Paris: Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower

In our daily shipboard briefings, our Program Director Bojan Bozic (more about him later!), would always remind us that breakfast was the most important meal of the day. And I have to say, European breakfast is the food I miss the most when I come home. After a good night's sleep at the Hotel Meridien Etoile in Paris, we enjoyed flaky croissants, omelets made-to-order, and amazing coffee. We could have chosen sheep's milk yoghurt, meats and cheese, muesli cereal or porridge. There seemed to be miles of French pastries, accompanied by tiny jars of jam and butter.

Too soon it was time to meet in our smaller groups for our bus tour of Paris. While we certainly would have loved a week to explore all the places we only saw from the bus windows, we only had one day here. So we drove by the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, the Ponte Neuf, and all the amazing shops on the Champs Elysees.

 There was time to tour Notre Dame Cathedral and we were awed to think that we were walking on steps that have been used since the 1200s. The stained glass rose window with its original glass was breathtaking. 

The Cathedral was decorated for Advent

Rose Window with Original Stained Glass

We watched a street vendor prepare crepes to order and peeked into several souvenir shops full of refrigerator magnets, scarves, and other trinkets.

Again, we needed to board the bus, emerging a second time for photos in front of the Eiffel Tower. We also passed the museum commemorating those who had received the Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur and gave a silent salute to David's father, a recipient for his actions during the invasion at Normandy.

One thing that sets Paris apart is that it has no skyscrapers like most major world capitals. The small winding streets and roundabouts packed with traffic along with all the glittering shops gives the city an elegant charm.

They also have special motorcycle attachments for delivering fresh baguettes.

After the tour, we had about an hour to freshen up and grab lunch, so we stopped into what one of the Brits on our tour referred to as the "American Embassy"--McDonald's. Ordering from huge banks of touch screens and cheerfully waited on by a girl wearing the most elegant fast-food uniform I've ever seen, it was a quick and familiar meal.

For the afternoon, we boarded the bus for the quick drive just out of town to the Palace of Versailles. It was such an amazing place, it merits its own entry in this blog, which will be coming up next.