We were there in plenty of time but due to a mechanical problem with our plane, we were going to be late to Phoenix and miss our flight to Chicago and also to Paris. Thankfully American was able to get us on a direct Alaska flight to Chicago in plenty of time and one less landing/take-off. We even had time to have lunch before leaving for Paris.
The flight to Paris was only about 7-8 hours on board a very new 787 with little turbulence, two meals, great service, first-run movies, but not much sleep.
We arrived in Paris at 10:30am Friday. Lines for customs were short and quick and we grabbed a taxi into town to our hotel, the Hotel DelArc, less than a block off the Champs Elysees. One of the busiest streets in Paris, it is lined with restaurants, luxury shops, trees, nightclubs. It is also the finish line of the Tour de France. We dropped our bags in the hotel lobby and went out to brave the crowds and explore. The first thing we saw as we reached the street was the Arc de Triomphe.
The weather was perfect! 65 degrees with sunshine and blue skies. Just right for our walk to pick up our museum passes.
To fuel our trek we stopped and got a Nutella, banana and coconut crepe. Yum!
Got to see the quieter residential part of Paris...
Just one of many sidewalk cafes in Paris
Stopped at a bakery in this market street and bought a croissant to fuel our walk back to our hotel.
Checked into our room and got changed into clean clothes for the afternoon. The elevator was so small I wasn't sure there was room for both of us and our two suitcases. We fit, but barely...
The Arc de Triomphe is at one end of the Champs Elysees, so we decided to see the other end: the Place de la Concorde: the largest square in Paris.
The weather was pretty nice but it was also very windy. Neither of these are bad unless there is so much pollen in the air that it looks like it is snowing. It seemed like everyone we passed was sneezing and had red, watery eyes... Just like us. Chris was especially miserable.
On the way, we passed by both the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais across the street. They are both art museums.We didn't go inside but the outside of these buildings were gorgeous!
Grand Palais
Petit Palais
Just before reaching the plaza, the Pont Alexandre III crosses the Seine River. It is an absolutely beautiful bridge and gave us our first view of the Eiffel Tower.
The Place de la Concorde was constructed in 1772. During the French Revolution it was used as an execution site for 3 years. Both Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were guillotined here.
It is also famous for two large fountains and a 75-foot tall Egyptian obelisk that is 3300 years old and was put on this site in 1836.
It also has a giant ferris wheel that is not mentioned on any tourist website about Paris. It has great views of the city with no lines and not much money.
That's where we walked from.
When we saw Tuileries Garden from the top, we just had to check it out. The name comes from the tile factories used to be on the site. Catherine de Medici had this garden built in 1564 and King Louis XIV had it redesigned in 1664. The large "pond" in the center made a nice place to sit back, relax and people watch before heading back to the Champ Elysees for dinner.
With so many restaurants to choose from, it took a bit of time to choose one. It was no only pretty tasty but very close to our hotel, which was good since we were exhausted and ready for bed.
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