We spent a week in London and two days in Paris. When the train departed from London to Paris, I felt we needed a few more days in London. There were a few things we wanted to do and see that we didn’t get to do or see. When we boarded the bus from Paris to Brussels, I definitely felt two days in Paris weren’t enough.
We did the Hop On – Hop Off bus tour of Paris. We did a walking tour in London to get oriented and will do so in most other cities as well. But Paris seemed too big. The bus took us to most of the major stops. We got off the bus, explored, and when done exploring–we got back on the bus. The weather wasn’t the greatest. The temperature was nice enough, but it was drizzly and damp most of the time. Severe flooding was going on too. We didn’t get to go on the river cruise I had purchased because the boats couldn’t get under the bridges.
Flooding on the Siene River in Paris.
Food
The food was wonderful. We went to a few local places. At the first stop, none of the staff spoke much English and none of us speak any French. We managed to get by.
Duck with peaches and rosemary served with mashed potatoes and celery.
The best crepe I have ever eaten.
Observations about Paris
- The Eiffel Tower is huge. At the bottom. It’s height. It is beautiful too.
- Speaking of beautiful — The Cathedral of Notre Dame is gorgeous.
- Smoking is the national pastime in Paris. I was searching for some diesel bus fumes as they produce cleaner air than you will find on the sidewalks.
- People in France are tired of fighting. Even though very few living people have experienced war, the country has lost loo many lives fighting wars. People talk about World War 2 like it happened yesterday.
- Such a beautiful city.
- Such a busy city.
- The selfie-stick is the most annoying invention ever. I saw more selfie-sticks in Paris that I have everywhere else in the world combined.
Me: Selfie-Sticks are dumb.
Benjamin: I kind of like them.
David: Should we get one?
Me: No.
David: Why? They would help us take good pictures.
Benjamin: They are kind of cool.
Me: I would agree with both of you, but then we would all be wrong.
David and Benjamin hanging out on their bridge over the Seine River.
A typical view of traffic in Paris.
The Champs-Elysees. One of the most famous streets in the world. It lives up to that title.
The mandatory photo of David in front of a famous landmark wearing a Packers shirt.
