After staying up too late reading last night, I slept until 11:00, and it was VERY nice. Sometime after noon, Thibaut and I met up in Montmarte. First destination, Sacre Cœur, a beautiful church that sits on the highest point in Paris.
Sacré Cœur.
view of the city.
From there we walked south and downhill toward the river. When we finally made it to Jardins des Tuileries, we stopped, sat, enjoyed the weather and people watched. Finally the weather was great today; although it got a bit chilly this evening, it was cloudy and warm most of the day.
Tuileries Gardens.
As we sat in the garden, I tried to imagine what it was like many years ago when people lived in the palace and enjoyed these gardens privately. What a leisurely life they must have led. From there we headed west along the river toward the base of Champs Elysées.
the Petit Palais - currently housing the YSL exhibit.
the Grand Palais.
Then south across the river to ...
the Hôtel des Invalides - once a hospital for war veterans.
From the Hôtel, we walked further west to the base of the Eiffel Tower.. Quite a walk. Here we were surprised by droves of people around the Tower, on the river, and at a festival in the Trocadero Gardens - which offers the best view of the tower in the city.
view of the river and tons of people trying to get on site-seeing boats.
view of Eiffel Tower from Jardins du Trocadero - notice white tents for the festival.
By this time, I was in dire need of a snack: my first croque monsieur of the trip! (Sorry for no photo. I was starving.) A croque monsieur is basically a fancy ham and cheese sandwich, but it is much more than that. First off, the bread is amazing, and the cheese is unbelievable. It is a bit different than a ham and cheese at home. First, the bottom is bread; second layer is ham; third is bread; and swiss cheese tops it off. I was so hungry anything would have been delicious, but even Thibaut said it was the best he had ever eaten. Yum, yum, yum.
France is offering a free museum night tonight, so Thibaut and I walked back to Grand Palais in hopes of seeing its current exhibition. Turns out that we were either too late or too lazy. The line formed for the YSL exhibit in the Petit Palace was a block long. Second choice, Musée d'Orsay. An even longer line. We sat on the Pont Solférino and decided that it was worth 10€ to visit on Tuesday for the opportunity to see the exhibits without hundreds of people blocking the way. After all of this walking, we were exhausted. We found a nearby metro and headed to Bercy Village, a quaint area of restaurants very far removed from the hustle and bustle of the city.
We were finally able to relax a little bit over dinner, away from the hordes of tourists in town for the weekend and free night at the museums. Also, near the small area of restaurants lies the Bercy Stadium, which is the Madison Square Garden of Paris. Not only is its design very interesting, but it acts as a venue for concerts, boxing and tennis matches, and a variety of other athletic events. For concerts it can hold 17,000 people.
Bercy Stadium.
By 9:00, it was time to throw in the towel. I think all of the walking hit Thibaut pretty hard. Since I have been traveling and site-seeing for a month now, I have become accustomed to strenuous walking, and even my legs were tired today. Oh, well. I just eat more. :)
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