Paris in the spring time is heavenly!  

There is so much to do and see in Paris, this post is only part 1 of 2.  I'm only going to focus on the Louvre and Eiffel Tower since Paris, especially the Louvre Museum, are in my opinion, sensory overload!

I have never visited or been to a place where one can simply relax and see so much in such a relatively small area by sitting or wandering the beautiful streets and gardens, especially Les Jardins de Tuileries

As you can see, there are people everywhere just talking, having lunch, and drinking in the gorgeous sceneryThe Eiffel Tower is as magnificent to view in person as it is in photos!

 "Keep good company - that is, visit the Louvre"

Paul Cezanne

Here is a view of the Palais Royale and louvre from one of the upper floors of the museum:

My favorite section of the Louvre are the Victorian style rooms

Table for 60 (sixty) anyone?

I absolutely loved this mural in this sitting room!After visiting the Louvre two times, I'm convinced that an entire week there would not be enough time to see everything!  I did get to see my first original painting by my favorite artist - Claude Monet:

 I also learned that I absolutely love Francois Boucher and Jean-Honore Fragonard

 The ceilings almost everywhere were mesmerizing!

 The stained glass and statues are absolutely fabulous!  So much to see and very difficult to decide what to take photos of since everywhere you look there is so much. It is also a little dark in some areas and a lot of the art work is encased in glass (understandable), so taking photos can be a little challenging in some areas of the Louvre.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Have a wonderful week my friends. Please feel free to leave a question or comment and remember your e-mail address will not be published.

Au revior for now. ~ Michelle

"I want to stand as close to the edge as I can 
without going over. Out on the edge you see all the kinds of things you 
can't see from the center."  Kurt Vonnegut

I am currently in Phuket Thailand.  I just arrived from Bangkok a few hours ago.  I am missing blogging.  Please don't feel obligated to comment.  I spend far too much time on Facebook and share much of the same information there.  I have decided to blog again mainly for myself.  With all the traveling I have been doing, I want to remember it and share what I can with others :)

As usual, my blog will mainly be a photo blog.

Me in front of the golden Buddha

Me in the temple.  No one can wear shoes and women need to wear shawls.

 
Me in front of sleeping Buddha

Lastly, here I am having my fortune told...WOW, that's a whole other post!!!

 Take care my friends.  I miss many of you like Agnes and others who are not on Facebook

"I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order."
John Burroughs

Me on James Bond Island:

Practicing Yoga on Phi Phi island with a beautiful 15 year old girl I met from Singapore - what a good sport to work with someone old enough to be her mother ;) This is where Leonardo DiCaprio filmed "The Beach" in 1995:

Me swimming/snorkeling in the "easter egg dye blue" water that felt like bath water:

Me with Doreen at Kohpanyee village:

Kohpanyee fishing village has a population of 1,685 and is growing!

Here is their children's school:
Their floating football field:

The kids love school...maybe it's their view?

I will leave you with me trying to be a Bond girl - hehe

I will try to post more on Thailand and Phuket in particular sooner rather than later.  Take care my friends and enjoy the rest of your summer!

"I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in."
George Washington Carver

I will never forget the turquise blue water and flying into Phuket:

I adored my villa and my welcome "towel animals"


The pool was beautiful during the day and on fire at night!

The waves right in front of my villa were HUGE.  It's hard to see from the photos, but I never saw anyone go too far out because the waves were so strong!


Although I'm a vegetarian, I don't usually eat much fruit.  I did in Phuket though...but probably not served in the most healthy way :)

I was a little sad to leave Phuket but knew I was flying into Hanoi, Vietnam to see Ha Long Bay which I will write about next time.

Thank you so much for stopping by.  Have a great week, take care and stay safe my friends.

Michelle

"We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face...we must do that which we think we cannot."
Eleanor Roosevelt

Just in case you needed proof ;)

Above is our tour guide who demonstrated how to make spring rolls on our cruise.

There were many beautiful cruise ships out in Ha Long Bay while we were there.  

Floating markets near a fishing village in Ha Long Bay

Yours truly at our sunset party :)

The cute restauraunt in my hotel.  You can see the French influence that is so prevalent in this country. 

I loved the food in Vietnam!  I hadn't eaten any bread in Thailand and my vegetarian baguette sandwich was so delish!

My mango crepe with vanilla ice cream dessert was even better.

I stayed in a nice (4 star hotel).  Here is a view from my window.  My wifi worked fine.

Lastly, I will leave you with  a view of a fishing village in beautiful Ha Long Bay.

I wish I'd had more time in Vietnam.  I definitely would like to return one day.  I felt very safe and was treated very nicely.  They had really cute clothes for great prices, but I had no room in my luggage.

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you all have a wonderful week.

Michelle