Paris A training course in Paris provided an excellent opportunity to get out and see the sites.
Allee des Cygnes Tuesday - Arrived in Paris late so I went straight to the hotel for a kip.Wednesday - I was in the training course all day, so there were limited sightseeing opportunities. Also, I didn’t take my camera out with me, so no photos at all from Wednesday.Thursday - After yesterday's poor photographic efforts, I took my camera out with me on Thursday. I took this walking down the Allee des Cygnes on the way to the training centre.
Palais de Chaillot I went out for a walk at lunchtime and took this photo of the Palais de Chaillot. This is one of the best places in Paris to take photos of the Eiffel Tower.
Eiffel Tower And here were a load of people taking photos of the Eiffel Tower from the plaza in front of the Palais de Chaillot. This was taken in the early evening, after the course had finished for the day, which is why the tower is now illuminated.
Eiffel Tower And this is what the view looks like if you’re not standing behind all of the people taking photos of the view.
Eiffel Tower Friday - Judith had arrived, the course was over and we were out for a walk. This was the view of the Eiffel Tower from the south-east end of the Parc du Champ de Mars.
Eiffel Tower The view looking up from the bottom of the south pillar.
Eiffel Tower Underneath the Eiffel Tower.
Dinner There was a restaurant at the top, but it wasn't for the fainthearted, at EUR165 for a three course meal with no wine (which starts at EUR70-a-bottle)! Fortunately it was closed, so we didn’t need to feel guilty for being too tight to go.
Eiffel Tower View There was a bit of a queue for the lift, but no queue at all for the stairs. Judith chose to wait, while I chose to make a bit of an effort. Around 15 minutes later I arrived at the 2nd level. This was the view looking to the south-west. In the middle of the Seine you can see the Allee des Cygnes, where I took the first photo in this gallery.
Eiffel Tower View This was the view looking to the north-west. In the distance is the plaza at the Palais de Chaillot where everyone was taking photos of the Eiffel Tower earlier.
Eiffel Tower View This was the view looking east. It was almost midnight by the time I’d walked back down the tower (Judith got the lift again), so we headed back to the hotel.
Louvre Saturday - We headed to the Louvre first. But it was a) quite busy already, and b) way too big to look around when you’ve only got one full day in Paris. Doh! This was a view of the tourists queuing to enter the Louvre through La Pyramide.
Cafe Marly This is the Cafe Marly, the restaurant on the south side of the courtyard at the Louvre. It looked quite nice, but it was completely open to the elements, which wasn’t ideal in February.
Courtyard In the Louvre’s courtyard, it seemed to be the done thing to stand on these blocks and have your photo taken with your finger apparently resting on top of La Pyramide.
Pont des Arts The view of the Institut de France across the Pont des Arts.
Pont des Arts The railings at the sides of the Pont des Arts were covered in padlocks on which people had written little messages.
Rescue The rescue services were out on the Seine next to the Ile de la Cite practicing rescuing people from the river. The man that looks like he’s surfing next to the boat had actually just jumped off it. If you look very carefully on the edge of the surf on the right, you can see what looks like a green/yellow ball. That’s on the head of the man they’re trying to rescue by apparently first trying to drown him with the bow wave from their boat. Back to the drawing board with that plan I think.
Notre Dame Approaching Notre Dame.
Notre Dame The view of Notre Dame from the south bank of the Seine.
Notre Dame Another view of Notre Dame.
Centre Pompidou The Centre Pompidou, which I think is supposed to be the Paris version of the Tate Modern. So I’m not going in there then. The Tate Modern was very, very rubbish (unless you enjoy looking at stupid crap that any five year old could make, in which case you probably think it’s rather good).
Sacre Coeur This is one of the towers at the back of Sacre Coeur.
Sacre Coeur View The view across Paris from in front of Sacre Coeur.
Sacre Coeur A view of the front of Sacre Coeur.
Statue de la Liberte The Statue de la Liberte near the Pont de Grenelle on Allee des Cygnes. Remind you of anything?
EIffer Tower A view of the tourists on the second level of the Eiffel Tower.
Eiffel Tower Judith on the Allee des Cygnes.It was time to go back to the hotel, check out and get the train home. What a nice few days in Paris, learning some stuff, eating some fabulous food and seeing some super sights.