France, Spain, and Portugal 2017

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October 31st, Paris
Well, we made it safely to Paris! Our pre-arranged taxi got us from the airport to Hotel Korner Eiffel by 10:30 on Tuesday October 31st. We left our bags, grabbed a map and set off to areas unexplored in past trips. A lengthy metro journey brought us to Pere Lachaise Cemetery. Opened in 1804, it has 70,000 elaborate mausoleums and head stones of famous Parisians in a sculptured garden. We located Jim Morrison's grave, a surprisingly small, tucked away grave but the most visited and adorned with flowers from fans of the Doors. Next we stopped at Place de la Republic, where Parisians gathered after the terrorist attacks, and then to the Bastille area where we had a late lunch. We ended our day with a walk through the our favourite Latin Quarter, where we stayed for our 25th in 2011. We got to our hotel by five and crashed.
Wednesday November 1st, Paris
After stuffing ourselves with coffee, French pastries and other breakfast items, we set off for the Champs Elysees. Barry and I had to return to the hotel to get our Eiffel Tower tickets while Dawn and Lynda had lunch along the Seine. Crowds of people awaited us at the tower but with our pre-purchased tickets to the top we were on the elevator fairly quickly. The height of the tower tested Dawn's acrophobia but the view was fabulous and we checked out all three levels of the tower. Dawn found herself a new Paris Tiggy-walking toque. On the way to the hotel we found a great bakery and bought food for supper which we enjoyed with a bottle of wine.
Thursday November 2nd, Paris
Our last day in Paris...we hopped on the RER train to Versailles to visit the Chateau and it's huge gardens. Lots of tourists, the line was probably 200 metres long, but the weather was nice and the line moved steadily and we explored this beautiful Chateau built during the reign of Louis XIV. Next it was back on the train to the Latin Quarter where we had mid-afternoon meal and Dawn found her favourite Shakespeare and Company bookstore and bought her favourite book, Hemingway's A Moveable Feast and other treasures. We ended our day with a walk down Blvd. Saint Germain....

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