Paris - Day 2. Jet lag wearing off, we had a French breakfast in our hotel - croissants and cafe au laits (hot chocolate for some). We were then taken on a city tour of the highlights of Paris on a bus. The highlights? We saw them all - driving by the Notre Dame Cathedral again and the Louvre. We also drove through some very interesting districts (arrondissements) that were really interesting to see - the opera district and the high fashion stores, the Place Vendome with its monument to Napoleon, beautiful Concorde Square with its Italian fountains - the site where so many were beheaded during the French Revolution! Also the Pantheon - a monument where the French "pantheonize" certain honored citizens such as Marie Curie, the famous authors Voltaire an Victor Hugo, and many others. The French loved Benjamin Franklin and wanted to Pantheonize him but he wasn't French, so they have a statue to honor him on the site. We saw the Luxemborg Gardens, and the Tuileries (gardens by the Louvre). We also saw Les Invalides, the palace and hospital built by Napoleon to house and care for those who served in France's wars. An obvious highlight was a stop at the Eiffel Tower - we walked around it with our mouths hanging open for awhile.
We drove down the Champs Elysses, and around 11:30 were dropped off at the Arc de Triomphe and the start of an afternoon to ourselves in Paris! We decided to climb the 284 steps to the top of the Arc de Triomphe - what a view!
The monument itself is quite amazing and our view of Paris was great! After we climbed down, we set off down one of the main avenues that shoots off of the Arch. We took in the interesting architecture, and of course the people and finally found a little sidewalk cafe (there are so many) that looked inviting and the girls had the fun experience of ordering lunch - it was very easy! And despite the stories we always hear, French waiters have been extremely friendly! We had an excellent lunch and then set out to do some serious shopping in the Opera District. The girls had fun and made a few purchases that will become extra special come school time.
How many girls in Tok School will be able to say they did some of their school clothes shopping in Paris? Finally, after our feet were aching, we walked to the Opera Garnier (the "Phantom of the Opera" opera house), and did some people watching in the heart of the fashion district of Paris while we waited to meet the other kids.
From there, we went to a restaurant for a nice dinner, then began our evening tour of Paris. We went to the Montparnasse Tower - up 58 stories in 37 seconds - for a beautiful view of Paris and the Eiffel Tower.
Next, a boat ride down the Seine as the sun set to see the major sights of Paris by boat - everyone loved that.
It was back to the bus for the sights at night - Paris is known as the City of Light so we had to see it all lit up! Back we went to the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysses - beautiful lit up at night. Just when we thought the day couldn't get any better, we went back to the Eiffel Tower, at about 5 minutes before 11pm. It was all lit up and looked beautiful. There was a band playing on the square and everyone was enjoying the view. Then, at 11pm sharp, the tower lit up with thousands of moving sparkling diamond lights - everyone was blown away! The light show happens on the tower every evening at the top of the hour after darkness.
What a way to end the day - it was well after midnight by the time we returned to the hotel. It was all I could do to get up to my room, so blogging was not going to happen!
Today - Leaving Paris and going to the Loire Valley -
This morning we left beautiful Paris and headed into the country. Our first stop was fantastic - we visited the town of Chartre and the Cathedral of the same name.
Chartre Cathedral is much much larger than Notre Dame.
We spent an hour walking around it and could easily have spent more. We then went into the quaint little town of Chartre and had lunch at another little sidewalk cafe. The girls are being brave with the food and enjoying everything - we all ooohd and aaahd over everyone's lunches - especially the French onion soups and the Nutella Crepes!
Back to our bus again as we headed south into the Loire Valley. We made a stop at a beautiful Chateau - Chambord, which is a palace built in the 1500's and was a hunting lodge of a French King.
We wandered around the grounds taking in the magnificent chateau, lazed on the lawns, and bought some ice creams and sorbets. On the bus again we drove along the Loire River, seeing many medieval towns and Renaissance chateaus, until we arrived in the tiny city of Tours, which is the capital of the Loire Valley. We had a nice dinner, and then retired at a decent hour. Things will get much quieter now that we are away from the hustle and bustle of Paris. The countryside of the Loire is beautiful - picture perfect!
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