After walking the Marais District, we got back on the Metro for more Paris sightseeing at the old Opera House, you know, the one in The Phantom of the Opera. The building is simply gorgeous. Unfortunately, it was closed for the weekend.
Disappointed, we crossed the street to the cafe at the Grand Hotel to console ourselves with dessert, including more yummy hot chocolate for me. The 19th century hotel is simply gorgeous inside.
We were pretty tired by now, so we used our passes to jump on the Big Bus for one of those hop-on, hop-off sightseeing tours. We picked a good one, because it took us to some of Paris’s most famous sites, including Hôtel national des Invalides, a former hospital and war veterans home. Napoleon’s tomb is housed in the dome.
Hôtel national des Invalides
We drove around the Arc de Triomph. If the top looks irregular, it’s because people are standing up there. The view must be magnificent, but we were too tired to hike up there. Even more daring were the folks who stood between traffic lanes to get a shot of the Arch. Then the bus went back up the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. Lots of traffic and pedestrians on a Sunday afternoon.
We got off the bus at the Trockadero Metro stop and crossed the street to a square where we could get a long-range view of the Eiffel Tower. A nice way to bid farewell to Paris, if only for a week.
Eiffel Tower
While Rebecca and I had a lovely time in Paris, I do not recommend trying to see a city of this size and richness of culture in four days!
Next week, Chartres Cathedral.
Linda
