Ah Paris!!

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Our first day in Paris! After the minor nightmare of negotiating the Metro with our luggage, Paris looks far more attractive today! Our first stop was the local patisserie for breakfast pastries but Em was not really interested - she just wanted to keep warm as it is quite cool in the mornings. Then it was off to have our picnic at under the Eiffel Tower which we had promised Em. Paris Metro is very easy to use and we were soon back in the sunshine walking down to the most famous sight in Paris. Em of course was asleep! We wandered through the Jardins du Trocadero (Trocadero Gardens) just over the river from the tower before heading under the tower itself for a look around. Emily woke up and looked up to see the tower with a smile then promptly found the nearest playground. A while later... we strolled off to have our picnic lunch. Perhaps we should have been less specific about the location... "I want to go UNDER the Eiffel Tower. Not here - closer. NOT HERE - CLOSER!!!" (complete with foot stomping). We finally came to a compromise - the absolute closest patch of grass to the tower. A lovely lunch with a famous view and Em even got to run around and chase the pigeons. No, we didn't go up as it was a bit misty and paying 15 euro each to see nothing more than a white haze from the top was not very appealing.

We stopped for a look at the fountains back in the gardens across the river which had now been switched on and were pretty spectacular. Then it was a hike up to the Champs Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe. Em got some sideways looks when she posed for some photos... Then we went through the underpass and got a close up look. Quite a striking monument with beautiful carvings and detail in the stonework. We were all pretty tired by now so we called it a day and got the metro back to our little apartment.

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