Bedtime in Paris!
We landed on time! Flying business class is great and it meant we were nearly the first ones to get through customs and Karen was able to get some good vegetarian meals onboard. It was sunny in Paris when we arrived but as you will see, that changed later in the day.
We arrived at the Park Hyatt - Vendome about noon. The Hyatt is in a great location and it's a 5 star property which means our room is really nice and quiet with lots of free bees. Once we dropped our bags, we headed out on our walking tour of Paris, stopping along the way at a small sidewalk cafe for lunch. With a full stomach, off we went to our first stop, the Musee da l'Orangerie to see Claude Monet's Water Lillies.
These paintings are 8 very large paintings composed of panels he painted from his own garden. They are truly beautiful. After spending some time in the museum, we walked through a beautiful park area and then down the Champs Elysees until we got to the Arc de Triomphe. Seeing it in person is so much more than in pictures - it's gigantic!
Note: Look for the people on top and you'll get a better perspective.
We then continued on, crossed the Seine river and visited the Eiffel Tower. It is magnificant but we decided to not go up as the weather was clouding over and light rain and fog would obscure the view.
It's only that big!
From there we began the long walk back stopping along the way to see the "most beautiful bridge in Paris", the Pont Alexandre III bridge over the Seine.
By now, it was rush hour and it's a good thing we decided to walk as a taxi would have probably taken just as long. We figure we walked about 8-miles and were ready for a shower and dinner. We have been trying to keep going all afternoon and evening to get our bodies on Paris time. We are very tired now and hope we do not wake up in the wee hours of the morning like we have done in the past Europe trips.
Crossing the Pointe Alexander III bridge
We arrived at the Park Hyatt - Vendome about noon. The Hyatt is in a great location and it's a 5 star property which means our room is really nice and quiet with lots of free bees. Once we dropped our bags, we headed out on our walking tour of Paris, stopping along the way at a small sidewalk cafe for lunch. With a full stomach, off we went to our first stop, the Musee da l'Orangerie to see Claude Monet's Water Lillies.
These paintings are 8 very large paintings composed of panels he painted from his own garden. They are truly beautiful. After spending some time in the museum, we walked through a beautiful park area and then down the Champs Elysees until we got to the Arc de Triomphe. Seeing it in person is so much more than in pictures - it's gigantic!
Note: Look for the people on top and you'll get a better perspective.
We then continued on, crossed the Seine river and visited the Eiffel Tower. It is magnificant but we decided to not go up as the weather was clouding over and light rain and fog would obscure the view.
It's only that big!
By now, it was rush hour and it's a good thing we decided to walk as a taxi would have probably taken just as long. We figure we walked about 8-miles and were ready for a shower and dinner. We have been trying to keep going all afternoon and evening to get our bodies on Paris time. We are very tired now and hope we do not wake up in the wee hours of the morning like we have done in the past Europe trips.
Crossing the Pointe Alexander III bridge
Glad to read about your adventures, but there seems to be a problem with some of the photos. I'm really looking forward to seeing all of your pictures, so I hope that gets straightened out soon. Get a good night's sleep and have a French pastry for me!
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