The Art of Patience

Well we did make it to the Arc d'Triomphe last night and it was worth the climb up the far more than 48 steps that Larry promised me to get to the fantastic views of the city with all its twinkly lights.  Great views of the Sacre Couer with a blood red moon behind it and the Eiffel tower which lit up all sparkly at 9pm.  Staggered home and fell into bed and into a deep long sleep - bliss!  When we eventually surfaced we headed around the corner to a nice croissant place for breakfast and then walked all the way down the Champs Elysees with Larry stopping to drool at the Mercedes Benz showroom.

We made our way into the Tuilleries Gardens and headed to the Musee d'Orangerie to sit and enjoy the beautiful water lilly paintings.   Amazing that a few splodges of paint close up turns into a beautiful landscape in gorgeous hues as you step backwards away from the painting.  After our fill of 'culture' wandered up through the Tuileries gardens to the Louvre and then over the Palais Royal.  Gardens were a bit disappointing as a bit of construction work going on - more gravel and barricades than we would have liked.  So grabbed some picnic supplies and headed back to the Tuileries gardens just as it started raining and thundering!  Didn't last long though and it was still dry under the trees so were able to enjoy our yummy baguettes and pastries.  Feeling refreshed enough to keep going so walked over the Seine to the Musee d'Orsay and caught the train back to the Eiffel tower for the 'patience' bit of our day.  Big queue for the toilets and big queue for the tower - about an hour before we got to the top and then jostled our way around the edges.  Sad to see the people clutching their champagne glasses and searchingn for an elusive romantic moment amongst teh hoards! The day was now clear and sunny so great views all over Paris and worth every euro. 

Were feeling the need for an extended period of sitting down by mid afternoon so hopped on a one hour scenic cruise which left from just under the Eiffel Tower and did a loop up around the islands.  Was quite warm by now - the day just seems to be getting warmer and warmer - were glad after all that we had worn shorts and t-shirts with ''just in case" jumpers.  Lots of people sitting along the river banks and enjoying the Paris sunshine.

Back to the Louvre at 6pm and after a quick bite in the underground shopping mall foodhall felt ready to tackle some more culture and we were hoping that the late hour would mean less crowds and less patience required.  Was still incredibly busy though so I hate to think what the crowds in the middlle of the day are like if it's that busy at 8pm on a Friday night!!!  We 'did' the 'big 3'- Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and Winged Victory - but probably spent more time in the Egyptian wing which was utterly amazing and more than matched the British Museum's display.

Topped off our night with a visit to the Pont desArts - the one with all the padlocks -which was filled with people having picnics and enjoying the balmy evening and the lights along the Seine.  Tres romantique!