning of the Jardins des Tuileries which is truly spectacular- with it's rows of trees, carosel, sculptures and cafe carts....
An example of masterful city planning- you can see all the way to the Arc de Triomphe!
In the Marais we came upon one of the most beautiful agrdens I'd ever seen...
Everywhere you turn is another work of amazing architecture! Above is the Palace Vendome.
This building was covered from top to bottom in growing green plants. And the Arc, well, it speaks for itself!
The Musee d'Orsay came on our last full day and we were BEAT. But we did as much as we could and I wish we had had more energy and time to take it in because the art is just spectacular!!! There was a huge model of the museum at the entrance and you could compare the real deal to the miniature...
There also was a massive model of the Paris Opera House that is any girls dollhouse fantasy! :)
The level of detail makes you think "I'd go crazy doing that!" And then you notice underfoot, under glass, is this gigantic model of Paris! They must have gone blind putting that thing together!
Oh yes, and the art....
I fell in love with this painting. The patterns and colors just made me swoon. And I found it really lovely and interesting that each gallery was painted a different color- even as bold as purple- which isn;t typical of a lot of museums and it was clear the colors were so carefully planned to make each grouping of art really stand out.
Oh, you know how I love pink walls! This color scheme reminded me a lot of Miles Redd's work, actually!
The Impressionist gallery is unrivaled. Andrew was aprticularly excited to see Van Gough's painting of his bedroom since as a little boy his mother decorated his room based on this work!
After all that, we needed a break and this picture captures me at my happiest- in a little outdoor cafe, with wine and a croque monsieur in the sun!
For our last dinner we went back to where we started, over looking the Louvre at an incredible table at Cafe Marly and toasted the splendor of Paris!
I hope you all enjoyed my three day tour of Paris! It is going to be a trip that stays in my heart for a long, long time. Until I can return. Tomorrow tune in for my post about what I learned about dressing from watching all the amazing women of Paris!
And a happy anniversary to Andrew, my very funny and tolerant hubby of 4 years today. Check out our spread from
Inside Weddings here to see what a gorgeous day it was!
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