Paris

Sacre Cour Basilica Church in Montmarte
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*Left London this morning to join our COSMOS tour.  Drove to the White Cliffs of Dover and caught our ferry to Calai.  The cliffs are white because of some kind of chalk in the ground which makes them beautiful to look at.  Met our tour guide and driver in Calai, and we arrived in Paris early evening and checked in to our hotel.

Drove into Paris this morning for an included tour of the highlights.  The guide took us through Notre Dame.  I had been to Europe many years before and basically toured on my own.  I have to say that having a guide brings a different aspect to your tour, they have little anicdotes that make the history more interesting.  The stained glass windows in Notre Dame are beautiful, some are very old and some were put in later.  In the older ones, the color is very brilliant.  They have tried to reproduce the technique, but have been unable. The later ones are very nice, but when compared to the original they don't live up. The art was passed down through the generations and there must have been a decendent that didn't keep it up and the art was lost.

Having a guide brings a different aspect to your tour, they have little anicdotes that make the history more interesting

Paris, the Eiffel Tower & the River Seine
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At this point we break off from the tour because they are doing basically a "drive by" of the main tourist sites.  We decide to take on the climb to the top of Notre Dame tower.  For Paris, as in London, we purchased the Paris Pass which gives us free access to this tower.  Now let me warn you... there are 422 steps to the top in an increasingly narrow spiral staircase.  A tough climb, but well worth it.  The photos of the city are beautiful!  Getting to see the gargoyles up close was fun too.  After we come down, we make a quick stop in front of Notre Dame to view the Archeological Site that was escavated in 1980 (again, free with the pass!).

Notre Dame Cathedral
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Next we stopped at a Parisian cafe for lunch.  Here is where we really see that the dollar is worth nothing oversees... I had a cheese salad and a cappucino and my daughter had french fries and a coke.  The total: $50 - Ouch!

We then caught the metro to the Eiffel Tower (free trip with our pass).  Took some fun pics, but the wait was about 3 hours to go up inside.  Our pass didn't help us with this one - seperate admission.  On my next trip to Paris I am making reservations at the restaurant so I can finally get to the top!

The 422 step climb to the tower in Notre Dame
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Our next stop was the Louvre Museum.  The pyramid by I.M. Pei was added after my last trip, so that was nice to see.  Again, free access with the pass.  It has definately paid for itself and the KEY reason to buy the pass is that you SKIP the lines!! We had to meet our COSMOS group in front of the Opera at 3:30 so our time was short & we just hit the highlights, Winged Victory, Venus de Milo and the Mona Lisa. Since it was getting late we went to the Champs Elysees and the Arch de Triomphe via taxi instead of using the metro.

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While waiting for our ride back to the hotel we decided to get an ice cream.  This will probably be the most expensive ice cream I will ever buy, but I have to tell you - it was DELICIOUS!  Any guesses at how much??  $8 for a cone!  Well, you have to do it once!

Before dinner we go to Montmarte, which is an artists haven at the top of a hill at the other end of Paris, the Sacre Cour Basilica is there as well.  We drive past the Moulin Rouge and then on to Josephines Stables for dinner.  Apparantly Napoleons Josephine used to have some stables and they have been converrted into a restaurant.  The food was good and the wine is free like water and most of us drank a little too much!