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Paris.... what can I say? I totally enjoyed the brief time we had here. We arrived from Switzerland about 5pm, everyone on the bus was transfixed at actually seeing the Eiffel Tower in the distance over the city skyline.
We went straight to the hotel, which for Paris standards was good, we could actually turn around in it!!!!! We also had a kettle and stuff to make coffee, and coffee goooood.
The breakfast here was also unreal. Croisants, of course, bread, rolls, yoghurt, cereal, meats, cheeses, was luxury compared to what we had been eating.
After we had settled in, was time to hit the town. First stop, "The" Eiffel Tower. Was amazing to be standing there, touching something that had always seemed so remote, so unreal, but touch it we did. We went up to the second viewing platform, and watched as the sky darkened, and the streets and buildings lite up.
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THE Eiffel Tower |
The Tower has been covered in lights, and every hour it 'sparkles' for about 15 mins, words really can't describe how pretty it looked.
We spent almost an hour looking over the city, seeing it first in the day, then at night was a bonus. Much prefered when it was dark, and the city sparkled with the Tower.
Our time was up all too soon, and we were dragged off the Tower and back onto the bus. We then did a small tour of the city, and ended by driving up the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe.
We had dinner at a reasturant about 50 metres from the Arc. From our seats, we could see the Eiffel Tower when it the lights began to sparkle. We were left speachless once more.
After dinner, we had time to explore around the Arc. By this time, it was raining once again. One thing you learn when you are on a tour, rain isn't really a big deal. Then it was time to head off again, to a cruise along the Seine. It was stunning.
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View of the Seine
from the Eiffel Tower
Arc de Triomphe |
Then it was back to the hotel for some much needed sleep. After breakfast, we had another tour of the city. Stopping at The Notre Dame Cathedral.
By this stage, we had been in hundreds of churches, seen many old builings, but WOWOW. Sitting here now, I still cannot find the words to do it justice.
Once we had finished exploring, the bus ended the tour at the Opera house. From there we had free time to begin exploring.
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Notre Dame |
We walked around the Opera House, just admiring the statues and decorations adorning it. Then we made our way through the streets to the Concorde Plaza. Let me tell you, I have turned ya-walking into an artfrom.
On our way, we passed one of the nicest chocolate shops I have ever seen. So, after lightening our wallets, but adding to our parcels, and weight (they gave free samples), we continued on our way.
We walked around the Plaza, just another wow. From there, we walked up the Champs Elysees, was amazing. Then we headed back down, to admire the Pont Alexandre III Bridge. We first saw this on the cruise and it looks stunning both by night, and day. We simply sat a while looking at it, then at our map and deciding where to head to.
My friend collects french pottery, and we had seen shops selling it along side Notre Dame. A quick look at our map showed it was fairly close, so off we set walking along the Seine. Let me tell you, it was further than we thought. An hour later, we arrived, with one hour to shop, look and get back to the Opera House for our lift back. We caught a Taxi.
That night, we went to a Caberet show, was a case of spot the "female" lol. Paris, a city I would like to see again.
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The Opera House
Pont Alexandre III
one of the prettiest bridges |
