Paris: Day 3 & 4

On the third day, we were free to explore Paris. I thought it would be a good idea to walk along the Seine to get to the Eiffel tower. It was a great idea, although I got a bit sunburnt.

I love the birds here. I know most people hate pidgeons and crows, but they are fun to watch and good photo subjects.

Here it is, the Eiffel Tower! Since I've gotten so used to walking through Times Square, I can imagine how mundane it must become to locals, and even irritating with the amount of very persistant men walking around aggressively trying to sell you trinkets. Still, it is beautiful and quite a feat of engineering.

Later that day, the group met up to take a rainy boat tour together.  

 This man and I were the only ones willing to brave the rain for some photos. He was visiting Paris from Taiwan and was eager to see the Eiffel Tower light up at night.

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On the fourth day, we went to see Les Grand Magasins. There were a lot of stores we also have in NYC, but also some we don't. It is interesting to compare the regional buying strategies to American and see how the same brands have different stock in different countries. So far, I am finding women's fashion in France to be much more feminine. Fabrics are softly draped, often sheer, and have small floral prints or romantic colors. Silhouettes also fit this romantic style and are not so structured for the most part. Stores here have really beautiful interiors!

(view from the roof)

 Here's a panoramic view from the roof of the building. (clickable)

After checking out the stores and a nearby cafe, we headed out to our next activity and checked out the sights along the way.

 We met up in front of the Louvre to go on a Paris Walks chocolate tour. As the name of the tour states, it involves walking and chocolate tasting... both are things I enjoy.

(click the image to see full size)

 

Macarons! My favorite treat.

Later that night, we went out to experiment a bit in effort to photograph the Latin Quarter and Notre Dame with long exposures and star bokeh attempts. I am learning things, and Paris is a very photogenic place.

(click for hi-res)

See you later~