Day 2 - Bonjour to Paris and Geneva- Waking up in Paris

July 2015

Minigan's Travels -Summer 2015

Bonjour to Paris and Geneva!
Day 2 - Waking up in Paris

Notre Dame in its glory!

Day 2:

We decided to wake up at 7:00 so we could get to Notre Dame before all the crowds.  Jim and I went downstairs and had a bit of breakfast while Jaimey was getting ready.  Croissants, cheese, coffee (Americano) and jam.  The milk that is served with the coffee is served warm  Very nice touch. 

Off to Notre Dame!   We arrive and there is hardly a line at all.  Jim offered to save our place in line to climb to the top while Jaimey and I walked inside the Cathedral.  WOW!  We walked in and realized there was a mass going on which made it even more beautiful.  We were allowed to walk around the perimeter and could take photos as long as we didn’t use a flash.  I felt honored.  When we walked back out, I took Jim's line in place so he could go inside and look.  Jaimey went with him so she could see it again. I sat and talked to the man and woman behind me in line.  I found out their family were from Ottowa.  Very nice people.  They had three girls.  One was 11 years old and the other two (twins) were nine years old.  The were very friendly and we shared stories with them. He had been to St. Louis.  She had studied in Paris after college so knew a lot about the city.  Jim came back and he talked with them about Ottowa.

Finally it was time to go inside and climb…. And climb…………… and climb…………. And climb. Total of 387 stairs.   My heart was pounding and I was so glad to reach the top.  The view was breathtaking.  The bell tower was beautiful.  The architecture …………  unbelievable. 

Views from Notre Dame

When we completed our tour and made it back to the bottom, we decided we would head toward the Eiffel Tower.  We figured out how to use the Metro and rode the train.  An experience in itself.  We did manage to figure it out quickly though and realized it was an easy way to travel.




We arrived at the tour location too early for our tour so we went to find a café and drink a glass of wine.   We went across the street to Le Champs de Mars.  Wonderful place.   Had a glass of wine and then headed off to our tour.

The tour guide was really nice, spoke great English and had a good sense of humor.  Her job was to get us to the Eifell Tower and skip the long lines.  It was nice to not have to wait in such a long line.  We got on the first elevator which took us to the second floor.  Then we had to stand in line to wait for the elevator to take us to the top.  VERY long line.  And..... it started to rain.

We ended up talking and laughing with the people in front of us.  They were a family of four (mom, dad and two daughters) of Indian decent but were from North Carolina.  The dad was originally from Michigan.  We talked to them during most of our wait in line……….. under our umbrellas.

We finally reached the elevator to take us to the top.  I ended up a little weak in the knees on the way up.  We were so high in the air.  I held on to Jim.  Reaching the top was great.  The views were unbelievable.  The rain had lessened the views a little but we were still able to see forever.  The wind was bad though so we didn’t want to stay up there for long.  And then the rain began again.  We stood in line to get on the elevator to go down.  It wasn’t too long of a wait thank goodness.  We made it down to the second floor where we went into the gift shop and purchased a couple souvenirs.  Then we took the elevator down to the first floor to walk around.

Kissing on the Eiffel Tower in Paris!

The first fllor was really cool.  Swings you could sit on at the tables.  Café. Minituare Eiffel Tower made out of wood.  Just a really nice area.  Then the rain came harder.  We found an area near the café to sit for a while and then decided to go ahead and leave.  Bad choice.  The rain came down even harder and we were stuck outside.

The Metro became our saving grace.  We found the underground train station and made out way back to the  St. Germain area. 

Nap time. 

Dinner was at a wonderful brassiere near our hotel .  Very little English was spoken by the staff so it was a bit of a challenge.  We made it though and ended up having a great dinner.  There was a table with a family of 5 next to us that had been traveling together for the past 5 weeks.  They joked with us that they had not killed each other yet.

After dinner we walked more.  We made our way to the Ponte Nuef bridge to catch a tour boat, the Bateaux Mouches.  River tour of the city.  Beautiful one hour ride.  Chilly though.  Jaimey and I ended up in the closed in area toward the end of the ride.  Jim of course, stayed outside.  Very enjoyable.  Again, beautiful views along the river. 

Back to the hotel for a good night sleep.