Paris: Day 15

So this was our nicest day in Paris. It was kind of cold, but the sun was out all day. After the day full of rain before, it was a welcome change. First thing we did was check out the Eiffel Tower during the day. We had only seen it at night before. It was awesome. I had to pinch myself, really. Our hotel was right near the Eiffel tower, so we had a nice, pleasant walk over to it.

I don't know why I have such a crusty face in this picture. I have on of me smiling all nice, but I think this one is hilarious and actually shows my "Daria" personality more, lol.

We walked over to it and just walked around admiring the Eiffel tower, trying to ignore what I like to call the "1 Euro guys" hawking Eiffel tower key chains. They were annoying.

Then we decided to get on one of those double decker tour buses. Yes they are touristy, but we didn't have a lot of time in Paris, so we decided to at least try and see most of the sites. Plus, we were still a little foot sore from Versailles and thought it would be a nice way to get to Notre Dame. I took some pictures while I was waiting for it to leave...

How would you like to get your wedding pictures done in front of the Eiffel Tower? Pretty cool! As I was waiting I started noticing all the ways people were taking pictures of themselves in front of the Eiffel Tower. Kind of hilarious...

The bus took off and we headed towards Invalides and Place de l'Ecole Militaire...funny enough, we passed our hotel on the way! This was the nicest neighborhood. Thanks Rick Steves!

Our room was the third one up. I left the window open so that my shirt could dry...(I hand washed it in the sink.)

We passed by Napoleans tomb...didn't go in. I'll save that for next time, I guess...

I really love the opulence of French architecture...It's pretty to look at...

This is my favorite bridge in Paris. I love it. It's so huge and ostentatious. It's the Pont Alexandre III bridge..

This is what happens when you take pictures at noon. They are really washed out. If I had known how to shoot manually back then, I probably could have made them look better. Oh well. NEXT TIME!!!

One last look...

Here is the Place de la Concorde...this is where the royals bit the big one...(French Revolution)

On our way to Notre Dame! This is the stop by Pont Neuf. The oldest bridge in Paris.

Notre Dame! I wish we would have gone to the top. Again, I say next time. We seriously needed a week there, not 3 days.

Now for inside...Not many pictures, most of them are blurry and gross...

Now for the other side of the Cathedral...

And now for the "flying buttresses dating all the way back to...." Name that movie...

Such a beautiful building...

On the way to the Palais de Justice... After this we got back on the bus and took a round about way to the Arc de Triomphe...Along the way we passed the Paris Opera House...

Then we made it to the Champs Elysees...

We climbed to the top, or actually took an elevator. It was the coolest view.

You can see the Sacre Coeur and Montmarte...

This is the part of Paris we didn't go see. You can see the Holocaust memorial in the distance...

These are the stairs you had to go down to get out...This might be TMI, but I really had to go to the bathroom. So I basically stayed for 5 minutes up on the top before I just couldn't do it anymore. I rushed down the stairs, and almost made myself sick I was going so fast. It was like spinning in a circle. I finally found a bathroom without toilet paper or soap. Thank goodness for tissues and hand sanitizer. I then just waited at the bottom for Angela and Dawn, and just took some pictures.

While I was waiting they started shutting off access to most of the Arc and then a band came out. After asking a guard, we found out that they were doing a ceremony at the tomb of unknown soldier.

It was pretty cool. A bunch of old veterans and families laid flowers on it. Some things don't change no  matter what country you are in.

Last shot of the day. After this we went to a nice restaurant on the Champs Elysees. I had duck and it was SOOO good. I wasn't that adventurous, though. The girl next to me ordered frog legs. Couldn't do it. We also got Creme Brulee and hot chocolate. I miss the deserts and hot chocolate in France. Best things in the world.