While researching our trip, I came across this tour on TripAdvisor called Wegowalking with Paul and Paulina. It had great reviews, and to be honest, we were not disappointed. Paul was personable, knowledgeable, and on his game all morning long. We met at 8:15 and got started around 8:30 am. Prior to starting, Chris and I looked for a WC but without any luck; one was not open and the other was out of service. Oh well, that's Europe and we "held" it for the next two hours. For the next four hours, we walked all over Paris starting at Notre Dame and proceeding to the Louvre past numerous churches and museums. Paul was talking history and interesting facts the whole time.
In the square in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral was a star signifying Point Zero, a marker showing the geographic center of Paris from which all distances in France were traditionally measured.
We passed over what used to be the "Love Lock Bridge" or the Pont des Arts Bridge. After a section of bridge fell off because of the weight of the locks, the city decided that it was time to remove all locks from the bridge and make it lock proof. The locks, once removed, added up to 4 tons of extra weight. Now as you walk through the city, you can find locks on railings, light fixtures, pretty much anywhere you could think to add them, except the Pont des Arts Bridge.
The tour was most impressive, and I highly recommend Paul and Paulina if you happen to have a morning to spare in Paris. His wife, Paulina, made conversation with all of the tour guests throughout the morning and was very friendly.
At our pit stop half way through the morning, Chris and I finally made use of the facilities, paying 70 cents each. We also purchased our first chocolate crepe. Yum. Note to self: Always ask a short person if I have chocolate on my face after eating a chocolate crepe. My tall husband couldn't see the chocolate under the tip of my nose!
Our final stop was the Eiffel Tower. There was just an electric excitement for me in seeing it. I loved it. Kristen later asked us if we got a picture of Chris and I kissing under it. Sadly no. It was now gated off with security and construction in most areas.
We hung around the tower for a couple of hours. Part of that time was spent waiting in line for the toilet. So slow. With my camera around my neck, I must have looked like someone to ask to take pictures, because people kept asking me. One young man was very dark and against a dark background with my farsightedness, I walked away saying to Chris, "I must admit, I couldn't really see him. I hope the picture turned out." I should have had him move to the sunshine but he didn't speak much English.
We walked across the bridge spanning the Seine to Trocadero, taking pictures along the way. Sadly the fountains were all turned off. That didn't stop people from posing for pictures. Chris even found some Filipina girls and offered to take their pictures. They understood his Tagalog but only spoke English to him.
We walked to a Pattiserie and ordered baguettes with ham and cheese and a brownie pastry. We walked back to a bench across the river from the Eiffel Tower and ate our lunch.
Following lunch we walked along the Seine toward a boat tour.
We missed the first boat by minutes, the next boat was taken out of commission, and finally we were able to board with a thousand of our closest friends. As we would go under a bridge, and there were many, the crowd would make noise as though doing the wave. After about five bridges, the children on the tour caught on to the spirit of the bridges and escalated to screaming, and often the screaming would begin ten seconds before the bridge with the lovely little cherub behind me simply screaming in my ear. That part of the tour was not so great, but the homes and architecture was lovely. It was a little chilly but nice to enjoy the tour.
After exiting the boat, we decided to walk toward the Arc de Triomphe. It was a bit of a walk, but hey, that's what we do. We found the underground passage to the arch and after waiting through minor security and a ticket line, climbed up more narrow, circular stairways to the top.
We had a perfect view of the Eiffel Tower all lit up. We stayed until 7 pm for the twinkling lights that sparkled for 5 minutes at the top of each hour.
We left the Arc de Triomphe and headed toward the Champs Elysees. It was a major, high-end shopping street. Like every other area in Europe, people smoked nonstop. We veered off the main road toward our hotel and walked the rest of the way. It might have been a couple of miles. A quaint restaurant called Le Pain Quotidien (The Daily Bread), just down the street from our hotel, was our next stop. After spending some time trying to decipher the French menu, we asked for an English menu.
We both ordered stew--mine vegetable with quinoa and Chris' chicken vegetable. It was yummy. They had freshly "sparkled" sparkling water, and it was the first sparkling water that I really liked.
We returned to the hotel and peeled off our shoes. Oh, our sore and stinky feet.