Return to Paris
Our train arrived in Paris's Gere de l'Est in the late morning. We had
two Metro passes remaining from our previous trip, we used those to
take us to the Saint- Germain-des-Prés stop, the one closest to
our hotel. Before actually boarding the Metro, we purchased tickets for
the RER train that would take us to the airport on Monday.
Our hotel was the Hôtel
des Saints Pères, about two easy blocks from the Metro stop.
Although not exquisit like the Hôtel
de l'Abbaye, it was completely adequate for our purposes.
Our goal for the day was to do some souvenir shopping, and, time
permitting, sight-see a bit in the Jardin des Tuileries and the
Musée de l'Orangerie. Before heading out, however, we took some
lunch at the nearby cafe Le
Bonaparte. This turned out to be quite nice and not too expensive.
After lunch, we walked north toward our goal, the Rue de Rivoli, which
borders the Louvre on the north.
A view of Ile de la Cité from Pont des Arts.
On the bridge, couples had placed locks with their names on them. There
were thousands of them. There were also con artists.
Other sites on our walk.
Our search for souvenirs failed. So we decided to walk through Jardin
des Tuilleries.
The next day was the last of our visit to France, and we spent it
visiting the Tour Eiffel. We
were able to take the Metro, with one change of trains, to within a
block of our target. Once there, there were no obvious indications of
where to get in line. We eventually figured this out and began our wait
to buy tickets, which lasted approximately 1:15.
We were entertained by watching the hundreds of street vendors flee in
terror as a lone policeman rode his bicycle around.
Once the tickets were purchased, we had another wait for the first
elevator, which would take use to the second level. On the second
level, there was another wait of approximately 45 minutes for the
elevator that would take use to the top. This time, however, the wait
allowed to see many grand views, and the queue prescribed the
circumfrance of the level.
Finally, we were able to board the train for the top, which provided
these spectacular views.
The return down the tower was much quicker, and we began walking south
along the Champ de Marse.
About halfway down the park, we found a small cafe that provided much
needed seats and some refreshments.
We decided to finish the day by visiting the nearby Museé Rodin.
The walk there took us by the Esplanade des Invalides and the adjacent
gold-domed Hotel des Invalides containing Napolean's tomb.
It turned out admission to the Museé was free on the first
Sunday of the month, and more importantly, that the Museé was a
gem, with beautiful gardens and Rodin's unsurpassed masterpieces.
After the Museé, we took the short walk back to the hotel.
