Europe Delights Us in 2016

Wiesbaden boasted a relaxing urban park and eye-catching architecture in  its homes and churches.  Joy posed beside an iron gate straight out of the “Young Frankenstein “ movie while grandbaby Ella modeled the Eiffel Tower “onesie” that her doting grandparents bought her while in lovely Paris.

Joy and I journeyed to Paris and Wiesbaden, Germany, in the autumn of 2016. Both cities show Old World charm in the fall. The iconic Eiffel Tower at sunset is a sight not to be missed. The Arc de Triomphe is emblematic of Paris. The Arc crowns the bustling Champs-Elysses, a cosmopolitan boulevard that is one of the world’s most beautiful and busy streets with swanky stores and tony cafes.

Paris is known for its food and its restaurants and sidewalk cafes did not disappoint. The city is also an architectural tour de force, as exemplified by the ornate Opera House. Joy took this photo of me  pointing to another “Scribe” in Paris. A classic Citroen plied the Paris streets and Sacre Coeur Cathedral was magestic and mystical.

Nighttime in Paris is always magical. The city’s colorful nightscape is just one reason why Paris is called The City of Light. A walk through Paris after dark was a fitting way to bid adieu to a city we love. Germany also had its charms, like this shop window filled with German beer steins in Wiesbaden. European “bullet trains” whisked us from France to Germany in a few hours. The countryside from the train was beautiful and billboard-free. The trains are fast and efficient and fun to ride.

Paris is city of museums like the Louvre, but the city itself is an outdoor museum full of surprises for visitors. Here Joy poses from atop the Arc de Triomphe with the Eiffel Tower in the background (left) and orders a crepe from a vendor in the Tuileries Gardens. Paris is a city of romance and Cupid shot his arrow at us near one of the city’s famous fountains. A statue of the Good Samaritan inspires visitors to the Tuileries.