BONJOUR FRANCE

This is a picture outside of the Louvre in Paris.  The Louvre is a famous Art museum that displays one of the most impressive collections in the world.  It is a very busy tourist attraction but Flat Hawkster was able to get in early before all the crowds arrived.   He visited on Bastille Day, which is France's National Day and it is celebrated on July 14th each year. This is the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille by those in search of a  modern and democratic nation.  

This is a picture of Flat Hawkster with the Mona Lisa,  the most famous painting in the world.   Hawkster had to work hard to get close enough to take a picture because there was a huge crowd.  Fortunately he did not have to use his talons:)   This portrait was created by Leonardo Da Vinci and her smile has captured the imagination of the world (sort of like Hawkster's:) There is a lot of mystery surrounding this painting as no one seems to know who this lady was.  Some people have even suggested that Da Vinci  used a mirror to create a self-portrait of himself as a woman

Check out this brief time-lapse video of the Louvre at dusk.

Here's Flat Hawkster at the base of the Eiffel Tower.  This is huge structure that has become a world landmark.   This was named after the engineer, Gustave Eiffel and it was built in 1889 for Paris' World Fair.  It stands over 300 meters high and Flat Hawkster decided to save some money and take the stairs up.  It was a lot of work but you can see in the pictures below that it was worth it.   Did you know that the Eiffel Tower is ranked the number one tourist attraction to visit in Europe?  Which monument do you think is second?  See answer below.

This view shows the huge Champs Des Mars park.

In this view you can see the River Sienne which has been the lifeblood of Paris for centuries.

This is Flat Hawkster just about to board a subway train in Paris.   His constant smile was tested a little on these trains as they can get very crowded and hot.  The smells were not always pleasing...even for a hawk:).   Sometimes there was live music and that made the trips  much more enjoyable.  People in Paris use trains regularly at all times of the day and it is an environmentally friendly way to move a large number of people around.  The first subway line opened on July 19th, 1900 and there are now over 245 stations.   

Here you can see Flat Hawkster in the town of Brive-De Guillard that is located within the Dordogne River Valley.   He was just about to enjoy a 4 course meal that featured duck, duck and more duck.  He even had a duck milkshake...just kidding:) 

This video features a canoe trip down the Dordogne River in central France.  Flat Hawkster was able to visit caves and see castles along the way.  You can't see him in this clip but you can hear him mooing to keep those ferocious cows away:-)

THE SECOND MOST POPULAR TOURIST ATTRACTION IN EUROPE IS:      The Acropolis in Athens, Greece