DAY 7 – EXPLORING PARIS ON MY OWN

Another day in Paris, but this time I have the whole day for exploring. I get up early and hop on the next train into the city, and as I come up the metro stairs…there it is – my first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower! Bucket List = Checkmark! I keep walking along and get to right underneath the Eiffel and just stand there looking up for a few minutes -- and it is glorious! There really isn’t anything quite like it.

Just at the corner is a cute café. Seems like the perfect place for breakfast. I opt for an omelet in Paris at the base of the Eiffel Tower. You’d think that was the Frenchest of breakfasts, but that’s not even considered a French breakfast – it’s VERY America, and called so on the menu. In fact, the French Breakfast is Café (coffee, or cocoa) with orange juice and a pastry (chocolate croissant) – and it’s when you add the omelet that it becomes an American Breakfast. So much for me thinking omelets are a French Breakfast thing.

For the past 3 years, I have literally barely left the house. I mean, the whole world shut down – and so did I. And even with the world back and turning, I’ve become a homebody – and now I even work 100% from home. I leave the house maybe once each week, mostly to play piano at church – that’s it. But here, I’m not only getting out but there’s a LOT of walking. Like a LOT.

But walking still limits what I can see, so I decide to hop on a TootBus that drives a loop which covers the main sites in the area. I love sitting out on the Open Top and feeling the city roll by. There’s the Alexander bridge, with the beautiful gold statues – and countless castles and palaces scattered throughout the city. And multiple bridges as we criss-cross across the Seine River (that runs from Switzerland to the ocean). And of course the Louvre, with it’s unmistakable glass pyramids – followed by the Notre Dame Cathedral that we all watched on tv when it burned a few years ago.

I hop on and off at a few stops – just to see some of the charming neighborhoods (and try some of the local cuisine along the way). And as the evening approaches, I hop off at the Musee D’Orsay – and walk the streets back up to the Louvre. Unfortunately the Louvre closes earlier than I expected, so I don’t have time to go in – so instead I stroll past the street artists selling their paintings. Along the way I find Monnaie de Paris – the Paris Mint (and the only thing other than restaurants open past 6pm). I’ve been to a number of U.S. Mints, but this is my first foreign one – and it’s amazing. The United States is just a baby compared to European countries. There are coins here dating back thousands of years. (I mean, who doesn’t like money, right???)

I walk back toward the Louvre – for my Paris at Night bus tour. OMG – Paris is wonderful all day, but its beauty gets all lit-up at night. The Champs-Elysees lights a path to the Arc de Triumphe – and the Dior storefront is incredible all lit up at night. And the Basilica of Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre is beautiful. Paris at night – incredible.