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We said goodbye to Waldemar, our wonderful host for the past three days, and left for Paris at about 6:15 am. We needed to drop the car in Paris by 3:00 pm, so we didn't have to pay for an extra day. The GPS told me that Monschau was only about 12 minutes out of our way, so we made a half way break there. When we visited Germany in 1986 we thought Monschau was the prettiest little German town we saw on that trip, so it was nice to revisit it. It was still pretty much as I remembered it (see pic). After some coffee and Bienenstich there, we crossed the nearby Belgian border and then finally arrived in Paris in mid-afternoon. Driving in the centre of Paris is an experience I'll never forget! It took about 45 minutes to drive the last 2 km and it's a miracle we were able to return the car unscathed. We missed the return deadline, but Hertz didn't charge extra because of the "bad traffic" today (what an understatement!) We found our way to our hotel, a few blocks from the train station. The hotel is almost a duplicate of the one we had in Nice, right down to the tiny elevator and 1/2 shower enclosure. Pretty basic but adequate. We then embarked on what turned out to be about a 5 hour walking tour of Paris. I was surprised by the diversity of Paris (visible minorities) and masses of people out on the streets -- I've never seen such a "busy" city. First stop was to pick up some special tea a client had requested I bring back from Paris for her. Then it was on to Notre Dame Cathedral, which we saw inside and out. That was followed by a long walk along the Seine, interrupted by a couple of stops for some crepes and then for some beers at the "Great Canadian Pub" we saw along the way. It was dusk by the time we rounded the curve in the Seine and the Eiffel Tower came into full view. As the lights came on it made for a magnificent sight. The structure was much more massive and intricately designed than I had imagined it. We then continued to walk, the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Élysées being the other must-see destinations. Finally, we were dead tired and headed back to our hotel via the Metro. A final outing for some desert crepes provided the perfect ending for our "too short" afternoon/evening in Paris.
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