Paris Highlights

Jim and I left Lauren and Lee to catch up with a volunteer friend, and we set out to do some of the things they had already seen.  So what would be our first stop - the Eiffel Tower of course.  I knew it was big, but was still surprised at the area it took up.  We got there about ten minutes after opening, and there was a huge queue snaking around the bottom of the tower.  We headed to the end of it, to discover a second, short queue that said stairs.  So we decided that we really weren't looking for the elevator anyway, and we were happy with the stairs.  Within about five minutes we had our tickets and were heading through the security checks.

We only went as far as the first floor even though we could have gone higher.  I don't particularly like heights, and figured I wasn't going to see much more going higher.  And the views were fantastic.  We spent about an hour on the deck looking out over Paris.  On the way down we spotted army personnel patrolling the bottom with their M16's in hand.  I don't know if they were following us, but they certainly looked the same ones that we saw at every place we went to that day.

We crossed the road and headed to the Seine, just missing a cruise boat that had just departed.  The next one was half an hour, so we ended up first in line.  No sooner had we boarded the boat and it started to rain.  By the end of our hour cruise it was pelting down, so much so that we waited 40 minutes in the hope it would ease.  Eventually we had to make a move, so we tested out our new water proof jackets (thank you Scott for getting these from the States for us, they were a blessing).  The jackets did a great job, but only to where they finished so the rest of us was quite wet.  It was lunch time so we headed for the first cafe we came across, not caring what it cost as long as we were dry.  Everyone else must have had the same thought, because we had to wait until a table became free (but at least we were inside).

The rain had eased by the time we left, so the next stop was Notre Dame.  This year is its 850th anniversary.  What an unbelievable place this is.  It's huge and so beautiful.  So many little chapels around the sides and the magnificent altar area in the middle.  We spent a long time here, both inside and out.


We then made the short walk to St. Chappelle.  This is around the same age, but has been swallowed up by the Justice Department.  We weren't sure if all the high security screening we went through was for the chapel or the rest of the area.  Although quite small, it is very unusual.  To start with it is two floors.  The bottom floor is reasonably unprepossessing, although it does have the oldest wall painting in France (1300's).  Then you climb one of the spiral staircases to the second floor, and you are greeted by these enormously high walls all of stained glass.  Quite a site.

By this time Lauren and Lee has messaged us and caught up outside.  Off to the train station again, and we were soon in Montmartre, exiting the train right at Moulin Rouge.  Then the long but interesting climb up the narrow streets to Sacre Coeur Cathedral.  Apart from the Eiffel Tower, it has to have some of the best views in Paris.

Next stop was Montparnasse and the tower.  I don't know how many floors it is, but I took one look at the diagram that showed it open at the top and clear glass all around, and said no good me spending money on that, so Lauren and Lee went alone.  After they had been up they were able to tell us that there is also an enclosed viewing area the floor under which I might have been able to cope with.  I'll be happy looking at Lee's photos.

By the time we got home it was ten o'clock, so a very long day.