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| | Paris France - Day Two, WW | | | |
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Paris France - Day Two, WW
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| Walk / Tour | 8.60 Miles |
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| | Walk / Tour | 8.60 Miles | | | |
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| no partners | | Filing report 2-25-2025. Paris Day Two, 7 Oct 2024 overcast and rain off and on. Believe it or not, I finally finished editing the videos for this day. Today, we would travel without Louisa. Little did we know, she was going to prepare for us a truly French meal with 6 courses, champagne and wine.
Jean-Luc met us at our hotel and we walked to the RER to catch the city Metro. Once again, we had no idea what he had planned and as usual, we just followed and saw a lot in our day starting with.... The Eiffel Tower. I had seen it a couple times back in the 70s but today, we were going to ride it to the top. I was going to just opt for going to the top of the Champs-Elysee but we got lucky as the weather wasn't great and the wait wasn't too long. Well needless to say, I filmed it both ways. And yes, the views are all that.
Next we walked toward the Avenue Montaigne where all the designer shops are lined up among some extravagant hotels. Everything had security if you chose to enter. The shops exterior were simple but elegant, like so much we had seen while here. We made it to the Ave Champs-Elysee and crossed, with stopping in the middle to get our photos of the famous arch. Our next destination was the two palaces across from each other: Grand and Petit Palais. The architecture was extravagant as were the statues. We paid our respects to the statue of General De Gaulle as we made our way to the Metro.
From Mabillon we headed to Jean-Luc's favorite church in Paris, Saint-Germain des Pres. I think the reason he liked it was due to the architecture and interior being a little older than all the others. We were lucky in that it had gone under renovation for the last few years to restore the frescoes and colorful pillars. The frescoes and pillars were indeed the uniqueness of this beautiful facility. And now, we were getting hungry so we walked for a bit to find a bistro's menu that appealed to us. We had Fish and Chips at Huguette's. By the way, the French Fries were very good wherever we had them.
After our leisurely lunch, we headed toward the Square of Saint-Michel's Fountain. Once again, the unique of this fountain was all the colors of materials that were used to make it along with the various sculptors. From there we headed over to Notre Dame, stopping to admire the fabulous bronze statue of Charlamagne before sitting on the bleachers that had been set up to observe the Cathedral (which finally reopened in December).
We walked along the Seine and crossed the Bridge to Ile de la Cite (City Island), one of two natural islands on the Seine. It is the home of the castle chapel of Sainte-Chapelle, as well as the city hospital, the Hôtel-Dieu (possibly the oldest continuously operating hospital in the world). It is also the site of the city's oldest surviving bridge, the Pont Neuf. We admired the gates that protected the Palace of Justice. We passed by the area that held Marie Antoinette called The Concierge (both a palace and a prison!).
Our last stop was the flamboyant gothic Tower of Saint-Jacques Square; All that remains of the former 16th-century Church of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie ('Saint James of the Meat Market'), which was demolished in 1797, during the French Revolution, leaving only the tower. Walking to the Metro/RER took us by the Centre Pompidou (named after Georges Pompidou, the President of France from 1969 to 1974). It holds a vast public library and the largest Modern Art Museum in Europe.
At our hotel, we took Jean-Luc's car to Gourney-Sur-Marne where they live. Here we stopped and walked around the old Chateau which is now their City Hall. We walked on the footbridge across the Marne River before heading to his lovely home and had a sensational French dinner.
Paris DAY TWO - 7 Oct 2024. Lots of photos for you and per usual, I included lots of interpretive information. It was so fun to learn more; it was like going to class again. VIDEOS:
Part 1 - The Eiffel Tower, up and down [ youtube video ]
Part 2 - Eiffel Tower to and along Avenue Montaigne (Fashion Street) [ youtube video ]
Part 3 - Ave Champs-Elysee to Grand and Petit Palaces [ youtube video ]
Part 4 - Saint-Germain des Pres to Saint-Michel Fountain including lunch at Huguette's [ youtube video ]
Part 5 - Saint-Michel Fountain to the Concierge including Notre-Dame [ youtube video ]
Part 6 - The Concierge to Tower of Saint-Jacques, Centre Pompidou, and Gournay-Sur Marne including Chateau de Gournay [ youtube video ] |
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Wildflowers Observation Moderate
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For me, sometimes it's just as much about the journey as the destination.
Oh, and once in awhile, don't forget to look back at the trail you've traveled. |
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