The day started hot and steamy again so we did not fancy another Metro a pied like yesterday so we spent the morning with Pam and Ken booking ahead and checking our plans. Early afternoon we had a siesta in the European style, and woke at 3pm ready to celebrate Pam's birthday. Tomorrow we leave Gare de Lyon on the TGV at 7.55am so we did a dry run to the Gare du Nord platform we needed to get to in the morning. Then bought metro tickets from the machine for the first time and proceeded to M Trocadero with one connection. We emerged into Trocadero place but never worked out which building was the famous one. As we turned the corner of the Palais de Chaillot we got our first proper view of the Eiffel Tower.
This must be the best spot of all to see it. Definitely looks larger in real life. Lyn and Malcolm climbed up to the second level (5 euros each) and looked back at the Palais. Again the best possible view.
The view in the opposite direction is nearly as good across the Champ de Mars to the Ecole Militaire.
Glad to see there are girls moving into the bicycle rickshaw business.
We boarded the permanently docked restaurant boat of Bateaux Parisiens and had a marvellous dinner to celebrate Pam's birthday. Afterwards we did an hour long cruise with Vedettes which took us under most of the bridges of Paris and showed us many features we had missed yesterday. Too many to recall but we have now ticked off most of the Intermediate Certificate French Culture items of 1954. It did rain for a while and Ken had some fun dealing with an umbrella salesman who wanted 15 euros. The fellow was anxious to sell his last two and go home so he chased after us and we got two for 10 euros. Some snaps from the boat:
Every bridge that has wire sections is covered in romantic locks. Must be a million of them.
Quite arty photo by Lyn.
Best spot to view the flying buttresses.
The favourite bridge was the Pont Neuf which naturally is also the oldest. The sculptors attached laughing faces of all the friends of Henri IV because he doubted the bridge would hold up.
Les Invalides, I think.
We heard the story about the rumours that spread in the 1920s that the government had decided to dismantle the Eiffel Tower as it was supposed to be a temporary exhibit. An enterprising con man managed to sell it to a scrap metal merchant. Sounds like stories of the Sydney Coathanger.
As we turned around on the forecourt of the Palais to wave goodbye to E.T. they switched on the lights.
As magical as if the other E.T. had ridden behind it on a bike. Navigated the metro back and enjoyed a busker playing accordion on the train. A great party, where else but in Paris.
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