Of course, I spent most of the day trying to keep up with the younger and very, very fit Matt, Belinda, Josh, Darcy and Grace.
First, we headed for Line 1 with driverless trains. Here are Josh, Darcy and Grace sitting at the very front of the train as it runs through the underground tube.
We had breakfast near the Tuileries underground station and then walked through the Jardins des Tuileries (Tuileries Gardens). They cover ares and acres and beautifully kept. Here we are at one of the 'ponds' in the gardens. The big ferris wheel wasn't there when we were here in September last year. Apparently, it's only erected in summer.
We walked through the gardens to Place de la Concorde. Originally, it was where a statue of King Louis XV was displayed. However, during the revolution, King Louis XVI was sent to the guillotine and lost his head! The queen, Marie-Antoinette, was sent to the guillotine 9 months later.
The French nursery rhyme, 'Jack and Jill', refers to this event in history.
'Jack fell down and broke his crown' -- Louis XVI.
'Jill came tumbling after' -- Marie-Antoinette.
We then walked to Ave des Champs-Élysées.
... and up towards the Arc de Triomphe.
A view from the top:
If you look carefully, you'll see us standing behind the resting place of the unknown solider. To our right, a small group of people stood in a tight circle and sang Song of Joy. It was a beautiful moment.
Next stop -- Trocadero and the Eiffel Tower. Matt, Belinda and the kids walked to Trocadero. Daryl and I took the train. It was three stations away and our legs were already giving in!!! We spent a lot of the day trying to keep up with the young ones again.
A major soccer match is being broadcast on a huge television screen in the Champs de Mars -- the huge park next to the Eiffel Tower. As a result, a huge area around the Eiffel Tower and the park was fenced off for security reasons. Darcy wasn't allowed to take his soccer ball in -- the security people were taking no chances. So I stayed outside the fenced area with his soccer ball while everyone else went up to the second level of the tower. The top level was closed for security.
Views from the second level:
By mid-afternoon, there were some VERY tired people who desperately needed a cold drink.
It was a beautiful 22ºC in Paris today.
Once we'd had our cold drinks and ice-creams, we got up on our legs again and headed for the Musée de l'Armee (Army Museum) with the gold-plated dome on top.
Right under the dome .... Napoleon's tomb
We walked through the army museum and Invalides - built by Louis XIV for injured soldiers and homeless soldiers in the 1670s.
We then crossed the wonderful Pont Alexandre III (Alexander III Bridge) to the other side of the River Seine. By now, I was stuffed and headed for the nearest metro station and home. Matt, Belinda and the kids chose to walk home.
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