Paris (2)

Wednesday 22 Sept

 After breakfast we were joined by a local French tour guide who was to lead today's tour.  We passed through  the very busy centre of Paris with people bustling to work, using all sorts of means of transport.  Several roads were closed for maintenance which meant taking alternative routes but we did get to see some main features along the way.It was very interesting as this was so different from any of the cities we had seen so far.
                                              

We finally made it to the Eiffel Tower, again walking straight past the long queue and into the lift which ascended to the second level. The lift was fast and had windows to see out as we went up.

                                                               

                                         

We had the most amazing 360 degree views of Paris.  The smog was thick and things looked hazy but it is a wonderful sight and we could identify so many of the main landmarks.
                                    

                              

Chris and I had decided, from day 1 of the tour, that we wanted a day in Paris on our own so opted out of the rest of the organised day excursion, which included a trip out to the Versailles Palace. We explored Paris by foot, at our own pace, which wasn't fast with my sore leg, ( turned out to be sciatica) .

The bright orange Trafalgar bus had its advantages as we had been walking about 5 minutes when I realised I had Wendy's camera, which I was holding while she was buying some souvenirs.  Chris spotted the bus, which we haled down and a much relieved Wendy had her camera back.  She thought it had been stolen by the Gypsies!                                              

We crossed over to the other side of the river as we had already driven along the Eiffel Tower side in the bus.  It was a beautiful, clear, warm day and lots of boats were cruising up and down the  tree-lined river'.

We walked further in to look at the historical buildings. The hint of autumn appeared with trees changing to the most beautiful colours of orange, yellow and brown.  Many trees were loosing there leaves and the paths looked like a blanket of gold.

                                                   
We continued walking alternatively between the river bank and exploring side streets with the many magnificent art galleries, petite and large palaces facing each other, political buildings and lots of history.

                                                        

                                      

                                  

After walking for sometime along the Seine River we came to the Champs Elysees which is one of the most famous avenues in the world.  It is bordered by numerous beautiful gardens, parks, fountains and lined with chestnut trees.  It also hosts many people in its cinemas, cafes (very expensive) and specialist shops.

                           

The Champs Elysees starts at the the Concorde monument and finishes at the memorial for Charles de Gaulle, the site of the Arc de Tromphe.  It was a very hot day but a lovely walk with lots of people out enjoying this beautiful Avenue.   

                                         

                                

The Champs Elysees was first originated in 1670 but took on its current shape in 1838.  It is 1920 metres long and the Arc de Tromphe is the meeting point for twelve straight Avenues in Central Paris.  Many celebrations and memorial services take place at the Arc de Tromphe.

                                    

Our next stop was at the 'Louvre', an amazing building with its distinctive, pyramid glass entrance.  This is the home of the famous 'Mona Lisa ' painting. The queue was very long to enter and it would have taken ages to actually go through the Louvre and appreciate what it offers .

   

                         

We decided not to wait in the heat all afternoon and headed off back over to the river, into an old but typical French shopping area.  I did try on one French outfit but walked out with no extra bags!   After looking around the narrow old streets, with more pharmacies than any other type of shop, (obvious by their cross on a green background) we found a quiet little French bar in a small street away from the crowds.  After the long walk the cold French wine and beer for Chris, hardly touched the sides!

     

                                      

After our rest we decided to get at taxi back to the hotel but as we were driving along I saw the huge Forum Shopping Centre so I got the driver to stop.  It had lots of levels and every sort of shop possible.  It was like a massive 'Westfield' in New Zealand, even to the same McDonald's menu and layout.  We then walked through the markets where I did buy a tee-shirt.  There must have been an important event happening at a luxurious hotel near the forum as they were lots of police patrolling the area as we walked through.
                                    
It was getting very busy being mid afternoon and extremely hot so we caught another taxi back to the Holiday Inn La Vittee. It took a while to hale a taxi but we were eventually in the solid traffic trying to get around a huge round-about.  After a lengthy drive, but plenty of time to take in the sights, we arrived back at the hotel.

 The tour bus had just pulled in before us and were very disappointed with their tour out to Versailles Palace.  Apparently it was very busy, extremely hot and they didn't get to see much.  Many wished they had done what Chris and I opted to do.  We had a great time and didn't regret missing the excursion at all.  At least we saw "Paris", which many would have missed an amazing experience if it was their first, and maybe their last, chance to see the high-lights of Paris by day.

We only had a short time before meeting with Simon to confirm the nest day's arrangements as it was the last day of the tour. I sat down with a lovely wine, opened my emails and, oh no!  Our flight to Barcelona, in Spain, had been canceled due to the French going on strike because they didn't want to have to work an extra year before getting a government pension.  Currently the French can retire on a full pension at 60 years old.  In the short time we had, I tried to get alternative flights but had no luck.

I wasn't going to let our disappointment spoil the farewell dinner for the rest of the tour group so we got changed and ready to leave.

Our farewell dinner was held in a lovely French restaurant in the heart of Paris.  It was a delicious 4 course traditional meal, all well presented.
                                                       

After the farewell dinner we went on a night tour of the illuminations of Paris.On the way to the central city we passed through the tunnel where Princess Diana was killed 9 years ago.  Her driver was apparently under the influence of alcohol and was traveling at a speed of over 200k/ms per hour.  Diana was left for 2 hours before being taken to the hospital, maybe she might have survived if faster action had occurred.
At 9p.m. the Eiffel Tower was lit up by thousands of lights.  A truly beautiful and romantic sight.  We then saw parts of Champs Elysees lit up and the true glitz of Paris.  It looked like I imagine 'Fairyland' would look like.

                                                        

 

What a lovely way to finish our amazing 'European Whirl 2010'.