It's All About Me!

Well - It's all about France actually. We spent this last long weekend in Paris. It was the Ascenscion holiday for most of Europe so we took advantage of the 4 day weekend - along with a lot of other people. It was crowded but we had a good time. What really struck me, and Bart, on this trip was the enormous size of the structures, places - the monuments to themselves. Much of the "largess" of Paris is due to the visions of Louis XIV and Napoleon. They were the ultimate "It's all about me" individuals. And many of their "planned" monuments to their own personal greatness were created after their deaths. The "Arc de Triomphe" was planned by Napoleon as a tribute to his military prowess and yet not completed 'til approx. 14 yrs after his death. You can't take it all with you! So while it is really cool to see the beautiful architecture and large scale of gardens/estates - we are also reminded of what is eternal and what is temporal. How the beauty on earth is a reflection of the creativity and beauty of He who gave the ability to man. Kendra and Rachel looking at the Place de la Concorde (execution site during the French Revolution - think Marie & Louis XVI losing their heads - was an interesting topic of conversation with the girls).
Overlooking the River Seine.
In front of the Eiffel Tower. We stayed close-by which the girls loved. This was Paris for them.
Looking at the city from the Eiffel Tower.
Standing on one of the cooling vents in the Louvre. The girls enjoyed cooling off!