Paris – Day 2

The second day was another chance to walk some of the neighborhoods.  I started with a cafè crème and crepes and then headed to Montmartre for the Sacre Coeur and check out the artists.  I originally hoped to replace my Van Gogh, but I didn’t find a painting that would become my new centerpiece.

I really enjoyed the art work, the view from the hill, and the Dali museum. We then worked our way down towards Moulin Rouge (a.k.a. sex district). Nothing much to see here (until night:-); other than taking in the general surroundings. So next we headed to l'etoile (the star); also known as the Arc de Triomphe.

The Arc is accessed via a winding staircase that goes and goes. The view is worth it though! I love watching traffic from the top, since the many-lane roundabout seems so chaotic yet precise.

Dawn and I then walked back to the hotel, which included the Champs Elysees, Grand Palais, Place de Invalides, and then Musee Rodin. The gardens are nice and just a Euro...I did the museum previously. We then walked the rest of the way back to the Jardin du Luxembourg; other than picking up a bottle of wine along the way.

We then got cleaned up for our dinner cruise. I picked up a pizza to go since I was hungry and still had a couple hours. We then took the train to the Tour Eiffel, but no time to go up. Took a few pictures and then headed to the cruise at the pier near the tower.

The dinner cruise was nice...it was good food and a unique experience. For me personally, I would rather pay for a wonderful meal/service elsewhere and walk the Seine for the view. Pictures from inside a moving glass boat don't work well. However, we happened to have a group of guys near our table from Montreal (Frech Canada) that were friendly and that set the tone for the evening. We went out for a drink at Trocadero and talked more with our new friends...Thankfully their English was better than my French.

We then had another drink overlooking the Tour Eiffel, but it was dark at this point since it was after midnight. I picked up on some French, including the use of religious terms for expressions in Montreal (e.g. I'll "tabernac" you). We discussed options for after-hours, but we didn't have consensus.

Unfortunately, the metro closed at this point (3am?), so we headed towards the Tour Montparnasse as a beacon pointing the way back to the hotel. It was a long walk, but nice. We eventually stopped for pizza once we saw an open place (Pizza Pino). I ate an entire pizza with egg, ham, and cheese; except for a slice that I shared with Dawn :-) Just past 4am, it was then time for bed.