Paris, Day 5 Part 2

Merci Msr. Gustave!

 O.K.....now I know Paris is a city of food....and there are literally tons of wonderful places to go sit down and eat...but if one only has a single day...as in, me....I did not want to spend it sitting waiting for food! After the Louvre we stopped at Eric Kayser and bought sandwiches for lunch. Mine was 6 Euro and oh. my. golly....was it good

 After getting our foods, we walked back across the street to sit and eat in the Jardin des Tuileries 

 The gardens, just outside the Louvre, were built in 1564 by Queen Catherine de Medicis. It was a beautiful spot for lunch! Speaking of...

 My sandwich... which didnt last long

 Looking past the obelisk down the Champs-Elysees to the Arc de Triumphe de l'Etoile ~ its so huge. I never imagined it being so absolutely monstrous. 

 Our next magical stop was the Musee de l'Orangerie to specifically see Monet's Waterlillies~ they are magnificent! You can read special particulars about them here 

 There are two spectacular oval rooms, bench seats to the center, so one may sit and be absolutely enrobed by them. Light enters from above thru a large bubble glass dome. We had got the Paris Museum Pass ahead of time, so did not have to stand in line to buy our tickets~ and some places the ques are so very long~ its well worth it! There really was alot of people there, but everyone was very considerate of others~ I was impressed, (no pun intended)

 AS if the Monet's were not overwhelming enough, one could appreciate and study so many great masters there~  Renoir, Cezanne, Matisse....Picasso!   I think this one is my favorite tho, by Modigliani...because he looks just  like my son Josh.

 Ok...had to include this one painted by Van Gogh in 1886....I saw two early windmills like this on the train on the way in to Paris....must include one on my casket!

 After L'Orangerie we were back on the metro to get up close to it. I forget what stop exactly it was...the metro was so crowded this day, we were packed in like sardines!  We came up out of the station, walked round a huge marble looking building, and voi~la. There it was, the Eiffel Tower!

 The Eiffel Tower was built by Gustave Eiffel to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the French Revolution

 It was amazing to see up close, and to walk underneath of. We didnt have enough time to stand in the loooong line to take the elevator to the top...it was magical enough just to sit under it and watch all the people while enjoying some ice cream

After a quick metro ride we were back to Gare du Nord train station, thru security and customs and on our way back home to London

Food on the train was really good...dont know what it was, some kind of chicken...but it was very nice. I wish trains were more popular here in the US.

By this time, we had walked over 38 miles this week, per Mendy's little gadget that kept track of such things....my feet were killing me, and I was even  wearing my good running shoes. We got back home a little before midnight...did I run up and go to sleep straight away because we had to be up and on the train to Bath at 0600 in the morning???...nope.  Time to share a bottle of spirits while soaking our feet in the tub (and whatever other receptacle that held water we could find) and sharing our favorite memories of the day!