Europe Day 12 & 13 Paris

 

While Jenn attended her con, Susan and I walked to the Metro and headed into the city. We walked around Norte Dame, which we hadn’t done when we came in 2014, and took photos of stuff along the Seine. Of course Norte Dame was being reconstructed from the fire, so we couldn’t go in. There was bread festival going on in the square in front.

 

From there we headed up to the Hard Rock Cafe (No 38), stopping to shop a bit on the way. There were a ton of people lined up outside waiting to get into the Grevin Museum next door. Since it was a Saturday there was a 45 minute wait for a table, but we were able to sit and eat lunch at the bar.

After lunch we took the Metro to the École Militaire and took photos of it then walked up the Champ de Mars and took photos of the Eiffel Tower. We hadn’t really seen it from the south side when we came in 2014.

Then we walked to the Hôtel des Invalides, where the Tomb of Napoleon is located, then to the closest Metro Station. We made our way back to our hotel, stopping to grab some food for dinner, then went up to our room to rest our feet. According to our watches we had walked almost 20,000 steps and 18 flights of stairs.

This morning we headed out again, this time starting at the Place de la Bastille. There wasn’t much to see there besides the column.

 

From there we headed up to the Pantheon, which sits on Montagne Sainte-Geneviève, the hill at the heart of the Latin quarter. This building started construction in the 18th century as a church but was converted to a monument and resting place for prominent French citizens. Looking around inside at the art and crypts and stuff was well worth the entrance fee. I had read that the views from the top are spectacular but I decided not to pay extra and wait to do that.

We then walked down to the Luxembourg Gardens and by the Luxembourg palace. From there we hopped on the Metro and rode to the Place du Concorde. We walked through the Jardins des Champs-Élysées, stopping to eat panini sandwiches on a park bench, then looked at the shops including, of course, the Disney store. After that we headed back to the hotel.