Tacoma: Paris: Day two

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Paris: Day two

Paris: Day two

A petit dejeuner: Each morning we start our day with a basket of pastries and breads, juice, coffee, yogurt, jam, and cheese at the hotel. We'll have to get a photo of it one of these mornings.

Map my run: Today we ant all out. Over 14 miles walked according to an online map of our route.

Arc de Triomphe: The Arc was larger than I had imagined it would be. Although I have seen many photos of it, I would have never guessed it was as tall as it is.

Champs-élysées: I was humming the champs-élysées song for quite a few blocks. Neat to walk down it, but since we cannot afford the height of French fashion, mostly just "window licking" as they say in Paris. We found a version of a Dollar Store. It was an "everything for 20 euros (30 dollars) store". Cheap!

Jardin des Tuileries: the gardens in front of the Louvre. The flowers and trees are just starting to blossom, but still pre-spring in looks. We did not go in to the Louvre today, that is for a different day.

Lunch at the cafe: we found a cafe with some quiches and sandwiches for lunch.

Montmartre: As Rick Steves says, " it used to be filled with Bohemians, now it is just filled with wannabe Bohemians.

Sacre-Cour: At the top of our steep climb we were able to tour Sacre-Couer. Unfortunately no photos can be taken inside and the tower was not available for tours. On the steps people sat and took in a view of the city while musicians took turns performing to the crowds. Young men were walking around selling beer out of cases to make money.

The artists of Monmartre: In the back alleys there were tourist shops and artists wandering around trying to let them sketch us for a few Euros.

After the long walk back to our hotel we rested a bit before venturing out again. Dinner was crepes (Hal had strawberries, Anna had chocolate and bananas) while watching the Eiffel Tower light up at a distance from one of the hillsides.

Pictures: Here are some photos from our day.