Glamorous Paris

This year's Paris vacation coincides with Neil's birthday in August. We rented a private apartment on the upscale George V avenue just a few steps from the Louis Vuitton store, with a fine view of the Eiffel Tower. Even though we never set foot in the Louis Vuitton store (nor any other luxury goods store), we thoroughly enjoyed the glamorous neighborhood by the Champs-Elysees avenue and Arc de Triomphe.

A few highlights of this mid-summer trip:
- attended a tropical dance party in a summer evening along the north bank of the Seine
- visited the Arab World Institute and had lunch on its view terrace.
- visited the Mosque of Paris, a Moroccan style mosque with beautiful Andalucian courtyards.
- strolled the Andre Citroen Park where the modern landscape architecture was impressive and grand (although maintenance was a bit lacking).
- visited the Invalides, a military monument containing Napoleon's tomb. This was a very impressive palace with a gold dome and grand gardens.
- visited the Jacquemart Andre Museum with an enviable collection of priceless antiques and art, situated in an 18th century private mansion. The building's scale is modest in Parisian standards, if placed anywhere else in the world it would be an elegant, sumptuous palace.