Farewell to Paris

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Geo: 48.8566, 2.35097

This was our last morning in Paris so we wanted to make the most of it. We were out and about before 8 o'clock. We were on the streets with many people going to work by taxi, car, bike, motorcycle and subway. One observation we made is that there are probably more people riding motorcycles here in Paris than in London or Ireland. If all the people on motorcycles were in cars the traffic probably wouldn't even move. They weave in and around the cars and buses just like the bicyclists do. Their attire is everything from business suits, dresses and heels to jeans and tights. Another thing we noticed is that there weren't many grocery stores or supermarkets and the few we did see were very small.

We walked through Luxembourg Garden to St. Michele Street. The park was full of joggers, and people doing aerobics and yoga in groups with an instructor. Once we reached St.Michele we headed for a section of the city we had not seen before. Most of the retail stores were closed but the sidewalk cafes were open with Parisians having breakfast. Some even drinking beer before heading to work!

During our wandering we came upon the Sorbonne and a huge monument dedicated to St. Michael at the foot of the street bearing his name. Everywhere you go you find a statue or monument in memory of someone. The history of Paris is displayed at many locations.

Before we realized we had walked all the way to the Seine River and could see the backs of St. Chapelle and Notre Dame Cathedral.

At this point we needed to return to our hotel to check out in order to catch our high speed train back to London. This meant taking a subway to the Nord Train Station to make our 1:04p.m.connection which we managed to do.

We arrived back in London and returned to the same hotel we had stayed in previously. The rest of the day was spent strolling around the Saint Pancras area. We caught supper at a Chinese restaurant, went sight seeing down several streets, and spent time in a neighborhood park watching kids play basketball. We ended our evening by stopping in a local tavern to have refreshments.

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