Final Days in Paris

Sunday was an eventful (and exhausting) day for us! 

In the morning we did another walking tour from our "Paris Walking Tours" book.  This one started at the Paris Natural History Museum and the neighbouring Jardin de Plantes.  We didn't go into the museum but I think if we visit Paris again we'll make an effort to.  There are actually 3 or 4 separate museums including the famous Grande Galerie de l'évolution (in the distant background in the photo below) and some massive tropical rainforest greenhouses.  The garden itself is spectacular enough, here is Sonya coveting all the plants.

Later we visited the Pantheon and the neighbouring Church of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont.

The pantheon houses the remains of many famous Frenchies, and you can climb up the dome and get a spectacular view of Paris, however by this time in our trip we're pretty much burned out on climbing stairs.

Here is the view of the Eiffel Tower from the square in front of the Pantheon.

We aborted our walk when it started to downpour, and ducked into a covered patio.

This is the third downpour we've experienced on this trip, and the third time we've escaped into a nearby restaurant.  This was Tour de France day, however, so the consequences were a bit more serious!  Fortunately it cleared up and by the time the cyclists arrived the roads were dry.

We watched the Caravan again (our third caravan).  For some reason there was no swag in the Paris version of the Caravan, which kind of bummed me out, but Sonya was glad because there would be more room in our luggage for shoes on our return trip to Canada.

We went downtown to watch the final tour - they do a big loop at the end of the course (actually 9 loops of the loop) so we figured we could see the cyclists for more than the 20 seconds we saw them on each of the previous 2 stages.  By the time we got downtown it was packed!!! and the police had shut down access to many areas for crowd control.  So this was our view:

Can you spot the yellow jersey?  We watched 2 laps and then had to leave to go to our concert - Vivaldi 4 seasons at the Sainte-Chapelle - spectacular!!!

The next day (Monday) - another walking tour!!!  This one started at the Louvre.

At the start of the tour - the Gothic church - Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois.

The Louvre, crowded as ever.  I can't imagine standing in these kinds of lineups (although it was by total fluke that we ended up with our "skip-the-line" tickets).

The Place de la Concorde, at one end of the Av. des Champs-Élysées, with its Egyptian obelisk.

And at the other end, L'Arc de Triomphe de l'Etoile (it is MUCH MUCH bigger than you expect).  You can climb to the top for a spectacular view of Paris, but by this time we're pretty much burned out on climbing stairs.

Later on we were doing some shopping, and when we turned the corner ...  the Finger!!!

A nice way to finish off our day!!!  (You can climb to the top for a spectacular view of Paris ...  etc.)

Tuesday was our last day in Paris!!!  We were flying home Wednesday so had booked a room at an airport hotel Tuesday night.)  So of course we decided to finish off with yet another walking tour!

We walked past the National Assembly, patrolled by a bunch more machine guns.

This is the Hôtel des Invalides, built for the veterans of France's wars.  The rules were very strict - the veterans had to attend mass twice daily - and they had to work sewing uniforms and probably making souvenirs for tourists, so I feel it really should be called the Sweatshop des Invalides.

Have you ever been concerned that your courtyard contains insufficient cannons?

Next on our itinerary, some other landmark, I can't remember what it's called ...

... however it has 1872 stairs, and you can get a spectacular view of Paris!

Here is George Washington, shouting at windmills.

Finally the Freedom Flame, a gift from the USA, but it has become a tribute to Princess Diana, who died in Paris in the tunnel underneath where Sonya is standing in this picture.

Before we took the train to the airport, we took one final walk through the Luxemburg Garden, our favourite garden in Paris, and featured in the latest John Wick movie!  (I watched the beginning of this movie on the flight home, my recommendation is don't bother.)  Here is one of the modern (or contemporary) statues in the garden.

As I write this final blog entry, we are home in Canada, dealing with jet lag, laundry, and a vastly overgrown garden!