Following
another 7 am breakfast, we hopped on the bus at 8 am and braved the
Paris traffic to the Eiffel Tower which took about 2 hours. We
snapped some pictures in front of and around the tower but our time
was limited again and we let Amina decide if she wanted to go up to
the observation deck of the tower. Taking the elevator up to the top
was more expensive as well as more time consuming. Climbing the
stairs to the 1st
level was less expensive and faster but to get to the upper level,
you have to pay again and take another elevator. Instead of going up
the tower, we decided to find a nice cafe to have lunch.
We
walked up and down a nearby street and did a little shopping –
picking up some sausage, cheese, and a baguette for breakfast (we
were tired of the continental breakfasts), a souvenir scarf for me
(listing all the Paris sights that we had visited), and then settled
on a Parisian sidewalk bistro. I had foie gras with toast for my
meal while Seth had a really good sandwich. Amina's salad had cold
smoked salmon on it.
We
got back to the bus because they wanted to take an Enid picture
together so we snapped one of the kids and then one with the Enid
adults and staff. Then it was back on the bus for the short ride to
the Arc de Triomphe where we walked a bit, crossed the Champs
Elysees, and then took the tunnel to the Arc. At this point they
walked us back to the Champs Elysees where they let us explore the
street on our own. We wandered into a tea shop that specialized in
fresh iced tea. Amina bought some tea as a souvenir.
A
little further down the street we saw a giant gate that was labeled
“Abercrombie and Fitch” but you couldn't actually see the store
for the walking path and greenery so we decided to walk down the path
to check it out. The entrance to the store was worth the short
stroll down the path and around the corner.
Our
final destination for the day was Notre Dame. The bus dropped us off
just down the street and we walked over and joined the long line into
the church. The line moved very quickly and we were in the church in
no time.
Our
bus coordinators had recommended getting ice cream from some place
called “Berthillon” so we crossed the bridge and found the ice
cream stand. The menu was in French so Google helped with some
translations. I had the pistachio but after sampling some other
people's ice cream – I think I would have been happy with just
about any flavor.
Our
final dinner was back at Le Saulnier a little bit early at 5 pm where
we started with an appetizer that reminded me of a turnover but it
was savory and stuffed with cream cheese with cheese baked into the
crust. Our main dish was beef bourgonione, and dessert was some kind
of cream puff.
 |
| appetizer |
Dinner
was a little early this evening because they wanted to be back at the
hotel in time for the choir and band to have a rehearsal since they
hadn't played or sang since Sunday. Fighting Paris traffic was an
issue once again and we finally reached the hotel by around 8 pm.
The choir rehearsed first on the garden patio behind the hotel and it
was hard to hear. The jazz band was also difficult to hear. I don't
think they even tried to fit the whole band on that little patio.
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