The Grand Tour de Paris

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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And so it begins!

We had booked an evening flight out of Ottawa which we've done before. If you're able to sleep on the plane then you arrive the next morning all ready to go. We arrived at the airport a little early and manage to swap our seats for better ones...score. We were on a new 777-300 and it was quite nice, even in the cattle car section. It was a pretty non-eventful flight and we touched down in Paris at 9:30 the next morning.

Our bags arrived in short order and we made our way to the train station at the airport. A quick stop at the ticket machine and minutes later we were on the RER B line train headed for downtown Paris. It stopped about 3 blocks from our hotel. We were checked in and ready to explore in mere moments.
First stop was Parc Luxembourg....a short 3 minute walk from our hotel. The weather was overcast, which doesn't make for great pics, but it was nice to not be in the sweltering heat either. Luxembourg park is a great place in the middle of the city.

We even got our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower in the distance.

We though about renting a sailboat for the afternoon

But it looked a little rough on the lake

So we thought we would explore a bit more...

And do some lion around

The park is full of sculptures and statues.....this one looked vaguely familiar

This one....the Fountain of Medicis, was built in 1630!

After wandering around the park for a bit we decided to head for the Seine. We spotted this sobering reminder along the way

A few blocks later we were on the left bank of the Seine. For years people have been placing "love locks" on the bridges. We have seen the same thing on the Via Del Amore in Cinque Terre Italy. In Paris they have started to remove them from the bridges because the extra weight has been causing damage. They are replacing them with different types of artwork. But you can still find some of the panels remaining.....and no shortage of people trying to sell you a lock.

Everywhere you look there is amazing architecture

And famous sites

We headed off in search of Quasimodo and found him at Notre Dame

Then off to explore a bit more in the Latin Quarter

Then we found a series of backroads with all kinds of great places to shop and eat. We found this poor little guy....he looks a little dehydrated

We went in search of some genuine French cuisine....not sure we found it

Jo liked the look of this place.....I had to ask her twice if she read the sign

Then we headed back to the hotel for a short nap as the jetlag was kicking in. It wasn't long and we were off exploring again. First stop the Clinchy Medieval Museum.....ok, we looked at the outside of it anyways....

Then we set off to explore an old Roman arena where they held plays and had combat

The acoustics in this place were amazing. A young boy walked into the centre and started to sing a bit. He must be a choir boy because he had an amazing voice, and you could hear it everywhere

Then we set off in search of some of the places mentioned in the Dan Brown books and movies like The DaVinci Code etc.

By now we were getting sleepy so we headed back to the area where we are staying and found a little place to eat. French Onion Soup, a nice chicken dish with cheese on it, chocolate mousse, and of course some vin du France. Then it was back for a great nights sleep. Let's see what tomorrow has in store!
Bonne nuit!

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The countdown is on

The countdown is on......watch this space for Europe 2015

 

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