Dali in Paris

I have the good fortune of visiting Paris twice during this trip! I just returned from the first of those journeys and it was absolutely fantastic. It was a whirlwind trip but I was able to see and do so much during the brief time that I was there. I can’t wait to go back in a few weeks with mon amour. 

I saw many of the major sites and some amazing, lesser-known sites that I’m going to focus on. 

But first, the major sites highlight reel:

La Tour Eiffel

Hôtel des Invalides

Musée D’Orsay- famous for the impressionist collection

Musée de L’Orangerie- contains eight of Monet’s water lilies paintings

Le Jardin des Tuileries

Musée de Louvre- ok, I didn’t go in but I’ll be returning later with Morgan

Saint Sulpice- a Catholic church that looks strikingly similar to Saint Paul’s Cathedral

Jardin du Luxembourg

Sorbonne

Maison de Victor Hugo- Victor Hugo's former residence is now a museum dedicated to him.

Notre Dame

Sainte-Chapelle

Arc de Triomphe

Avenue des Champs Elysées

Now on to the more interesting things:

La Closerie des Lilas- This beautiful cafe was Hemingway’s favorite spot while writing The Sun Also Rises.

Les Deux Magots- This cafe was a popular meeting ground for Hemingway and other famous writers and artists including Jean-Paul Satre, Albert Camus, James Joyce, and Pablo Picasso. The Deux Magots is now also the name of a literary prize awarded each year for a French novel. 

Shakespeare and Company- This bookstore was started by Sylvia Beach in 1919 as a private lending library. It was frequented by many famous authors of the time such as Hemingway, James Joyce, Ford Madox Ford, and Ezra Pound (are you seeing a trend with these sites?). The first floor of the building is now one of the most famous English language bookstores in Paris. The second floor is a reading room filled with a book collection that the public is welcomed to enjoy.

Reading at Shakespeare & Co.
You aren't supposed to take photos, but I'm a rebel.

Salvador Dali Sundial- As I mentioned in this post here, I was on a quest to find this beautiful sundial that was created and installed on Rue Saint Jacques. It is a fantastic example of the beautiful and magical things that you can find in Paris if you just wander and enjoy your surroundings.

Our photography focus while in Paris was to create our names out of architectural details: Voilà!