Sacre-Coeur, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and Champs Elysees - 5/8/2016
We ate our continental breakfast at the hotel and boarded the buses around 10:00am for a day of touring around Paris. Our
first stop was Sacre-Coeur, formally known as The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris. Sacre Coeur is French for "sacred hearth". This Roman Catholic church sits
atop a hill north of central Paris overlooking all of the city.
Jenny, Kouree and I toured the inside of the basilica. The artwork, stained-glass windows, architecture and sculptures
were inspiring. As the sounds of the angelic choir and pipe organ filled the basilica, I was emotionally moved. It was
then that I realized that it was Sunday and this was the morning mass. Being on vacation I had lost track of which day of
the week it was, but now this had become a very special moment.
We left the sanctuary and made our way to the side of the church where we paid a few Euros to climb the 300 steps to the top of
the dome of the basilica.
Click here to see my phots from inside, outside and from the top of Sacre-Coeur.
We spent over an hour and a half exploring the church inside and out. We also took some time shopping along the nearby streets.
The tour buses took us past the Moulin Rouge on our way to the next stop.
All of the Marching 110 arrived at the Eiffel Tower, but this time we went to the top. All of Marching 110, friends and family journeyed to the
highest point in Paris.
We also had extra time after descending from the summit. I took this opportunity to explore the parks surrounding the
tower.
Click here to see my pictures of the Eiffel Tower and the views from the summit.
For the rest of the day everyone in the group was given the chance to explore Paris on their own. Kouree, Jenny and I made
the one mile walk to the Arc de Triomphe.
Once we arrived here we discovered another surprising fact of the day, it was V-E Day, Victory in Europe Day. We found out
that the President of France had been here just a few hours before.
Click here to see more of my photos of the Arc de Triomphe.
The Parisians were celebrating. The Champ Elysees was closed to traffic from the Arc de Triomphe to the Louvre and the
people filled the street.
We could hear the revelers in the distance singing Volare and the people danced in the street.
The three of us walked along the Champ Elysees while we enjoyed the crowd and did some shopping. We ate at Vesuvio on Champ
Elysees, where I had a burger and fries. Truly french fries.
Click here to see my pictures for the Champs Elysees.
We made our way to the Metro at Franklin D. Roosevelt Station for the ride to Trocadéro. From there it was a short walk to Trocadéro
Gardens where we were joined by Sarah to watch the sunset and evening lights of the Eiffel Tower.
We took two hours enjoying the sights and sounds. Relaxing on the grass as night fell, the spray of the nearby fountains,
the distant carousel and vendors sold their wares. The four of us had a beautiful evening, capping off a full day of
activities.
Two metro stops later we were back at the hotel for a good night’s sleep.
Click here to see other various pictures from around Paris.
Tomorrow we are off to Notre Dame and a dinner cruise on the Seine River.
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