Paris & Versailles, France (1998, 2007, 2013)

These pictures are scanned from an album from the pre-digital days.  My dad paid for me to go to Europe to attend the International AIDS Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, where he was presenting.  Carmel and I took advantage of this opportunity to go around Europe.  This was the first major trip that Carmel and I took together, and this was during the summer after our Freshmen years at university (we had been together just over a year).  We did the whole Eurorail thing bopping around Europe as fast as we Americanly could. 

Nine years later in 2007 with my mom and sister we went to Paris again.  We had a simple mission: to re-create every photo taken in 1998.  Exact same spot, angle and pose.  We even made an attempt to get the clothing right.

First I’ll start with the old 1998 pictures, then show the 2007 pictures with the comparison photos interspersed.  If you’re patient enough to let everything load, then you’ll be in for a treat of some morphs.

** We returned in 2013. We wanted to break up our trip to/from Israel as much as possible to make it easier on Rio, so we stopped in Paris for 4 days. Carmel met with some collaborators, and I met with collaborators and gave seminars at two institutions (LSCE and OBSPM). We did a whirlwind tour of major tourist sites for Rio, and got some eating in too.

1998

2007

We first went to a recommended restaurant near our apartment.  Here is the line to get in.

My mom waits with eager anticipation.

Claralyse and I go crazy with anticipation.

The menu today: steak with frites and salad.

Carmel eats her frites the proper French way—with a fork and knife.

Unable to decide on which dessert to get, we got 4.

Our final verdict: they were all good.

The next morning we loaded up on croissants, baguettes, and other yummy pastries.

The Pont Alexandre bridge.

Triumphant arcs in 1998 (left) and 2007 (right).

Luvin’ the Louvre lift.

The power of a woman’s smile.

Winged Victory 1998 (left) and 2007 (right).

Cupid and Psyche.

Goofy immature handshake with armless statue doesn’t get old.

Outside the Louvre.

Cheesiness gets better with age :)

We still got it!

We replaced Carmel’s sister with mine.  Talia was 11 in the picture on the left and Claralyse is 11 in the one on the right.

Back of Notre Dame, same stylin’ facial expression.

Next up was this amazing falafel place in the Jewish quarter.

This was actually the best meal we had in all of Paris.  Yum.

Outside of the falafel place.  I like this photo because it looks like everyone is posed.

A quick stop at the Picasso museum.

Picasso saw the world through a broken TV.

Picasso sculptures.

Next up was the Pompidou!

In those crazy tunnel escalators.

Views of St. Chapelle and Notre Dame.

A view of the Pompidou fountain from above.

Not much has changed.

A couple by Kandinsky.

One of my favorite artists.

A Matisse motif.

Wall of Matisse.

Another Picasso.

I have no idea who took this photo.

Red chair(?)

Black square.

White squares!

They locked this statue outside so I couldn’t get the same shot!

Crepes that smelled good, but unfortunately were just okay.

Climbing the hill to Montmartre.

Sacre Coeur from a distance.

Sacre Coeur close up.

La Maison du Chocolat, supposedly the best chocolate in all of Europe.

We did a taste test of course with Belgian chocolate (we already ruled Swiss chocolate out of the running).  Our final conclusion was that Belgian chocolate had better texture and a first bite, and French chocolate had a longer flavor and better aftertaste.  All agreed that further testing is needed.

Chocolate ice cream.

At the Luxemburg gardens.

Pushing boats around the fountain.

Vroom race in the park!

Claralyse climbs to the top of the Eiffel tower.

View of the Invalides.

It wouldn’t be Paris without the Eiffel tower.

ET.

Clareiffel.

All grown up!

Refuses to grow up.

Took this while waiting for a taxi.

Good night Paris!

Rio discovered the Pistache macarons and was infinitely happy.

Pistache macaron for breakfast.

Rio was a little unsure of the crepes, I suppose since mine had Grand Marinier set on fire.

Rio soon discovered the Chantilly Cream, which he quickly devoured, leaving none for the crepes.

Chantilly Grin.

Alright, what is there to see in this joint?

Pyramid of the Louvre.

The coins are the most interesting thing around.

Throwing coins in the fountain is clearly what one does at the Louvre.

Just a little 15-year time lapse.

Praying outside Notre Dame.

Another time lapse, with the left-most person going from Carmel’s sister, Talia (age 11 at the time), to my sister, Claralyse (age 11 at the time), to Rio (age 2 at the time). Carmel and I of course have not aged.

Even though we had just come from Israel, we still felt the need to go to the best falafel outside of Israel, that being L’As du Falafel in Paris.

Carmel and Rio visiting her collaborators outside of Paris (Nancy, Lorraine).

We continued to mix it up, so we checked out Vietnmaese food. Here is a standard hipster food pic for facebook.

Here is that same standard food pic after attempting to eat with a toddler and no high chair.

Rio loves fountains, and Paris does fountains well.

E.T.

Rio and Carmel at the Eiffel Tower.

Rio, this is proof that you were in Paris at the Eiffel Tower. I expect you to remember this trip clearly at least for the next 20-30 years.

Try as we might, even together we could not touch the top of the tower.

Form and balance.

Goddess of the Eiffel Tower.

What better way to ascend to the top of the tower? (Okay I guess the elevator might be quicker).

Time flies when you’re having fun!