Most people would feel fortunate to have one weekend in Paris, France. This is our second of nine weekends here. Our daughter is here for a week so we are doing many things with her, but I'm leaving her out of our blogs.
On Saturday, Darlene and I had a coffee with Alessandro. We met near the Bastille, and we walked two blocks off the main road as there were lots of revelers for the rugby tournament. We had a good time chatting and discovering how many countries are the same in so many ways.
On Sunday, we went on an open-air bus ride through the city, actually getting on all four routes offered by L Open Tour from CityVISION -- this is the company we used quite a bit this past year in the U.K. and in Scandinavia for bus tours. I like this set of tours much more than the others (enough said!).
The photo to the left is the gilded topping on the Opera Garnier, the premier opera house in Paris prior to the opening of the Opera Bastille in the late 1980s. The shine is fantastic!
We hopped off the green line bus on Champs Elysees and had lunch at the chic (aka, spendy), George V restaurant. We started with a champagne martini, had individual entrees and then we split a totally delicious chocolate mousse for dessert. To burn off those well-desired calories, we then walked up the elegant boulevard to Arc de Triomphe, went under the roundabout to the Arc itself, and then back out to get back on the bus.
We circled the Eiffel Tower, went by the [hardly mentioned] Rodin Museum -- I wouldn't have even known it if I hadn't been there before. We switched to the yellow line, then to the blue line, and finally got off at Hotel De Ville. We were going to do some shopping, but it had been quite windy in the top of the double-decker open-air bus, so we got on the Metro, and came home.
It was a good day, but then when are days in Paris not good days!
On Sunday, we went on an open-air bus ride through the city, actually getting on all four routes offered by L Open Tour from CityVISION -- this is the company we used quite a bit this past year in the U.K. and in Scandinavia for bus tours. I like this set of tours much more than the others (enough said!).
The photo to the left is the gilded topping on the Opera Garnier, the premier opera house in Paris prior to the opening of the Opera Bastille in the late 1980s. The shine is fantastic!
We hopped off the green line bus on Champs Elysees and had lunch at the chic (aka, spendy), George V restaurant. We started with a champagne martini, had individual entrees and then we split a totally delicious chocolate mousse for dessert. To burn off those well-desired calories, we then walked up the elegant boulevard to Arc de Triomphe, went under the roundabout to the Arc itself, and then back out to get back on the bus.We circled the Eiffel Tower, went by the [hardly mentioned] Rodin Museum -- I wouldn't have even known it if I hadn't been there before. We switched to the yellow line, then to the blue line, and finally got off at Hotel De Ville. We were going to do some shopping, but it had been quite windy in the top of the double-decker open-air bus, so we got on the Metro, and came home.
It was a good day, but then when are days in Paris not good days!
Great posts Stuart, looks like you're having a fabulous time!
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