Monday morning we got up bright and early and had the breakfast that we'd enjoy every day while in Paris. This breakfast was included at the hotel and when I saw a small cafe next door offering coffee, juice, and a croissant for 5.5 Euros I realized we got a great deal.
When we sat down the woman that was clearing tables would bring us a basket with a croissant and small baguette for each of us. Then, there was unlimited coffee, juice, cereal, yogurt, fruit cocktail, ham slices, and cheese. It was a a great way to start the day!
After we broke our fasts we took the Metro to the tourist office to pick up our 5-day Metro passes and verify our reservations for the tour of Versailles that took place the next day.
Once we got our Metro passes we walked to the Place de la Concorde. I was amazed. The day was sunny, warm, and the sky was a brilliant blue in color. The water splashed merrily in the fountains and every direction offered a breath-taking view. After some time there we walked to la Tour Eiffel.
It was mid-morning and already a line stretched outside the place to buy an elevator ticket to the top. Rather than wait in that 2-hour line we decided to climb the steps. It is about 2,000 steps just up the the second level and then you have to pay an additional amount of money to take an elevator to the top.
But...it was the Eiffel Tower and it delivered. The view from the top was magnificent and we had a great time reading the signs at each landing on the steps telling about the history of the tower. Well, *I* enjoyed reading the signs. :)
That night we had an awesome dinner at the Boeufs ur le Toit. It was a couple of blocks off of the Champs-Elysées. We enjoyed drinks at the bar while waiting for our seats and the girls were convinced that their drinks had alcohol in them. LOL
It was a great first full day in Paris and we were glad to take the Metro back to our hotel. The stop was a couple of blocks away from the hotel and it was a nice evening stroll for us.
One final note, getting around the Metro was a piece of cake. I've been on many other systems in other cities (Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C.) but heard stories that made it seem like it would be difficult. You simply had to know the stop you wanted and then get on the correct train, based on the final destination for that line. It was efficient with trains arriving frequently on the most-traveled lines which were the ones we tended to use.
It was an awesome first day!!!
Posted by bbarton at May 3, 2007 11:35 AM