Day 19: Historic and Neighborhood Paris
Daily Briefing
Today we travelled from Beaune to Paris. It was also our last day with Joe. We were sorry to see him go. We arrived at Paris around noon, checked in to the Hotel Beaugency and by 2:30 we were at the Metro station where Trish gave us a great orientation to public transportation in Paris. We then jumped on the Metro for a ride to the heart of town. Our first stop was the Hotel de Ville which is the city's administration building built in 1357. We walked across the Seine to Notre Dame where we spent about an hour. Here Rick used a fun "construction" made up of a number of group members to illustrate the development of roof vaults, showing the strengths and weaknesses of each stage of discovery as they led up to the flying buttresses used at Notre Dame. Next we went to Sainte-Chapelle for a breathtaking view of this 13th century church. The light in the church was stunning and pictures do not do justice to it's size and beauty. The last event of the day was an optional cruise of the Seine which we both would advise taking. You see most of the famous buildings and the many bridges of Paris. A group of us then took the subway back to the hotel to start on some solo adventures (for us some evening photography). The remaining group toured the left bank. After dinner, Pam and I went to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Because it was rainy and a little cold our wait time was only 45 minutes. The rain stopped and the sun came out for a spectacular sunset and outstanding views of the city.
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Image of the Day
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