Lunch at the Ritz in Paris and shopping along the Champs -Eylsees

From the moment we started making our plans for this trip, a few of us girls wanted to have Tea at the Ritz in Paris.....well, all the reservations were filled for Tea, so we decided we would go  for lunch!!!It was the Ritz in Paris where Princess Diana was right before her untimely death.

The Ritz is elegant.....

and yet the decor is comfortable....

We found these flower arrangements all over the place stunning....

We were the first ones to arrive for lunch...they open for lunch at 12:30 and our reservation was for 12:30, luckily no one was there yet, so I was allowed to snap a few pictures. The dining room was beautiful.

We had a champagne toast to celebrate the occasion...lunch and our girls trip to Paris. Lunch at the Ritz is more of an experience then a meal. It is hard for me to write the details that made it so special....but I will say this...champagne toast 22.00 Euro's, lunch 85.00 Euro's, tea 11.00 Euro's plus tax made lunch 125.00 Euro's....the experience Priceless!!

We walked from the Place Vendome to the Place de la Concorde......We stopped in a cute little dress shop and Donna and I bought new trench coats. My coat I brought was a rain coat, but had no lining and I was tired of being Cold!!Luckily for us, their winter coats were all on sale.

The Place de la Concorde is famous for the site of the guillotine during the French Revolution.King Louis XVI and his Queen Marie Antoinette both lost their heads here. In the  center of the square stands the Egyptian obelisk from the temple of Luxor.

The Tour-Tower Eiffel is in the background...

Built on the model of the fountains in St. Peter's square in Rome, these fountains were erected in 1836 and 1846. There are few places in the world with the magical atmosphere at almost every hour of the day as this square has. At night, under the light of the street lamps, the ambiance becomes unreal. We witnessed this walking home a few nights later....

Driving to the end of the CHAMPS-ELYSEES........in the distance is the Arc de Triomphe

The Arch of Triumph is taller then the Arch of Constantine in Rome. Construction began in 1806 by Chalgrin. Completed in 1836. The principal victories of Napoleon are celebrated with bas-reliefs  on the tower. There is a museum at the top, a fun thing for tourists to do and watch the cars driving around and around!!

The tomb of the unknown soldier was placed under the arch in 1920. It's eternal flame is tended to every evening.

Made famous in the movie European Vacation starring Chevy Chase, remember how many times he drove around the rotary---Rond-Point????It is an important traffic circle....where several streets come into this point.
Built for the Universal Exposition of 1900, the Grand Palais is a marvelous example of Art Nouveau style. Today it is home to the Science Museum, a planetarium, and an art museum.

Walking down the Champs des Elysees. arguable ..."the world's most beautiful boulevard"

This is an entrance to the store Abercrombie and finch......the store is along the Rue Royale.....

at #23...is Abercrombie and Finch....

The line to get in!!!

It looks like a Nice French Bag made it's way home with me!!I love how they have plastic covering made to fit their bags, to keep them dry!!And we needed it this day!!!We also made our way up the Rue Royale... fashion houses to Chanel, Hermes,and Cartier just to name a few...