After semi recovery from jet lag, we took a bus tour of Paris on our first full day. Partially, we had a chance to see new things, and partially our travelers had a chance to see the things they didn’t realize they had seen due to the exhaustion at the end of our Champs-Elysees walk. The big hit of the tour, of course, was seeing the Eiffel Tower from the Seine.
And a significantly greater thrill came from posing in front of the Eiffel Tower. 
Next stop was the Luxembourg Gardens, site of beautiful landscaping and a palace built by a member of the Florentine Medici family.
Not pictured: the restoom at the garden that travers had to pay 50 cents to use.
Our first dove photo. More to come later.
Which is both an ancient gothic cathedral and the home of a non-pay restroom.
In order to properly take a selfie of the entire cathedral, some of our travelers had to be sacrificed. Let their raised hands always remind us that they, too, made the walk to the cathedral.
Papparazzi at work.
At this point, it was slightly after lunchtime, so the group split between those people who can delay eating long enough to appreciate a centuries-old cathedral and and the other 90% of the group. Most people ate in or around the Latin Quarter.
We met back at the cathedral for a pigeon extravaganza. Witness the awesomeness of Brian French: Bird Whisperer.
This started a trend.
After hosing down the people who held the birds and anyone who stood too close to the people who held the birds with anti-bacterial, we began our walk to the Louvre. On the way, we saw the new version of the lock bridge. On one of the bridges in Paris, couples would put their names on locks, lock them on the bridge, and then throw the keys in the river as a symbol of their never-ending love. Apparently, the weight of the locks causes some of the parts of the bridge to fall in, so they were relocated to a safer place.
I see you, combination lock guy. “Our love will last forver, but, if it doesn’t, I will return here to remove my lock using the combination.” Very romantic.
Having posed on many, many bridges, we made it to the Louvre.
Selfie sticks are not allowed inside the museum, so we had to get one last selfie stick picture before it was time to say goodbye.
- You can see the Mona Lisa.
- You can see other awesome art, like Winged Samathrace and Renaissance and Romantic paintings.
- The path is clearly signed so you don’t have to be able to read a map, a definite plus.
And now for the downside:
The Mona Lisa has a mosh pit.
Some of our travelers were able to fight their way through…
Daniel, expending maximum selfie effort.
Dillon’s NBA-quality boxing out skills enabled him to take this picture.
Having obtained cultural appreciation and low quality coffee from the Louvre, we hopped on the Metro to go on a boat tour of the Seine.
The type of happiness that comes from not having tried the Louvre’s coffee.
Most of the street vendors in Paris range from scam artists to merely annoying. The exception:
The one-Euro water guy!
Having stocked up on water that was 300% cheaper than from the water vendors on the dock, we boarded the ship.
But first, there is always time to pose.
After walking around all day, the boat tour was very relaxing.
Very, VERY, relaxing.
The stair walkers of the group. Results from walking up the stairs my vary.
Or you can take an elevator to the second level, bypassing 500 stairs that would have been in addition to the 11 miles we walked that day, and then take the second level elevator to the top.
The view from the top of the Eiffel Tower is spectacular. In a city with many, many things to do, going to the summit of the tower may be the best.
“We’ll always have Paris.”
Having champaigne on top of the Eiffel Tower: priceless. Well, almost. Eighteen euros a glass.
After an eventful day, we caught the metro back to the hotel to get ready for the next day – Versailles, the Catacombs, and Montmartre.
Totally enjoying Paris vicariously. Thank you for sending photos and commentary.—Pat
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