What a terrible night of sleep. I must have only slept four hours. The hotel is so noisy. All the stomping up and down the stairs, opening and closing doors, and worst of all, the shared bathroom is right next to me. I hear the toilet paper roll whenever someone is using it. I am supposed to share the bathroom with just one other room on the other side of the hall, but I've heard the bathroom being used many, many times.
Another downside, when I had the bedside light on, there were some little gnats that appeared. Ahh.
All that aside...breakfast is a baguette with various spreads -- cheese, chocolate, butter, strawberry jam. And canned fruits, fruit juice, coffee/tea/hot chocolate. Very basic, but it suffices.
I headed to Notre Dame and got to the towers line-up at 9am. First one there!! I wasn't actually sure if I was in the correct place. As I was reading the sign, another woman came and quickly sat in that first spot. I was surprised there weren't more people at this time. As we were sitting there, many people came and looked at the sign, saw it was not open for another hour, and left. But...the crowds did come. By 9:30am, there were maybe 80 people. A nice surprise was that being 25 got me a discount. Although I'm not sure why, because I thought I had read something about this being applicable only for EU residents.
The view from the top was so nice. Perfect morning. The gargoyles are interesting -- there are various types them. Seeing the city's layout from above was nice. The Seine is such an important and large part of the city.
After climbing down, I decided against going inside the cathedral since there were hoards of tourists by now. I will stop by tomorrow morning instead.
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| View from the top of Notre Dame |
I walked all along Rue du Rivoli. All the way from Notre Dame to Angelina's for lunch. Had to try their famous hot chocolate. It was so rich. And expensive for sandwiches, fries...well, I have to splurge some time!
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| Angelina: Sandwiches, fries & hot chocolate for lunch. $$$ |
Across from Angelina's is Jardin du Plants. A garden next to the Louvre, with many purple plants. The symmetrical layout of the trees, walkways, and fountains was clean and nice, as usual. Again, no one allowed on the grass.
After the park, I joined another Discover Walks tour of Le Marais. Also very good. A large Jewish community resides in this area.
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| Small park where sitting on grass is allowed. Crowded! |
It was recommended to check out the view from museum Pompidou, so I dragged my feet along to the museum, because my feet and lower legs barely function anymore. I finally make the trek there...and it is closed! I should have known, museums are closed Tuesdays! Oh well. I needed a break, so I sat in front of the interesting building and mooched off their free internet.
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| Excellent dinner at Cafe Constant! |
Dinner time! After some research online, decided upon Cafe Constant near the Eiffel Tower. I got there at 6:30pm though, and they open at 7. To pass the time, I hung around the tower and park area. Lots of pictures of course.
I got back to the restaurant at 7:10, and wow. Jam packed already. Only one more table was open, which was an outside table. Perfect for me! I had a delicious steak dish. More and more visitors came, and there was a crowd of people waiting for seats outside. I was very happy I got there when I did.
After dinner, I wanted some beautiful sunset views of the Eiffel tower. Trocadero it is! The view was stunning. Directly across from the Eiffel tower. It was a pretty popular spot for this view. Plenty of scammers and people trying to sell trinkets here. Whenever they approach me, I do not respond, or I just shake my head. Ah, the benefits of looking like I might not speak English. I must have taken 50+ pictures here. You never can have too many, and you never are sure if you've got the perfect one. There was also some professional photography session for a Chinese race car here.
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| Amazing view from Trocadero |
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| Sparkling Eiffel Tower from Arc De Triomphe |
It was around 9:30, and I wanted to get the amazing view of the twinkling Eiffel tower from the Arc de Triomphe at 10. I barely made it! First, there was so much confusion with crossing the street. I, and a group of other tourists, were not aware of the underground passageway...so we dangerously dashed across. Then, I could not figure out where to buy tickets! It was again, underground, and I kept circling the Arc at ground level. Made it in line and it was around 5 minutes till 10. I ran up those steps! Yes I was tired, yes my feet were killing me, but I couldn't miss this! Perfect, as when I got up to the top, the lights had JUST started. Not to be missed.
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| So nice... |
Hung around and appreciated the view here until closing time. Was exhausted by the time I got back to the hotel.
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| Random photo of street musicians on the metro |
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