Today we headed back into the city for a look at the Eiffel Tower - you can't go to Paris and not see it can you ?? It was back on the Metro again , back to the Arc and then onto a bus into the city . We got the bus , but got the one on the wrong side of the road - we realised quickly and got off one stop down the road , crossed the street and waited for the appropriate one . While we waited I snapped this chef having a break in between jobs .
We arrived near the Trocadero , and got the bus one more stop near the River Seine . There's a beautiful park with a section of pools and fountains in the middle . We sat on the recently watered grass and enjoyed the coolness , as well as the view .
Just across the river is the Eiffel Tower , and we had a better view from further away . As with most things here , the size of the attractions is on another level completely !!
Yes , we made it .
Biting the bullet , we made our way across the bridge over the River Seinne . There were cruise boats tied up everywhere , running tours up & down the river .
This is looking back at the fountains and park from the other side of the river .
We found ourselves a patch of grass under a tree to sit and have our lunch beside the tower . It was approaching 40 degrees , so movement was limited , and a decision was made not to queue for 2 hours to get a ticket to go up to the first & second levels of the tower . We looked at it from about 100m away . This is the elevator that takes you up & down - unless you feel like climbing the stairs that lead you upwards !!
This is the first level you can get to , the stairs are in the right hand legs of the tower .
This is Level 2 - you can make out some people looking over the railings .
And the peak of the tower of course - available at extra cost and needing to be booked weeks ago - we didn't know we were going to Paris 2 weeks ago 🤣
Just some of the people over the perspex fence below the tower - that would have been nice , there wasn't much breeze , but they wouldn't have been getting that either . Notice the sign - the tower was closing at 4pm due to the extreme heat , so last entry was 12:15pm !!
We crossed the river again and got a bus that was heading toward The Louvre . We had a ticket that let us get on & off whenever we wanted , so we spotted an impressive bridge , so we got off . Gold coated sculptures of horses & soldiers were on either side of the bridge roadway , with a couple of lions beside it .
Here they are
Across the road in the opposite direction we discovered the Grand Palais , with another small statue .
The streetlights are huge here as well - taller than the tower 🤔😆
Across the bridge is an equally impressive building - Napoleons Tomb and the Hotel de Invalids - a French history museum .
Another mural spotted as we drove past in the bus - cleverly done .
Then there's the entrance to The Louvre , we mentioned before about things being on the grander scale size wise , well this takes that to another level completely !! We crossed the road and decided to have a look . First job was to buy 2 bottles of water from one of the street hawkers - it was cheaper than in the shops !!
Sitting in the shade we tried to absorb what we were seeing in front of us , to the sides of us , and behind us , let alone what was going on below us . Intricately decorated buildings rising into the air , streetlights stretching off into the distance and people just sitting and doing what we were - totally blown away !!
The buildings are amazing , huge and go off to the left and right , then crossing and meeting up with more that go left & right as well .
The famous glass pyramids stand in the courtyard - there are 4 of them , but the largest is also the entry into The Louvre . We were in awe of the size of this place , and there was too much to see outside , let alone what must be inside !
Another angle
We wandered slowly to try & absorb what we were seeing . We went through a building and popped out into another courtyard area being set up for an outdoor concert performance .
This is one of the gates to close the courtyard area off - they certainly don't want anyone to climb it !!
Just outside those gates was a fenced garden & law with massive buildings lining the street outside .
The buildings stretch into the distance , the scale of this place needs to be seen to be believed - not sure that we still do !
While waiting for a bus home , this door was beside the stop .
The heat has certainly slowed down our visit and limited what we've seen , but what we have seen has been amazing , nothing like we'd imagined . Back to UK tomorrow via Eurorail fast train again . Here's map link :- https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1cIXWVmMsMXrMkpU6oV7VXjCLY89j6JY&usp=sharing
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