Today we took the open top bus to explore Paris. We first headed on the Montmartre-Grands Boulevards route exploring the streets of Montmatre and spending time taking the funicular to the top of the hill and the beautiful Sacre-Cour Basilique. We had breathtaking views over the city from this location. Sacre-Cour is another beautiful basilica, but not as ornate as many churchs in Europe which gives the feeling of being able to worship without feeling overwhelmed by the grandeur of the surroundings.
When we descended the hill we had photo opportunities for the Moulin Rouge during the day and time to browse the many souvenir shops.We continued on this route ending at Eglise de la Madeleine.
We then took the Bastille- Bercy line: highlights being the Bastille-Opera, Place de la Bastille and the Bibliotheque Nationale de France.
In the evening we took a cruise and illuminations tour. The cruise down the Seine at night is spectacular with many of the well known monuments illuminated. It ended at the Eiffel Tower twinkling in the night. Our enjoyment of our cruise was somewhat hampered by school children on excursion and the heavy metal music played on the boat, but the sights were unforgettable.
After the cruise, we were taken by mini bus around many of the sights of Paris. We drove down the Champs-Elysees where crowds were gathering to watch France in a World Cup soccer match, through the Arc de Triomphe, past Concord Square, the Invalides , Notre Dane cathedral,Vendome Square the Trocadero, the Lido, the Opera, Orsay Museum, Madeleine Church and through the grounds of the Louvre where what we believe was some sort of peace conference/celebration was being held and people had set up tables and were enjoying dinner in the grounds. Everyone was dressed in white and enjoying themselves eating good food and drinking good French wine.
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