On Top of Ole Arc de Triomphe

I woke up on a beautiful Monday morning feeling as good as I have this entire trip.  Thank you Lord for big favors to this small person.  Several espressos during the day kept the fire burning brightly.  I didn't think I'd rival Jeff's record of walking 90 miles in one week, but certainly felt fine and eager to get moving.  Before the day would end, Aaron, Melissa, and Chloe would do an impressive 7+ miles while Cheryl and I logged in at about 3.5 - still the most for me in at least a week.  Like James Brown said, "Huh! I feel good!".

Cheryl and I ventured out about 10:00 a.m. and headed for breakfast at the nearby Eric Kayser location where she had a berry and chia yogurt while I had a quasi-breakfast sandwich with salmon and egg.  Both were delicious and we plotted our route to the Arc de Triomphe on the metro and set off!

Twenty minutes later we emerged from the metro station on Champs Elysees and, voila, there it was in front of us.  And, what a magnificent structure the Arc de Triomphe is.  It honors those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces.  

Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I.  It was commissioned in 1806 by Emperor Napoleon after his victory at Austerlitz and at the peak of his fortunes.  Laying the foundations alone took two years and it wasn’t fully finished until 1836 after Napoleon's death.  His body, though, passed under it on its way to his final resting place at Les Invalides (and his magnificent tomb there).  And, notably, before his burial in the Pantheon, the body of Victor Hugo lay in state under the Arc on May 22, 1885.  

Fortunately we were there at the right time of day (about 11:00 a.m.) as the line for tickets was relatively short.  When we emerged about noon it was 5x the length of when we arrived.  Our tickets took us up a rapid elevator to the top and, from there, we had the most beautiful views of Paris in a 360 degree fashion.  Particularly striking was the view of the Eiffel Tower and also of the Champs de Elysees, the wide avenue leading from the Place de la Concorde and the Arc.

Down to the base we went after taking in all the sights from this wonderful vantage point, and we headed under the roundabout many of you have seen in the Chevy Chase "European Vacation" movie.  And, we came out on the Champs Elysees.  Its origins date back to 1667 as an extension of the Tuilieres Gardens, and today is well known as a large, wide avenue lined with every luxury store imaginable.  Some of the many include Cartier, YSL, Bulgari, Sephora, Tiffanys, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Chanel, Guerlain, and Hermes among many others.  While we window-shopped at many of them, the only store we entered was Nike and that was to buy me some socks to replace the increasingly threadbare ones that I brought.  Best purchase (and most reasonably priced one) of the day!

We walked to the end of the Champs Elysees and turned right at the Grand Palais so we could see a statue of the British Lion, Winston Churchill.  It was recognizable from far away by its trench coat and the cigar protruding from his bulging cheeks.  It is clear that the French are pleased to honor their allies, evidenced by many US presidents of the past - not Trump - having statues of themselves and roads named after them (e.g., Wilson, Roosevelt), as well as this statue of Churchill.  And, of course, I'll never forget the store windows at Normandy that outright thank the Americans for saving France and Europe.

From there we returned to the apartment and Cheryl decided it was time for a haircut.  The stylist was a nice French man who spoke not a lick of English so my job was to look up words like "feathery" and "fine hair" and "short".  He laughed each time it happened but Cheryl says she has a designer hair cut and is pleased.  Seems damn short ("court" in French) but if she's happy with it, then I am too.  After a lunch of way-too-expensive street tacos, it was time for a short nap before Aaron, Melissa, and Chloe got home from their excursion.

Their day consisted of a visit to Montemarte where they walked up all the 200+ stairs to Sacre de Coeur but didn't go in because the lines were super long.  From there, they wandered through some shops, and visited the terrace where scenes from the movie "Amelie" were shot (which later became Chloe's middle name).  A metro ride to Notre Dame followed from which they went inside and saw the beautiful cathedral.  A moderately long walk to the Louvre followed so they could see the I.M. Pei-designed pyramid, and decided to return home before the conclusion of our day - a 9 p.m. visit to the Montparnasse Tower observation deck.

On its 56th. floor, it is said to offer the finest views of Paris and it will be nighttime so we should see, for example, the Eiffel Tower sparkle as it does for 5 minutes at the top of each hour.  Wasn't sure we'd make it over there for this, but genuinely excited to get one more look at the wonderful sight.

And, it didn't disappoint.  We arrived there about 8:50 p.m. and got in line for the ascent to the top. a bit rankled that we didn't actually make it there until about 9:10 p.m. so missing the first "sparkle" event.  In retrospect, though, that may have been planned by the staff as it allowed more time for people to meander around and, of course, see their neat little gift shop and partake of a snack in their rooftop cafe.  At any rate, the hour passed quickly and people lined the side of the terrace that faced the Eiffel Tower.  As expected, at 10:00 a.m. the sparkle began and some even began clapping in response.  It is a pretty cool sight, I must admit.   We thoroughly enjoyed that and all had our pictures taken in the "I Love Paris!" sculpt also on the rooftop.

After 10 minutes or so, we beat a quick retreat down to the ground and uber'ed home; another wonderful day in the City of Light with tomorrow promising more fun.  Cheryl and I intend to visit the National Liberation Museum which focuses on France's liberation from the German occupiers - thinking of you Mary Lee - while the kids haven't said what the morning plan entails.  The afternoon plan for the four of them entails a class on Macaron baking - Cheryl and Melissa are to be partners while facing off against Aaron and Chloe.  Me?  I'll probably make a grocery store run, write some more blog, and take a well deserved nap.

Until later today on Tuesday, 4/15 . .  . .À bientôt!