We got up and put on our walking shoes again and headed out for the day with an ambitious agenda. Turns out that we packed in even more than we had planned on by the time it was over. After a quick stop at Le Starbucks to fuel up we headed for the Seine again.
The day started with a walk around the back of Notre Dame....the detail when you really stop to look is amazing!
We found some more love locks still intact
Then we hit the beach.....we think they stole this idea from Ottawa!
Then we decided that we needed a little culture
You can really see the Roman influence in this area
While Jo was examining the arch, one of the pushy French girls made her move.....you really have to keep your eyes on them!
I did my best at asking her to kindly keep her hands to herself in French....I'm not sure she understood. Then we were off to explore some more
We paused for a moment to remember all our friends at work. Just remember, some days you're the crow, and some days you're the statue!
Fountains and pointy things everywhere around here!
We had originally thought about walking up the Champs Élysées, but we decided to turn inland and check out a few other sites. We ended up adding a lot of walking distance, but we were glad that we did.
First stop was an amazing church named after my mom!
Then, knowing that we had atoned for our sins, we set out in search of another famous landmark
Then just down the street......we don't remember this one in the tourist brochure!
Feeling that we had sinned again, and knowing that we weren't that far away, we walked up,the hills and stairs of the Montmartre district to reach the infamous Sacré Coeur. It was also very impressive!
We explored the Montmartre district a bit more, then made our way down the hill again.
Back down on flat ground again we continued west. We came across a really nice park that was opened by Napoleon! It had some interesting artifacts.
And then a short walk later, triumph! Well Arc de Triomphe actually!
We walked down the Champs about half way.....tons of people, all the high end shops, and all the barricades still in place from the final stage of the Tour de France a few days earlier. Then we cut down a side street and headed back for the Seine again. Until we got close to....
There were literally 18 cajillion people waiting in line to ride up in the elevators.....so we got in the line up for the stairs. It didn't really take long at all to get to the second platform....except for all the people that slowed us down....geez! Don't ha know we are on a schedule
Looking at the ant people through one of the floor segments
And another view on the way up
We got to where we needed to be, and checking in all directions, climbed up and over the safety fence. Just at the last minute Jo snagged her canopy on a bolt and tore a big hole in it. Awe poop....no BASE jump today....next time. We raced to get back onto the tower and get back to the ground before security were on to us.....those guys carry machine guns and they look like they're 12 years old!
Back down on safe ground again we headed back to the Seine and made our way back towards our part of town. By this point we figure that we'd already walked over 25km and we were a little thirsty, so we did our patriotic duty and stopped at
While we were enjoying our Happy Hour beverages, we heard a bit of a commotion in the street. We looked out to see that a guy had just spray painted a message on the road. We was on the cell phone and holding roses in the air. We stepped out just in time to see her waving, smiling, crying and mouthing Oui, from the highest balcony on the building.
As Canadians are known for being polite, the entire pub burst out in cheer. Then we explored the back alleys for another authentic French meal. We chose wisely. If you remember the dehydrated fellow from yesterday's post, we went there and it was to die for. Burgundy escargots, Jo had salmon with a Bernaisse sauce and I had steak with a Roquefort sauce....it may not look good, it it was amazing. Add a nice bottle of rosé and a few freshly made Creme Brullé and we were stuffed!
So glad that we didn't go with this one!
Then we picked up a couple of decaf lattes and made our way back to the room for a well deserved sleep. Tomorrow we are off to a different country.
Au Revoir France....until we meet again!
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