Looking Back: Paris

Another travel adventure from my time on the ship: On 6/25 we arrived in Le Havre - the port for Paris. This was my last time as an escort on passenger tours.  But what a way to finish!

Sara, one of the tour office crew, had made me nervous telling me I might not be allowed to miss another boat drill and therefore would not have been able to join the tour, but luckily she was wrong and I was able to go. It rained on our 2-1/2 hour drive to the city, but it was clear in Paris, and then it poured on the way back. My luck with the weather had held!

First, we went to see the highlights of the Louvre.  I had never been interested in this type of tour as it is seen as an “Ugly American” venture where nothing is looked at in depth just a quick surface glance to say you were there and saw this and saw that and bought the postcards.  However, never having been to the Louvre, I decided that it was better to see a little than nothing at all.  As we raced from highlight to highlight I kept glimpsing paintings I had studied in art history - and we were simply dashing past!  The Louvre was so CROWDED with school groups, other tours, and just tons of people in general - YIKES!  My advice:  Don't visit the Louvre in June! 

Later we had lunch at Altitude 95 on the first level (not the ground level) of the Eiffel Tower.  It offered pretty good food for a touristy restaurant, with lots of free wine, and the view from up there was very nice.  Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time to go to the top of the tower - just too crowded. 

We then met the bus down the street where we had a great photo opportunity of the tower.  There were green trees on each side of a large park that ended at the feet of the Eiffel Tower.  Behind the tower was a sky of deep blue filled with puffy clouds - a perfect picture.