The Paris Tourist Thing

Sunday, August 1, 2010 Day 32
This morning I walked to a subway station and took the metro to Jane’s and Mary Ellen’s hotel. I don’t know why I didn’t put them on the metro last night! Sigh. As I got off at the metro stop by their hotel, I noticed that there was a market under the metro station, which is elevated in this area preparatory to going across the Seine. Once they were ready to go, this was our first destination – a Paris market. It had the wonderful and eclectic selection of merchandise that every market probably has in Paris – food, clothing, kitchen items, Ron Pompeil-type hawkers showing off their wares, etc. Mary Ellen bought a couple of souvenirs. Afterward we walked to the Champs du Mars at the base of the Eiffel Tower, where we took Double-decker bus ride to see other sights of Paris, including the Louvre, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Orsay Museum, the Opera, Champs-Elysées and the Arc de Triomphe in the Charles de Gaulle Etoile, the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais, and the Trocadero. We also got a glimpse of Paris Plage, (Paris Beach), which is a project of the mayor to bring tons Mary Ellen wanted a Louvre souvenir, so we rode the bus again to the Louvre, purchased some souvenirs, then walked through the Tuileries Gardens behind the Louver and to the Grand Palais, where we caught a tour bus back to the Champs du Mars. Unfortunately, the walk to the bus stop was much farther than I anticipated. Sorry, Mary Ellen! Ten more minutes!!

From the Champs du Mars we took a city bus to our apartment, where the four of us played bridge. Around 7:00 we decided to find a place to eat – not an easy task on a Sunday evening. We had to walk several blocks to find a restaurant besides the local bar at the end of our block. We finally found an Indian restaurant, where we were served a really, really delicious meal. Jane said it was the best meal she had eaten on her whole trip. Bravo! Indeed, she had praises for almost all of the meals she ate in Paris as begin quite good food. Back at the apartment, we decided to call it a night, so we walked to the subway and I escorted my sisters all the way to their subway stop, then returned home.