I have a few more planned posts of Normandy that I’m skipping by request from a friend to “get to Paris!” These posts are to revisit Utah Beach and Omaha Beach; also, for Point du Hoc, Longues sur Mer, Saint Mer Eglise, La Fiere Bridge and Pegasus Bridge. I will publish these in the near future, so keep an eye out for them.
After arriving in Paris (and a lengthy stay at the police station-see my post Paris, and a Lesson Learned for details), I was able to explore the city with my friends as planned. I was able to see the Eiffel Tower at a distance, but never got close. I also wanted to photograph the Tower at night, but apparently they turn the lights off at 1:00am, so I missed it. Although as compensation, we drove around the Arc du Triumph about six times while raising a ruckus.
Not far away, is Napoleon’s Mausoleum and Tomb, these are next door to the Military Museum. I will have a post on the Military Museum at a later time as well.
Napoleon’s Mausoleum
Napoleon’s Tomb
Looking toward at the Military Museum and Napoleon’s Mausoleum:
By the way, the police station is under the far right side under the park. Going the other direction is the River Seine and its magnificient bridge.
The River Seine, with the Eiffel Tower in the background:
No visit to Paris would be complete without visiting the Louvre. We had actually planned it for this day since it was open later than normal, but that was scrapped because of the visit to the police. On the second to last day in France, we were able to make it to the Louvre but they closed at 6:00pm, and we didn’t arrive until about 8:00pm. It’s still an amazing place.
The Louvre is extremely large, this is inside one of its courtyards.
After leaving the Louvre, it’s easy to get lost in traffic even with a GPS unit, and what do you see when you get lost in Paris? Why Notre Dame of course. I was hoping to visit this magnificient edifice but that was dashed when it caught fire earlier this year.
Paris is an amazing city. There are many interesting things to see. If you do visit, secure all belongings and don’t carry too much cash, especially on the subways.
Enjoy,
Kelly