More Paris

We have a lot of stuff from Paris since we were there for a week, so we'll probably just put up things occasionally as we get the chance.

Our first day we decided to walk around and get the lay of the land. We walked down Rivoli to Notre Dame. This is us at point zero.



I know you're shocked. I'm actually wearing shoes.

We walked behind the cathedral. The park was filled with flowers and had a little playground with a spinning disk Ali almost forced a child off of. She had to settle for this picture to commemorate the experience instead.



The next day we took advantage of Paris's awesome Velib bike system. For those that don't know about it, Paris has set up an extensive system of bikes throughout the city. For 1 euro a day or 5 euro a week (and cheaper for Paris residents), you can take a bike at any of the Velib stations and ride free for 30 minutes before dropping it off at another Velib station. At that point you have presumably reached your destination or you can grab another bike at a close by station and head off again. It's a great way to see the city, although I was slightly unnerved by riding in the bus/taxi lane with cars passing within inches of us. But all the Parisians seemed to be doing it and I wanted to fit in.

We planned to ride from our place in Le Marais down to the Champs-Elysee. We knew it would take more than 30 minutes so we planned on switching bikes midway through. Unfortunately, we didn't have a Velib map so we had trouble finding a station to drop the bikes off. They are usually just off some of the main roads and hard to see while biking. Even when you find one, there is a good chance it will be full in which case you have to go around the corner to find another one. Fortunately, each Velib station provides a map of the nearby stations, tells you how many open spots there are for bike drop off, and gives you an extra 15 minutes to find the station. Eventually we found one and peddled up the Champs-Elysee, but again had trouble finding a station and probably had it out longer than the 30 minutes. It had gotten hot and we were thirsty.



Fortunately the view was good.

We headed up to the Arc De Triomphe and continued our conquest of the highest buildings in Europe by taking the stairs to the top. This was probably one of the tougher climbs, but we're getting really good at it now. And the view from the top was great. You can see in every direction: towards the Eiffel Tower;



down the street to the new grand Arch, the Arch de la Defense



to Sacre Couer in the distance (which we unfortunately didn't get to this trip).



and straight up the Champs-Elysee to the Tuillerie Gardens and the Louvre.

After leaving the Arc, we walked straight up the Champs-Elysee past stores with items I can't afford and wouldn't buy even if I could and into a Nespresso store that took up 2 levels and had an employee to customer ration of approximately 3:1. The Sephora was similarly daunting. The stores were certainly interesting, although apparently a shadow of what they once were. Similarly, the cafes have a lot of history, but now charge up to 6 Euro for a shot of espresso.

We arrived at Place de la Concorde. Here I am doing I do not know what with the arc in the background.



Directly behind the gate in front of me is an obelisk which was transported from Egypt in the 1830s. It is also where over 1,000 people were beheaded by the guillotine.

Finally we walked up through the Tuillerie Gardens and by the Louvre...



finishing with a stroll along the Seine where we saw a lady walking her cat on a leash.



It's blurry, but let me assure the cat did not seem pleased.

It was a very busy and long day. It was also very warm which wore us out. It also spoiled us for the rest of the week which god cold enough that even I felt it.

We finished the night with some steak and moulles frites. It was a good first day in Paris, but reminded me how big it is and how much there is to see.