Day 6 - OAM - 11 June 2015 - Paris

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 1^st 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.

Following uploads to Facebook, we called it a night before another early start.

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