Day 22 – Paris

Thinking that we should really accomplish something today we got our shit together and headed into the centre of Paris.

First stop, Notre Dame.

Notre dame was the first thing that we had gone to see that had free entry. Inside was very beautiful and the stained glass windows were very brightly coloured. We could even take photos. Sweet! We paid another 4 euro and checked out the treasury to find heaps of relics and pretty gold things.

But of course there was a catch. Entry to the church itself was free, but if you wanted to climb to the top of the towers it would cost you another 9.50 euro. So still feeling tired and a little cheap, we decided against the climb and went for a coffee and crepe instead. It was then that we remembered how much we loved crepes and vowed to eat as many as possible before leaving Paris.

We found a shopping centre and went in for a look. I was wanting to buy some perfume whilst in Paris, and purchase I did. :)

We then jumped back on the train and headed to the Arch de Triomph. (arch of triumph) It was massive. The carvings were so intricate and very pretty and the eternal flame burns on the place where the body of an unknown soldier lies.

The traffic going around the Arch in a huge round about was great to watch. There were cars as busses and bikes going everywhere, but everyone had patience and manners so there was no confusion as to who was entering or leaving and no horns beeping or anything. It was like organised chaos.

From there we walked to the Effel Tower. We thought that this was something that was really massive and that you could see from anywhere in Paris. But you can't. We used our map and walked down several different streets waiting for a glimpse to let us know we were heading in the right direction. It wasn't until we were nearly there that we got our first look.

 

We joined the masses of people and headed over the river to see her. She is very beautiful. I would say the most beautiful thing in Paris. We joined the que and headed up.

We had decided to walk, so this gave us access to the first 2 levels. We climbed the first 400 odd steps to the first level and had to have a bit of a rest, so stopped for a drink and a snack. We then headed up the next 460 steps to the second level. The view was beautiful, the kids would have loved it, but I wasn't too keen on getting too close to the edge. The structure feels very solid considering it was built in 1889, and is currently undergoing renovations (like everything in europe atm) that will take about 2 years to complete.

After spending about 3 hours in up and around the Tower we decided to check out a restraunt that was recommended to us by the frenchmen on our first night, L'Ogre. On their recommendation, we ordered the rump steak for two. This is what turned up.....

Holy crap, this was the best meal we have eaten in a very very long time!!! The meat was beautiful and tender, the little potatoes were cooked perfectly and even the salad was perfectly dressed. Absolutely amazing!

We caught a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower all lit up at night, and as we were looking she started to sparkle. So pretty, Mekhaela would have loved it, steak and the pretty tower, her perfect night out I think.

 

We caught cab home, just in case of stabby stabby on the train, and saw some of the pretty buildings in Paris all lit up. Very pretty.