Driving Around Paris

---

Le Grand Palais and Alexandre III Bridge

The day after, we decided to go to Le Grand Palais and Petit Palais. Both are Art museums. The most notable exterior features of the Le Grand Palais are the arched glass roof, the row of large columns, and ornate stone facades.Beyond the palaces, this street leads to another popular Paris sight that is often featured in Hollywood romantic and spy movies: Alexandre III Bridge. Golden statues of celestial beings, winged horses, and Art Nouveau lamps adorn the entrances of the bridge. At the far end of the bridge, the golden dome of Les Invalides glows radiantly. Today, Les Invalides complex hosts France military history museums and monuments, hospital, and war veteran retirement home.

Lourve Museum

Instead of crossing the bridge, we turn left onto Cours la Reine heading east along Seine river. After passing Jardin des Tuileries, the most visited public garden in Paris, we turn left onto Pl. du Carrousel. The iconic large glass pyramid of Lourve Museum greets us. This is the most visited museum in the world, housing Da Vinci’s enigmatic Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo statue, and countless and priceless historical paintings and statues. Knowing that we will not be able to absorb many centuries of arts in a month, we keep our focus on the driving experience.

Rue Saint-Honore, Place de L’Hotel de ville

We turn right onto Rue Saint-Honore just north of the museum heading towards Paris downtown. This ancient street was laid out during the Middle Ages. The buildings in this neighborhood are not as old as the street since Paris went through vast urban remodeling in the mid-19 th century. The dilapidating half timber houses were replaced by neo-classical stone buildings which made up most of today’s Paris.

This ancient street was laid out during the Middle Ages. The buildings in this neighborhood are not as old as the street since Paris went through vast urban remodeling in the mid-19 th century. The dilapidating half timber houses were replaced by neo-classical stone buildings which made up most of today’s Paris. Downtown area has many nooks and crannies. Locals and visitors come here after hours for dinner as they are so many lively outdoor cafes, jazz bars, and restaurants. French cuisine is famous for its reputation around the world. Thanks to its relatively central location in Western Europe, Paris became the melting pot of many cultures. The delectable flavors of French cuisine come from the fusion of many different diverse gastronomical cultures. Our memorable culinary fusion delight is cheese yakitori from a hole-in-the-wall French Japanese Bistro. French cheese on bamboo stick is dipped in soy sauce, sake, and cooking wine mixed with a little bit of sugar, ground ginger, garlic, and sesame oil. Then, this interesting combination is barbequed to golden glazy brown. Delicious!

While exploring downtown, one must not miss the Renaissance-architecture Place de L’Hotel de ville. The building features ornate facades, many statues embedded in the exterior walls and on the roof, and tall steep slanted roof with many decorated arched attic windows.

---

Photos

Alexandre III Bridge
It is classified as a historical monument.

Lourve Museum
the Louvre—is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument.

Rue Saint-Honore, Paris Downtown
After a hard day of museum visits and a brief rest we decided to head out and just find a place for relax