Sidewalk Art

Photo: Sidewalk art in Paris. Soooo many great photos today, but I liked this one.

Day 22: Paris

Off to The Louvre early to be  there before the crowds build up too much. No queues, so we were straight in and straight up to The Mona Lisa – again before the crowds arrive. Not very impressive, but it’s one of those things you just-have-to-do. We then slowed down and had a look around, took a few photos then eventually moved on to Notre Dame. By now queues are starting to form, but moving quickly. The cool darkness inside was lovely. Lach says St Paul’s is still his #1 church – but I’m not so sure.

By now it was time for an ice-cream and take a wander around the outside of Notre Dame. The padlocks on Pont de L’archeveche near Notre Dame were interesting – placed there by lovers as a sign of the strength of their love maybe?

The open top bus is a great way to get around. We headed up to The Eiffel Tower on the bus and decided to walk up to the first level. The queues weren’t too bad and it’s sort of another thing you just-have-to-do. The next bit was probably the highlight of the day for me. We bought a baguette and sat under a tree, in the shade, having lunch, looking up at the Eiffel Tower. I don’t think I mentioned – sun! For the first time since Hong Kong we had a sunny day.

We returned to the hotel late afternoon, did a bit of washing (that’s a whole story in itself) then headed out for a night tour of Paris on the bus. Well – that was the plan until the bus turned up and told us we were too late to do a full lap of the town, so we jumped off at the Trocadero just in time for twilight over the Eiffel Tower. Wow! As it got dark the sparkles were turned on. I think this was one of Lauren’s favourite moments so far. I can’t blame her. It was beautiful. From there we walked the few kilometers back to the hotel, via the Arc de Triomphe and des Champs Elysees.