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We woke up today with the great view of the Eiffel Tower again, but unfortunately also clouds. And I thought that rain gear was going to be necessary in London...HA. We headed out with our rain coats and umbrella after another great breakfast (albeit with no Nutella). It started raining just as we left the hotel. We took the same general path today as we did yesterday. We even stopped at some of the same souvenir shops as yesterday. I hoped we could catch some of those owners "making good deal just for you"-kind of deals that we were so informed of yesterday. We picked up the mandatory magnets and pens along the way but wanted to save some of the other stuff for later, as to not add to the weight of what we were already trudging around in. The good news is that just as we were stepping out of a shop, the sun started to peek out from behind the clouds. By the time we got to Champ de Mars (the park that surrounds the tower), we actually had blue skies! There were a lot more people out and about, too. Aside from them getting in the way
Les Jardins d'Eiffel
Our awesome hotel for the Paris trip. It was finally nice enough to be able to point my camera upwards. of my pictures, it's nice to have some other tourists around.
We didn't see any of the gypsies like yesterday, but there were a ton of individual vendors out at the park and then even more hanging on the stairs of the Trocadero. They really only ask once if you want to buy something and as long as your don't make eye contact, they move on to the next camera-toting tourist. We took time to linger around here a little longer since it was nice, but again, headed down the route we took yesterday. We kept running into these police vehicles everywhere we went. Sirens on, lights flashing, some even clad in riot gear walking on the sidewalk. It looked very peaceful on the streets so I can only assume they were heading for a peacekeeping mission at Kim and Kanye's crib.
The Arc was much nicer in the sunlight, although the scaffolding was still there. We also came across a very classy Abercrombie & Fitch. Classy, as in it had gates like I would think they have at Versailles. There were also two guards outside with earpieces watching the streets and the exit.
They charge a lot at home and don't have guards so I wonder what the prices are like here!? We stopped at the Toyota showroom to admire some concept cars and then continued on our way.
The Tuileries Gardens were much nicer today, although at this point, I'm getting a little hot. I know what you're thinking. First world problems, huh? Boohoo I'm in Paris and it's too rainy, but wait, now it's too hot. I hear ya. Trying to find a seat in the shade, we attempted to eat at a couple cafes inside the park. Neither one of us was too keen on the offerings so we figured we'd wait until we got to the Notre Dame Cathedral. We ducked out of the gardens and walked along the river until we got to Notre Dame. We took a load off for a few minutes down on the walkway that runs closer to the river (below street level). It was nice and shady and breezy, which was very welcome. We couldn't really agree on any food, at this point. I wanted to sit and relax, but Kristi wanted to eat and go. We finally figured that
Eiffel Tower
Tour Eiffel finally basking in the sun. with as late as it was getting, we might as well just have dinner but back by the hotel. We grabbed a couple of crepes (one apricot and one cinnamon sugar) to tide us over. We passed quite a few places but I think that I was so hungry, nothing sounded good!
I dropped Kris off back at the room and decided I was going to go get some food from Rue Cler and bring back whatever I found. Kris was a little worried, I think, but I figured I could handle it. If we can't communicate, I'll just run away. I'll show them. Like I said before, it only takes a couple minutes to get over there and right away you're hit with great smells and sights. Fruit stands, fish mongers, flower shops, and cafes line both sides of this street (but no cars drive on it). The first place I spotted was a wine store. The had bottles out in front of the store and they would chill them for free so I decided that would be my last stop. The produce co-op would be my first stop. After a quick once over of the
Tour Eiffel
You can see some construction going on underneath the tower, but it doesn't detract too much. store, I decided on some strawberries, a pear, and an apple. Checking out was a breeze, I just didn't understand when he asked if I wanted a bag. After we got that ironed out, I headed to the deli. They were roasting chickens right outside of their storefront in wheeled rotisseries. I couldn't pass that up. They also had herb roasted potatoes so I grabbed a fee scoops of those to go along with it. I then found a bakery and grabbed a baguette. They also had eclairs that Kristi had been talking about for two days, so I threw one of those in. Back to get the wine I went, had a nice conversation with the sommelier, and turned back towards the hotel. Once upstairs I realized that I never got the eclair! Crap. At this point I gave up and we set up our picnic on the patio. Everything was great, with the award going to the strawberry as the best part of the meal.
Every night the Eiffel Tower puts on a light show. We've seen it from our bed for the last couple of nights, but we wanted to see it in person, at the
More Flowers
Guys must get scolded when the don't bring home flowers here. They are on almost every block. park. We grabbed our stuff and headed toward the park. There were lots of people sitting in the park, even a group of American college girls picnicing next to us. Unfortunately, there were also lots of people trying to sell champagne, beer, etc. We passed and just enjoyed the view. Finally, the sparkling began. Everyone gets quite and just watches. I got some good shots off before it stopped and we decided to head back.
Sadly, it's time to pack, at this point. Sadly, because our vacation is over, yes. But also, because I have no idea how we're going to put all of our into our luggage. So a ton of pushing, squashing, sitting, and zipping later, and our bags finally...look super bulbous. I don't know if they will stand up on their own, to be honest. I guess tomorrow will tell.
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