Advertisement
What a beautiful day in Paris! I don’t think I could have asked for better weather…although it was a little hot, and I did get a little sunburn, it was an amazing day. I started my day with breakfast at a restaurant just down the street from my hotel, called Café Lateral. I had a typical French breakfast of croissant, French bread with butter and jam, fresh squeezed orange juice, and “white coffee” which , I believe, was basically an espresso with steamed milk. That was plenty to get me through the better part of my day.
My first stop was the Arc de Triomphe. My goal was to visit it twice today, once in the morning, and once at night to see the amazing views of Paris from the top. When I was in Paris 10 years ago with my Mom we visited the Arc, but she didn’t climb to the top with me because of her asthma. So I told myself I would climb to the top for her today, and that I did, twice! It’s 284 stairs to reach the top…that was easy in the morning, but when I returned at night after walking all day it was
a different story, but I made it, and the views are so worth it. I don’t think the photos do it justice, but I tried to capture everything I thought was worth seeing. It was great to just stand at the top and just let my eyes wander all around Paris and see all the things I wouldn’t have time to actually visit. I also enjoyed taking photos of all of the details of the Arc. The photos from the night are my favorite…I think I’m finally getting the hang of this digital SLR camera!
After the Arc I decided to just wander my way to the Eiffel Tower. It probably took about an hour or so to walk to the Eiffel Tower and what a great walk it was. I got to see so much of the city I would have missed had I just hopped on the metro to get there. The tower is pretty much how I remembered it, except this time I saw it in the spring, instead of winter when my Mom and I were there, so the parks surrounding it were beautiful!
Then I was off to wander along the River Seine and take
in some more sites. I knew I wasn’t going to have time to visit any museums, so I just admired the outside of most of them. I made my way to Musee d’Orsay and took some photos of the clock, then I went across the river to the Jardin des Tuileries which was beautiful, and also very hot! It think it’s at that point that I realized I was getting sun burnt. I stopped for lunch at a place in the Tuileries and had Jambon Blanc (ham and butter baguette) and sparkling water. I found a bench in the shade to eat and relax for a while before I wandered over to the Louvre. There was so much to look at in the Tuileries. From statues, to flowers, to people! I think my favorite moment was coming across a little fountain with kids racing little sailboats. The colors of the sails were so vibrant and I enjoyed just watching the kids laugh and they pushed the sailboats along. I then made my way over to the Louvre and took a few pictures, and remembered when I was last there, with my Mom. She would have loved Paris in the springtime.
After the Louvre I wandered down the River Seine until I reached the Notre Dame Cathedral. What an amazing sight. I wish now that I would have gone inside, but the outside is just as amazing! After Notre Dame I decided it was time to head back to my hotel. I was exhausted, and still had to visit the Arc de Triomphe one more time. I think at this point I had been walking for close to 7 or 8 hours. Once I freshened up I headed out to the Arc again. I loved that it was so close to my hotel. I made my way up to the top again and found a good spot with view of the Eiffel Tower so I could catch some photos once they lit it up, I think around 10pm. The sun had just set and it was a beautiful night in Paris. I spent about 45 minutes at the top just taking in the views, and snapping a lot of photos. Once I made my way back to the bottom I got some more amazing photos of the Arc all lit up at night. So far I think these are by far
my favorite pictures. Then I stopped at Café Lateral again for dinner and then it was back to my hotel to pack and get ready for my train ride to Avignon…that is where I am now. I will post again tomorrow about my visit in Avignon (Provence). Enjoy the photos!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.234s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 6; qc: 45; dbt: 0.0511s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Cheryl
non-member comment
Exhausted
Christina, I'm exhausted just reading about your day! Take care ~ may you experience it all with laughter and love as your companions! :)