Day and Night in Paris

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July 26 Wednesday

Even though I had gone to bed late last night, I still got up early but this time closer to 6 AM. I downloaded all the pictures I took last night and then headed off for breakfast. Not surprising I didn't see anyone from my group. Unfortunately most of the food that was cooked was not to my taste, So I ended up with some ham slices, cheese, and croissants. The orange juice actually was very good.





I then left the hotel to go across the street again to the bridge over the Seine River. I took some good pictures of the Eiffel Tower and then headed down to the little island below to get a better picture of the Statue of Liberty. There was a plaque in French but I was able to translate it with an app I had. It didn't translate exactly but this was close enough: At the western tip of the Ile aux Cygnes, this reduction of the famous statue of Liberty that adorns the harbor of New York was realized by the Alsatian sculptor Frederic Augustus Bartholdi (1834-1904) The replica is made of bronze, with a height of 9 meters without its base. She was given in 1884 to the City of Paris by the Parisian colony of the United States in That offered by France to the Americans Inaugurated place of the United States (16th arr.), It occupies The top of one of the piers of the Grenelle bridge. Looking towards the center of Paris for the " It was a universal exhibition in 1889, and turned towards the mouth of the Seine for that of 1937. On the occasion of the 1968 works on the Grenelle bridge, it was moved to the western tip Of the Ile aux Cygnes and installed on this pedestal. She keeps her eyes turned towards the port of New York, following the wish of Bartholdi. Two dates are engraved on the shelf that La Freedom on 4 July 1776, the date of the Declaration of Independence of the United States and 14 July 17 date of the French Declaration of Human Rights. The Parisienne by Jacques Cuinières.





I headed back to the hotel room stopping along the way to take some pictures of the little flower garden out front. I went upstairs to grab my things and then headed back downstairs to wait for the group since we were leaving at 9 o'clock for our tour of the city.





After most of us boarded the bus, a few stayed behind at the hotel, we did a bus tour with a local guide. The guide was half French and half American and actually grew up in Chicago. We passed the Eiffel Tower's and then stopped at one location where we could see the Eiffel Tower from a distance. We got out and took pictures with the Eiffel Tower in the backdrop. A few men from Africa were selling Eiffel Tower souvenirs illegally. I was able to pick up a small version of it and six key ring versions for €7.





We then drove past other sites such as the Arc de Triomphe, which we drove around three or four times.





The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the center of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Place de l'Étoile — the étoileor "star" of the juncture formed by its twelve radiating avenues. The Arc de Triomphe honors those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I. The Arc de Triomphe was designed by Jean Chalgrin in 1806. The Arc de Triomphe has an overall height of 164 ft, width of 148 ft, and depth of 72 ft, while its large vault is 95.8 ft high and 48.0 ft wide.





It was interesting that the route that we took was almost identical to the night tour bus that I took the previous night. After about an hour of the bus tour we got off at Notre Dame.





Notre-Dame de Paris, meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), also known as Notre-Dame Cathedral or simply Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité in Paris, France. The cathedral is widely considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture, and it is among the largest and most well-known church buildings in the world. The naturalism of its sculptures and stained glass serve to contrast it with earlier Romanesque architecture. The cathedral treasury contains a reliquary, which houses some of Catholicism's most important relics, including the purported Crown of Thorns, a fragment of the True Cross, and one of the Holy Nails. In the 1790s, Notre-Dame suffered desecration in the radical phase of the French Revolution when much of its religious imagery was damaged or destroyed. An extensive restoration supervised by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc began in 1845. A project of further restoration and maintenance began in 1991.





Our guide took us inside for a tour of the building. I really loved the stain glass windows. It's a beautiful building with lots of detail to look at.





We then walked towards the Latin quarter of Paris. He showed us the smallest room in Paris as well as a the insides of a small church. We also passed an old Roman bath that they are still currently excavating. He also showed us in a small garden a statue of Romulus and Remus drinking milk from the wolf that raised them according to the legend.





We finished our walking tour at the Luxembourg Gardens.





"Le Jardin du Luxembourg", or the Luxembourg Garden, located in Paris, was created beginning in 1612 by Marie de' Medici, the widow of King Henry IV of France, for a new residence she constructed, the Luxembourg Palace. The 25-hectare Jardin du Luxembourg is the second largest public park in Paris.







We were then given almost 2 hours on our own to grab something to eat and to explore the area. Since I desperately needed to use the restroom, I headed to the McDonald's. Unfortunately you have to order something to eat first, then use the number on the receipt form to punch in a code on the restroom door down below. So instead of grabbing something from the French restaurant I had McDonald's for my lunch.





After getting my food I took it back across the street to the Luxembourg Gardens and sat down on a bench facing a statue. I noticed there are quite a few that pigeons in this park. So I threw a couple french fries out and more pigeons showed up. It was pretty funny watching the birds chase after each other when one was holding a french fry in its beak. Next I decided to walk around and just took some pictures before meeting up with Cameron and Charne. Well Cameron and Mick ran back to the gift shop that I had found, Charne, Kylie, and I just hung out and talked. Soon it was time to head back to the bus and we made our way to the Eiffel Tower.





The Eiffel Tower is a wrought iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Constructed from 1887–89 as the entrance to the 1889 World's Fair, it was initially criticized by some of France's leading artists and intellectuals for its design, but it has become a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. The Eiffel Tower is the most-visited paid monument in the world; 6.91 million people ascended it in 2015.

The tower is 1,063 ft tall, about the same height as an 81-story building, and the tallest structure in Paris. Its base is square, measuring 410 ft on each side. During its construction, the Eiffel Tower surpassed the Washington Monument to become the tallest man-made structure in the world, a title it held for 41 years until the Chrysler Building in New York City was finished in 1930. Due to the addition of a broadcasting aerial at the top of the tower in 1957, it is now taller than the Chrysler Building by 17 ft. Excluding transmitters, the Eiffel Tower is the second-tallest structure in France.



The tower has three levels for visitors, with restaurants on the first and second levels. The top level's upper platform is 906 ft above the ground – the highest observation deck accessible to the public in the European Union. Tickets can be purchased to ascend by stairs or lift (elevator) to the first and second levels. The climb from ground level to the first level is over 300 steps, as is the climb from the first level to the second. Although there is a staircase to the top level, it is usually accessible only by lift.





We got our ticket for the Eiffel Tower and we're given time to explore on our own again. We got to the second level and was able to look around and see the sights of Paris from up above. Well on the first level I tried a beignet for the first time. It wasn't much of a big to do like I've heard about. It's basically just a donut without a hole. When I was done looking around I decided to head back to the bus even though I still had a good 30 minutes left.





Just as I left the gate I came across Katie sitting by herself. Apparently her mother did not want to go to the Eiffel Tower and so walked back to the hotel without telling Katie. She didn't want to sit on the bus by herself so I told her she can come with me when I went.





When we got back to the hotel I decided to go see if the Indiana restaurant was open. Unfortunately it was not since it was in the process of still being built in the mall. Right before I left the mall I passed an art gallery. It had a huge picture of the hotel that Mr. Tudor and I stayed in last March for the CUE conference. The artist wanted €850 for the picture! I went back to my room and had about 35 minutes to get ready for our farewell dinner.





La Bouteille d' Or Restaurant was located in the Latin quarter of Paris. They took us upstairs where a long table sat all of us including Luigi and Scott. I sat near the Sharma family, Howard and Ann, Charne and Cameron. We had to preselect our dinner before arriving so I had selected the French onion soup which I had for the first time. It was delicious although I was surprised at all the stuff that was in the soup. I had the pork been down i we had to preselect our dinner before arriving so I had selected the French onion soup which I had for the first time. It was delicious although I was surprised at all the stuff that was in the soup. I had the pork medallion with vegetables. The pork wasn't that great. And then for dessert was a chocolate soufflé with white cream and berries sauce. I didn't care for it.





After dinner we boarded the bus and headed for our cruise on the Seine River. It had rained previously but had stopped when we got to the boat. Most of us sat together toward the back while others scattered themselves in small groups elsewhere. It was a nice hour long cruise where we took plenty of pictures of ourselves and the scenery. The funniest part was when we passed a man and a woman obviously having sex while fully clothed along the riverbank. And at 10 o'clock we were in front of the Eiffel Tower and were able to watch the light display. When we got back to the dock, our little group in the back posed one last time together.





We ended up going back to the hotel. As Charne and I were going up the escalator, we noticed that the hotel had put out a large pink rubber version of the Eiffel Tower. She and I both laughed about how it looked completely like something else that was inappropriate.

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