Opera House to Eiffel Tower: #Paris #Sightseeing #TuesdayTravels

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

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

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

Hopping Around London #TuesdayTravels

Tuesday Travel button

If you’re new to London, one of the best ways to get the layout of the city is on the Hop-On Hop-Off bus. There are a number of companies that provide this service. We went with the Original London Sightseeing tour company, which dates back to the early 1900s. We hopped on the bus at Horseferry Road, a short distance from our hotel, and bought our tickets. Then we headed for the top deck of the bus.

London double-decker buses

Picture from bigstockphoto.com

One of the first things I noticed was that the air quality was much better than it had been when I visited London back in 2003. At that time, the diesel fumes were really strong and I was happy to get off the bus. This time, I could barely notice the fumes. It’s good to see that the air quality is so much better now.

Since I still didn’t have a camera with me, I’m posting some of the highlights of my hop on hop off bus trip from 2003.

Hyde Park

Hyde Park

Marble Arch

Marble Arch

 

St. Pauls

St. Paul’s

London Firefights

Monument to Firefights near St. Pauls

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Valerie Millette and I really enjoyed out visit to St. Paul’s, but this time we opted to tour Westminster Abbey, and that is next week’s topic for Tuesday Travels.

Linda