We arrived in Paris earlier than planned by taxi as there was work being undertaken on the train lines. The first Sunday of the month a part of the Champs-Elysees is pedestrian only, which was a fabulous opportunity for a Sunday stroll.
On Monday we walked to Montparnasse Observation Tower which provides fabulous views over Paris. We walked through Luxenbourg Gardens to the Orangerie Museum to view Monet’s Water Lilies – the eight pieces displayed in oval rooms according to Monet’s suggestion and then back to our hotel marvelling at architecture of the city. The gardens are not at their best due to the lack of rain.
Tuesday we took the Hop on Hop Off bus to Notre Dame and Sainte-Chapelle which has beautiful stained glass windows.
We shopped at the Department Store Galeries Lafeyette Haussman which was like an Australian Boxing Day sale, where there was crowd control at Louis Vuitton, Longchamp and Prada. In the evening, we had an escorted tour to the Eiffel Towel level 2 and then we were able to explore on our own and ascend to the Summit where we sipped champagne at 276 metres.
Desley and Gary left the next day and we spent the next couple of days, visiting sights, cruising the Seine, shopping and walking the suburbs of Paris. We did sample Patisserie delights!