Paris 02.07.15

Charlie died today before the vet saw him. No more suffering.

We started the day with breakfast at 9 am. Then we took the metro to the Champs Elysee halfway between the Arc de Triomph & the Place de la Concorde. This was my pilgrimage to the last stage of the Tour de France. Now I have a better idea of the incline up to the Arc and the cobblestone they ride on.

The girls were impressed with the shopping on the Champs Elysee.

After the Arc de Triomph, we took the metro to the Eiffel Tower. Mariska decided to stay at the bottom while the girls & I went all the way to the top. Today was not as hot, in the low 30's. Still, considering the crowds, we were finished & back down in 2 hours from first joining the line (no mainland Chinese). Breathtaking views from the top. There was a champagne bar at the top but I had no one to share it with. The girls also told me that there was no point making plans to meet a certain person at the top of the eiffel tower like in the movie Sleepless in Seattle, this certain person would remain firmly on the ground.

We had a lunch in one of the cafes near the tower. Mariska ordered what she thought was a pizza with cheese but all she got was a plate of mixed cheeses. She is not having any luck with Italian cuisine on this trip.

After lunch we went on the obligatory cruise on the Seine. The heat was nearly unbearable in the glass roof boat. After the cruise, we took the metro back to the hotel for a rest. Met a nice Frenchman on the train & managed to have some sort of conversation. He liked the Easybeats - Aussie band from the 1960's.

After a rest and shower back at the hotel, we went to Verse Toujours, really busy cafe near the hotel which had good reviews in TripAdvisor. We had a really good meal for our last night in Paris.

Tomorrow, we plan to see Notre Dame in the morning before we leave for Holland again.