PARIS 10/06/10 - 14/06/10

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This is our last night in Paris and we have really enjoyed our stay. We have found the Frence friendly enough so far and its alot easier to try and understand French than Chinese!

11/06/10
Today we started our day with a visit to the local doctor (that was a mission in itself!) I had a strep throat and an infected finger and was feeling terrible (not even one week into our trip!) and needed some antibiotics. After that we went to see the impressive Notre Dame Cathedral. Then we went to the Louvre and didnt have to queue at all! The Louvre was massive with +35000 exhibits, however most were described in Frence. Being as uncultured as we are it was a bit boring. The Venice de Milo was a bit broken and ugly and the Mona Lisa is a bit of an ugly tart! After the Louvre we went to the Eiffel Tower which was also pretty ugly. We took the lift to the top (3rd floor), for this we had to queue for an hour. It was a lovely evening and we had a fantastic view for miles. Below 63000 people were watching France in its first world cup game. Its not very romantic at the top with crowds of people. When we got down it was starting to get dark and the Eiffel tower lit up and sparkling lights came on for 5 mins, the Eiffel Tower looked beautiful then. A little spoilt by the soldiers with machine guns!

12/06/10
Today we visited the catacombs. 83 steps under paris is a large mine which they decided to put the bones of millions of innocents from a cemetry. Down in these mines/catacombs are millions of bones stacked decoratively. After this we went shopping.

13/06/10
Today we took the subway to Arc de Triomphe which is pretty impressive for a monument, we didnt bother climbing to the roof. Also saw the tomb and eternal flame of the unknown warrior. After this we went to Basilique du Sacre-Coeur which is a Roman-Byzantine style church with imposing decoraive features and stand at the top of the Butle Montmantre, a quaint French town, that was really busy due to a bike race. Here we had a real French lunch with crepes and an entree of Snails! They were actually really yum, taste like shellfish. We ended the day with a visit to Chateau de Vincennes, an unusual medieval european architectural complex with an enclosure, castle, chapel and a really big moat. It includes europes tallest keep, however it has been fully restored. We came across a large market in the surrounding town and brought some sheets and towels. Pick up the car tomorrow then head to Normandy.

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