More Eiffel Tower and Christmas Markets...

Security was tight around the Eiffel Tower, but we were allowed to pass under the tower in order to head to the adjoining market.

 We enjoyed a paella dinner and some more mulled wine.

Let There Be Light...

We eventually finished up at the museum and met up with Veronica and Jimmy. He led us to a great place to view the Eiffel Tower from across the Seine. Here it is with natural light...

 ...and with a flash.

Veronica found a great spot to take photos with a place for Ashlynn to sit...

 ...or lay down. Clearly lots of other tourists had also found this great viewpoint.

Yet More Art...

Sorry, but here’s yet another entry of art since we really loved this museum and I took lots of photos of the permanent exhibit as well, but this time I’ll let the art speak for itself.

More Art with Views...

The other special exhibition was by an American artist, whose name I’ve forgotten. We went through it quickly since it was pretty uninspiring after seeing Magritte’s work. 

At least the views from the other side of the building were pretty spectacular.

Fantastic Margritte...

We loved the special exhibition of Belgian surrealist artist Rene Margritte (1898-1967). This painting from 1936 is titled The Philosopher’s Lamp. Apparently this self-portrait suggests the depths of the artist’s addiction to pipe tobacco as he clearly looks impotent and pathetic.

Magritte loved confronting the viewer with an impossible image that looks deceptively real. In 1938, he explained The Red Model (1935), “The problem of the shoes demonstrates how far the most barbaric things can, through force of habit, come to be considered quite respectable.”

Luckily, Ashlynn also found this exhibit very intriguing. This is The Double Secret from 1927.

Margritte became especially famous for his paintings of a man in a bowler hat; this one called Decalcomania was painted in 1966.

He also made several paintings within paintings, such as this landscape within a landscape called The Fair Captive (1931).

In Search of Art...

We eventually split up so Veronica and Jimmy could go on a photo safari and Ashlynn and I could go to the Pompidou Centre to see some art. Along the way I spied Bugs Bunny watching this little dog peeing on a lamppost...

 ...and these eerie creatures.

After a falafel lunch, we finally arrived at the Pompidou Centre. Built in 1977, it houses the National Museum of Modern Art, housing the world’s second largest modern and contemporary art collection.

In addition to the incredible art museum and cool architecture, the Pompidou Centre is worth visiting because it has amazing views. Despite the smog, we could see Sacre Coeur...

...and the Eiffel Tower in the distance.

La Defense...

Saturday morning we hopped on the subway to head to some more Christmas markets. Jimmy was happy that he and Ashlynn got to stand in the front.

It was an interesting view of modern skyscrapers once we submerged from underground.

La Grande Arche was completed in 1989 and houses government offices. The surrounding area is Europe’s largest purpose-built business district for 150,000 employees.

There was a lot of repetition with the Christmas market the night before, so we didn’t stick around for long, but did think the interior of the Centre of New Industries and Technologies built in 1958 was pretty cool.

Marches de Noel...

We weren’t overly impressed with the market stalls, but still enjoyed walking around. 

After a few glasses of mulled wine, our girls got fresh with some of the wildlife.

No idea why there were dinosaurs in the Christmas village, but this fellow was definitely too tall to kiss.

I always knew that tourists pay more for things than locals, but these cheese prices (and colors) were insane at €60 per kilo (2.2 pounds). Our favorite Dutch cheese costs €16 per kilo, a real bargain in comparison. Needless to say, we didn’t buy any.

For such avid photographers, we really suck at remembering to take family photos, but at least we got one family selfie.

Back to Paris...

After Jimmy and Veronica booked a weekend in Paris to visit the Christmas markets and do the crazy Friday night rollerblading along the Seine, Ashlynn suggested we join them (at least for the markets). We were on separate trains, especially since Veronica was coming from the UK, and met up at the hotel that we’d stayed at during our last visit: Hotel du Triangle D’or.

Jimmy’s back was bothering him, so they skipped the rollerblading and we all went exploring after a sushi dinner. Here are some lights near our hotel...

...and some nutcrackers at the entrance of the market along the Champs-Elysee (note the classy duct tape used to hold them up).

Here’s the view looking down the street towards the Arc de Triomphe...

...and the other direction towards the obelisk.

Veronica couldn’t resist taking photos from the median of the Champs-Elysees.

And I couldn’t resist taking photos of the Ferris wheel.