Papping Paris : Parisian Getaway ~ Day One

Bonjour Surfers!

I have recently returned from a three day trip to Paris for my birthday! I made sure to take my camera with me to capture all of the stunning sights that the city has to offer. I managed to take over 400 photographs...so have decided to only chose and edit the pictures I feel came out the best, though I will still be splitting the trip up over three posts so the blog will be regular again! One of my New Year's resolutions will be to get back to weekly posts.

Just outside our hotel

I was joined on this trip by my lovely mother; I mean the woman did give birth to me so who better to spend a birthday with, haha!

We had an early start (4.00am) and hopped on the Eurostar for our two hour train journey before finally arriving. I managed to get us thoroughly lost on the way to the hotel but we found it eventually, even if we were frozen and damp... After happily abandoning our suitcases and warming up with a coffee, we headed out to to Notre Dame.

Photographing the catherdral threw up SO many issues. There was an army of people who were determined to ruin every picture I attempted, also, as it is December there was very limited lighting. But where there's a challenge there is a chance for some fun and I think the pictures turned out quite well; even if I did have to lean on my Photoshop skills a little.

  The interior of Notre Dame is lit by beautiful hanging chandeliers and candles, as well as the light which filters through the famous stained glass windows. 

They made entire cathedral glow.

One of the most beautiful features of the building, and probably the most famous, are the circular rose windows. It took a few shots to get the lighting right but I think I managed to capture at least some of the beauty of these masterpieces.

Exterior rose window

Streets of Paris overlooked by the gargoyles of Notre Dame 

I, of course, had to make a trip up the famous towers of Notre Dame. After climbing what seemed to be a thousand steps which threatened to throw me back down at any minute (and making a mental note to start going back to the gym) I reached the first floor of the tower and was able to enjoy the panoramic views of the city.

Paris from the towers of Notre Dame

 If you look carefully in the above picture you can see the Sacre-Coeur. The picture came out kinda basic so I let myself have a bit of fun with the editing.

I have to say, while the views were amazing, what I liked the most were the grotesques. They were definitely a sight worth seeing!

The Grotesque watches over a misty Eiffel Tower

After climbing a second flight of stairs for more pictures I ventured back down to that we could head to our next destination: The Grande Mosque of Paris!

By the time we reached the Mosque night had completely fallen and my pictures of the striking minoret did not come out at all. I didn't have a tripod with me so knew that getting any blur free pictures in such low light would be damn near impossible but I had to get some shots of the majestic gardens. The only image to come out well is above, and even then it was so dark I had to resort to some heavy photoshopping.


This is the final image of one of the rooms in the Grande Mosque. All of the walls were tiled with mosiacs and surrounded this amazing marble (at least I think it was) room.

By this time it was so cold that we had to leave but not before stopping nearby for some delicious, albeit not Parisian, food at a little restaurant near the hotel.

Hope you liked this post, Surfers. I'll be back next week with pictures from Day Two!

Took even more pictures that day...

Until next week!

Lily

I hope you like the new look. I think it's much more chic now ;)

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