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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