Jared Johnson

The Fireworks Tailgate Party Washington, DC 2009

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 02:47:14 -0400

The Fireworks Tailgate Party Washington, DC 2009

Friday, March 20, 2009 We got up early for a 7:45 train out of...

Sun, 22 Mar 2009 16:11:39 -0400

Friday, March 20, 2009

We got up early for a 7:45 train out of Paris to London. Upon arrival, we made our way to our hotel near King’s Cross, and then headed to central London. Our first stop was a pub near St. Paul’s Cathedral for fish and chips. After lunch, we poked our heads into the cathedral.

We then bought a 24-hour pass on a tour bus that covered all the main sites in London and rode it for several hours.

In the late afternoon we met up with our friends Ian and Bekah who are currently living in London. We hung out in Costa coffeeshop, then headed to the Angel neighborhood where we ate at an Indian restaurant.

Thursday, March 19, 2009 After watching the sunset from Pont...

Sun, 22 Mar 2009 15:22:38 -0400

Thursday, March 19, 2009

After watching the sunset from Pont Neuf, we walked to St. Michel and had dinner at a sidewalk cafe. We both had chevre salads and duck, and as always, the people watching opportunities were terrific!

After dinner, we took a night cruise on the Seine that departed from Pont Neuf, on Ile de Cite. The views were awesome as the boat took us past the Tour Eiffel, Notre Dame, and many more spots along the river. We topped off the night with nutella banane crepes! A perfect way to end our romantic time in Paris.

On Thursday afternoon we took the Metro to Le Bon Marche, a...

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 06:08:14 -0400

On Thursday afternoon we took the Metro to Le Bon Marche, a famous designer shopping district - but we only window shopped :) We then headed toward St. Michel and stopped along Pont Neuf, one of the oldest bridges in Paris, to take in our last sunset. It was gorgeous and the sky was pink right around the Tour Eiffel! C’etait magnifique! - Jessica

The train mobilisation (i.e. Strike) did not stop us from...

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 06:01:00 -0400

The train mobilisation (i.e. Strike) did not stop us from getting to Louis XIV’s Versailles palace 30 minutes outside of Paris. It did, however, stop us from going inside the palace. Apparently, the museum workers union was also on strike! Oh well! This gave us a chance to spend several hours walking through the massive gardens and along the Grand Canal on the grounds of the chateau. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time.

Delicious dinner at Cafe de L’Est next to our hotel on...

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 05:54:11 -0400

Delicious dinner at Cafe de L’Est next to our hotel on Wednesday. Cantal cheese salad and duck salad. I love duck!

After the Picasso museum, our mission was to shop for the...

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 05:51:21 -0400

After the Picasso museum, our mission was to shop for the must-have boots in Paris for Jessica. After many stores, we were successful in finding her birthday boots at the Jovak store in Les Halles.

She was pumped!

Wednesday, March 18 We visited my IRIS internship building in...

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 05:48:24 -0400

Wednesday, March 18

We visited my IRIS internship building in the Voltaire neighborhood in the morning and headed out for the Musee National Picasso just before lunch. We bought sandwiches along the way in the Bastille. Just before we got to the museum, we stopped for a picnic in the Square Leopold Achille park.

The Picasso museum takes the visitor chronologically through Pablo’s life. It is really fascinating to see his progression of styles throughout his life. The collection also includes a lot of his sculptures. We heard at the ticket desk the museum is closing for 3 years this summer for renovations to the interior of the old mansion. We are happy it was still open now.

We ate Tuesday’s dinner at a brasserie in Place du Tertre....

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 05:36:53 -0400

We ate Tuesday’s dinner at a brasserie in Place du Tertre. The place is an old square just down the street from Sacre Coeur where many artists set up and paint and caricature artists attempt to draw portraits of tourists. We sat outside under a heat lamp and watched the action on the square. I had boeuf bourgignon and Jessica ate spaghetti bolognese and we both had French onion soup. I can’t get enough of that stuff!

After the Musee d’Orsay on Tuesday afternoon, we walked...

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 05:28:33 -0400

After the Musee d’Orsay on Tuesday afternoon, we walked across the Seine and all the way to the top of Montmartre. Along the way we found a new French pastry to love - Viennoisse Chocolat. It is like a breadstick filled with chocolate chips. We made it to the top of the hill to the Sacre Coeur right around sunset. I shot some exterior photos of the Sacre Coeur and some cool views of the Tour Eiffel with its strong spotlight illuminating the night sky.

Tuesday, March 17 - Musee d’Orsay was how we spent a...

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 13:13:09 -0400

Tuesday, March 17 - Musee d’Orsay was how we spent a majority of our day. It had all kinds of Renoir, Degas, and Monet paintings in addition to lots of sculptures and woodworking. The museum is in an old train station so the architecture was beautiful. After lots of wandering around the museum we decided to walk to the Sacre Coeur to see the sun set over Paris once again. - Jessica

On Sunday, after Place des Vosges, we walked to Notre Dame. Jared got lots of great pictures of the...

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 13:12:46 -0400

On Sunday, after Place des Vosges, we walked to Notre Dame. Jared got lots of great pictures of the flying buttresses and we enjoyed seeing all the beautiful stained glass windows. Then we walked across Pont St-Louis to Ile St-Louis, where we browsed the shops and had delicious gelato (cherry and lemon for Jared and chocolate and tiramisu for me). After that, we walked along the booksellers scattered along the Seine and headed back to our hotel to change for dinner. We ended up at Chez Clement at St. Michel, where Jared ate a few times while living in Paris. He had duck confit and I had sliced steak, yum! From there we went to Caveau de la Huchette, an awesome little jazz club in the Latin Quarter that was carved out of a cave. We had a great time listening to the live band play and watching the people there dance to the music - a perfect date. - Jessica

Sunset view of Paris from the Tour Eiffel on Monday, March 16th....

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 07:02:52 -0400

Sunset view of Paris from the Tour Eiffel on Monday, March 16th. C’etait magnifique!

This shot was taken at the Jardins du Trocadero, across the...

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 06:59:59 -0400

This shot was taken at the Jardins du Trocadero, across the Seine from the Tour Eiffel. Monday was a long day - we watched the sun set from on top of the Tour Eiffel (with a gorgeous pink sky), then Jared showed me where he attended classes with BU. We topped off the day with crepes de jambon et fromage (ham and cheese). We walked a total of 12.6 miles! It was awesome.

Arc de Triomphe

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 06:51:53 -0400

Arc de Triomphe

After the Louvre, we stopped in at the Mercedes Benz store on...

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 06:50:38 -0400

After the Louvre, we stopped in at the Mercedes Benz store on the Champs Elysees.

View out the window of the Louvre facing West toward the Jardin...

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 06:48:52 -0400

View out the window of the Louvre facing West toward the Jardin des Tuileries, Place de la Concorde, and avenue des Champs Elysees.

We walked some serious miles in this building!

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 06:46:10 -0400

We walked some serious miles in this building!

Jessica at the Louvre

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 06:44:40 -0400

Jessica at the Louvre

Jared at the Louvre

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 06:43:56 -0400

Jared at the Louvre