Eiffels on a Wire

Patisserie Viennoise

We began the day with a cafe au lait and a croissant at a small neighborhood bakery, the Patisserie Viennoise. So that is what a croissant is suppose to taste like?  The coffee is so rich and smooth.  Will never be content with Starbucks again (for the coffee or croissant).  By the way there are quite a few Starbucks here.  Hard to believe that they can even compete with the little cafes.

Eiffels on a wire...

We moved on to play heavy-duty tourist, seeking out all of the most popular tourist attractions by first hopping onto the metro to go to the Eiffel Tower.   The Eiffel Tower is BIG and actually a dark chocolate brown color.  We were going to hike up to the observation decks, but the lines were long and there was so much else to see, so we decided to come back at night to see the tower and city all lit up.  For the time being, we instead took in the circus of tourists and peddlers selling their wares.

View from Challiot Palace

Vendors strung little Eiffel Tower statues on a wire ring and walked among the tourists giving everyone a "good price" . . . which also happened to be a different price from person to person.  We proceeded northwest across the River Seine to the Challiot Palace (National Theatre) which presents impressive views of the Tower.  From there, off to the Arch de Triumph and then southeast down the Champs Elysees (big shopping district), imagining the final leg of the Tour de France, and then into the Jardin Gardens which takes you into the Louvre.  The area from the Arch de Triumph down to the Louvre reminds me of the mall in Washngton, DC, which, I guess, is not too surprising given that DC was designed by a Frenchmen, Lafayette.

The Louvre

Jardin Gardens

The architecture of the Louvre is pretty cool.  Saw the famous glass pyramid which continues to be hugely controversial in its construction.  I assume people objected to the modern design.  Rick noted that the pyramid provides a welcome contrast to all of the baroque architecture and I agree.  I like the juxtaposition of the modern with the old.

Lunch was at another bistro where Rick had "the best onion soup ever" and I had what pretty much amounted to a chefs salad with ham and emmental cheese in a dijon sauce.  The only odd thing was that cold boiled potatoes were included.  It works though with the spicy mustard. My water was as expensive as Rick's wine.

Louvre Pyramid

 Dinner was yet another bistro, sitting outside along the sidewalk watching the people go by in a steady rain.  This time we were surrounded by smoking French locals (wearing interesting underwear), and the waitress good-naturedly assisted us with our mangled attempts to order in French.  The main entrees weren't that great but the wine (mine a rose, Rick's a red) was very good and for dessert I had Bleu D'Auvergene cheese which was the most mild blue I ever had and phenomenally good.  A glass of port and then "un esspresso decaf" rounded out the meal and then it was back to the hotel to a comfortable bed and a good night's sleep.