Paris 2012 - Day 1

Submitted bydkranker onSun, 09/30/2012 - 17:42

Started the day trying to find a self service laundromat nearby.  We had to come back to the room a couple times to get our navigation straightened out.  We were thirsty, so Kristi and I got a can of Peach Tea and I got a can of Spicy Jamaican Ginger Beer (Like Creme Soda). As we waited for the laundry An art director and his two assistants introduced themselves to us.  They were looking for the owner of the laundromat who eventually arrived.  We took the clean & dry clothes back to the room and walked up to a major road near our motel, the Boulevard De La Chapelle, and got a taxi to Notre Dame.  The traffic was heavy and as we got close, we barely moved.  He left us off about a 5 minute walk from Notre Dame Cathedral.  We walked along the side of the church which is also lined with shops and had lunch at a cafe under an awning.  The line was very long for Notre Dame, so rather than wait we went ahead and got on the open top tour and bought a two day ticket.  We got to see part of the city before getting off at The Arc'd Triomphe.  You can go up to the top of the Arc'd Triomphe, the elevator was not working I don't think, but we took a spiral staircase to the top.  The view was nice and we got a few shots, but it soon started to rain so we went back inside to wait out the rain in the gift shop.  It's a good thing we did because it quit right away and when we got back out, we saw a large rainbow stretching from one large building to another.  It was actually a double rainbow on one end.  I got at least one shot of it through the Arc when we got back on the ground as well.  Lining the roads leading up to the Arc are some big shopping areas.  We took a look in some of the stores and got a sandwich (baguette) for dinner and ate it on the top of the tour bus as we drove around the Arc'd Triomphe at night.  The bus wasn't going as far back as Notre Dame, so we had to get off at the last stop which was Trocadero.  This has the walkway that leads to the Effiel tour, along the Palais De Chaillot and over the Siene river on the D'iena bridge.  We had noticed earlier in the trip they have a light show on the Eiffel tour that looks like it went off about every hour.  We got off about 9:00 PM and walked around and up to the base of the Effiel tower at night.  This traffic is heavy around the Effiel tower, even at night, so we easily got a cab and headed back to the room.