We woke up Friday morning and decided to do the tourist thing and see all the Paris landmarks. But first we needed to find a place to have breakfast. Following the directions of our helpful hotel front desk lady, we went down the street to a bistro that served a real breakfast, including eggs, coffee, croissant, french bread and orange juice (fresh squeezed) for only 11 Euros each. Problem was, the waiter was one of those French folks you hear about.....surly, unsmiling and not about to admit he spoke any Engish. We nicknamed him "Frank" and made it our goal to get him on our side by the end of our stay. I admit, the first day we got nowhere.
Anyway, we went on the bus to our starting point and enjoyed an amazing view of the Eiffel Tower along with lots of other viewers.
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| Statue of General Foch |
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| Forced perspective......strong arm Jeff |
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| The huge courtyard was surrounded by museums |
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| In all her glory! |
From the view of the tower, we traveled on the Metro to the start of our tour......the Arc de Triomphe. The building was started in 1806 by Napolean and finished 30 years later.
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| More forced perspective.....please bear with us....we can't help ourselves! |
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| So massive |
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| Detail on the Arc |
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| It sits in the middle of a huge roundabout and you can go to the top. |
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| More detail |
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| Armed soldiers patrolled all through Paris |
After a tour around the arc, we walked down the Champs-Elysees. All of a sudden, Kat burst into song, channeling Joni Mitchell...."I was a free man in Paris, I felt unfettered and aliiiiiiiive.....". I sang along as we "......wandered down the Champs-Elysees....." and people watched and just enjoyed the fact that we were there, in the middle of Paris!
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| Detail on the lamp post, note the marked resemblance. |
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| Wide avenues made for easy walking amid the multitudes |
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| Chocolate shop. A long lost French cousin perhaps? |
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| Building detail |
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| Fountain in the park in front of the Theatre du Rond-Pont |
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| The Theatre |
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| Looking back toward the Arc. The Champs-Elysees is broad and tree lined. |
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| To commemorate the 100th anniversary of WWI, there were informative placards of war information and history |
About half way down the "Champs" are the Grand and Petit Palais. They were built for the world fair of 1900.
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| The front of the Grand Palais |
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| Panorama of the Grand Palais |
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| We had to take a selfie at the Avenue of Selfies! |
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| Statue of Charles de Gaulle |
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| Statue of Clemenceau--WWI hero |
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| Detail of the horses on top of the entrance to the Grand Palais |
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| The Petit Palais |
A bit more walking led us to the end of the Champs-Elysees and a huge roundabout and square called the Place de la Concorde. In the center is a huge obelisk from the tomb of Ramses III in Luxor. According to the book, it was a gift from the viceroy of Egypt in 1829 and took 4 years to get to Paris.
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| Yeah, I know it's hokey but...... |
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| Panorama of the Place de la Concorde. Before the obelisk was installed, the guillotine was here. |
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| Lovely old buildings |
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| And beautiful fountains |
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| For only 89 Euro you can take it for a spin |
We passed through the plaza and entered a garden called Tuillaries. It was created in 1564 and updated many times since.
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| Panorama view from our bench by the pond |
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| Missing Freddy |
Walking through the Tuillaries, we came to the Louvre. We had decided not to visit due to the constraints of time, energy and not wanting to fight the tourists. But it was huge and beautiful from the outside.
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| The Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel--last of the Arches created by Napolean. It is at the end of the Tuillaries before the Louvre |
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| And one more time...... |
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| Panorama of the entrance and the entire Louvre |
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| Some of the museum buildings |
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| More museum buildings. |
We stopped for a break and decided to seek the best ice cream in the world (according to Jeff). It is located in a shop near the St. Louis Cathedral on the Ile du St. Louis. Notre Dame is on an adjoining island. We crossed the bridge over the Seine to the islands and walked along the river.
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| Looking across the Seine |
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| On the opposite bank |
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| Looking back toward the bridge--the oldest in Paris |
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| Another cathedral across the river |
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| Detail of the cathedral--still don't know it's name |
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| Channel around the islands |
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| Backside of Notre Dame |
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| The Conciergerie. For awhile it was a prison for those awaiting the guillotine, mostly snooty bellmen were put to the blade |
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| Waiting in line for ice cream |
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| It was worth the wait--it is the best in the world |
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| The Church St. Louis |
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| Much more beautiful inside than out |
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| Beautiful organ |
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| And stained glass |
After all that walking, we were exhausted. We crossed the bridge back to the Latin Quarter and found a wonderful Chinese restaurant that was nearly deserted and had great food at great prices. Across the street was a reminder of home.
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| Good ole Lajoie! |
We found the metro and took ourselves and our aching feet home for a nap, shower and evening of relaxation.
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