Wandering Paris

Today we took the Metro over to the Louvre and walked along the banks of the Seine checking out the famous sites like the Trocodero and Hotel de Ville.

Eventually, we reached the Ile de la Cite.  The queue for tickets at Notre Dame was far too long, so we ended up going to the Consiergerie instead.

The Consiergerie was originally part of the Palais de la Cite, a royal palace for French kings in the 10th to 14th centuries.  During the revolution it was turned into a prison and Marie Antionette and Robespiere were both imprisoned here prior to their executions.

After that, we had a late lunch in a very nice Bistro called Le Renard, where they made excellent mojitos.

We tried to go to the Arc de Triomphe, but it was getting dark by this time. So  we just took some photos of the lights  on the Champs Elyse instead and we'll do the Arc tomorrow.  

There's a very nice bistro right next to our hotel so we had a few drinks in there later in the evening. 

Arrived in Paris

After an overnight flight from Ottawa where I got no sleep at all thanks to screaming kids, we landed in Charles de Gaulle at 6.30am local time.  We took the train from the airport to Gare du Nord, where our hotel is.  It was much too early for our room to be ready, so we dropped our cases off at the hotel and went exploring.  

We headed over to the big Galleries Lafayette department store, which has an amazing stained glass dome. 

We also checked out their gourmet food section and bought a few gifts.

After that we walked around a bit and found our way to the Opera, but the building undergoing restoration,  so this is the best shot I could get.

Stopped for lunch at a Brioche D'Oree.  Then walked to the Louvre (didn't go in though). Some nice views outside, including the Arc de Triomphe de Caroussel, which is the little brother of the more famous Arc de Triomphe de L'Etiole.

By this time we reckoned our room would be ready, so we headed back to Gare du Nord and managed to check in. We were both absolutely knackered, having had no sleep on the flight and we promptly fell asleep and didn't wake up until mid evening.   We're still too tired to go out, so our "supper" has been some of the jaffa cakes that Becky was given for Christmas.  We'll start eating the gourmet  French cuisine tomorrow.....

Off to Paris for the New Year

 Check in here for updateson my New Year's trip