Paris!!!

Sorry for the delay posting about Paris, there were a few technical difficulties.

We spent 3 days in Paris and managed to see many sights!  Our tiny apartment was in a good location near the Louvre, so it was easy to walk or take the Metro.  It also was conveniently located next to a bakery....as Mike said, it was faster to walk to the bakery than it is to walk to the mailbox back home! 

Friday evening we went to the Louvre, and we spent most of the time looking at the sculptures. We all decided we like 3D art better than paintings.  We did push our way to the front of a 15-person deep wall of tourists to see the Mona Lisa.  We were underwhelmed. You can't really SEE it, as they hold you too far away and it is behind protective glass.  I wonder about the draw of some of these famous artworks.  I didn't find them particularly impressive, but was much more impressed by other works instead. I guess there is art that appeals to everyone.

On Saturday, we visited the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Elysees, and Jardin des Tuileries.  We had a Cheeseburger Royale for lunch and did lots of walking. The streets are busy with tourists, but they are much more tolerable than Amsterdam, probably because the tourists are older.  And, no, we did not go up the Eiffel Tower. While I am willing to wait for 30 minutes for fresh cotton candy, I am not willing to wait 2 hours to climb the tower. Maybe another trip...

On Sunday, we walked to Notre Dame along the Seine, had famous Berthillon ice cream cones and watched the finish of the Tour of France. It is amazing the number of people who come out for the finish. We had learned ahead of time that along the Champs-Elysees the crowds can be 5-10 people deep and you have to claim your spot up to 5 hours ahead of time!  We chose a spot that was still along the circle of the final laps, but not in sight of the finish line. If you watched you probably saw us at the 1 KM mark, but just didn't know it (we can only see ourselves on super slow motion - the riders go by sooooo fast!).  We headed home after 2 (of the 8) final laps to watch the finish on TV.  And we finished off the evening with a bowl of miso ramen from the Japanese restaurant down the street.

On Monday, we rented a car and drove around the largest traffic circle in the world before heading to the north coast of France.  More about that later...