Free Evening in Paris after work day

After listening to all the ins and outs of leading a tour we were taken on a walking tour of the nothern section Paris where the likes of Picasso created their art in the late 19th and early 20th centuries . . . actually saw the apartment where Picasso lived a very picturesque part of town.

This is also near the nieghborhood where the Moulin Rouge is located although we did not actually pass by that location.

New Hotel traveling now with EF Tours! :-)

This morning made the journey from my cheaper hotel to the one that is being provided by EF Tours, surprise an upgrade! :-)
Arrived about 10:30 AM but had to wait until 12:00 for my room and the group was still arriving from the U.S. so it was about 12:30 PM before we were able to get on our way to the Louvre.

We made the trip via train and Metro with a guide . . . ahhh!  After days of figuring out my own way to and fro it was nice to sit back and just let someone else do the worrying.

From inside took the traditional picture of the normal entrance although we entered directly from the Metro line, a good suggestion if you ever find your way to Paris as the line was much shorter via metro entrance.

Saw the Mona Lisa and took 6 or 7 shots but conditions were not ideal so . . . I'm not posting it. At least I got to see it and will get another opportunity next summer.


Also got to see a number of items that we normally only see via text books or art books that sit on peoples coffee tables.  Venus de Milo see left had to wait some time to get shot without people nearby.

The other spectacular sculpture was the Winged Victory!

It's time for bed so I'll end there for today. Tomorrow is meetings until about 2:00 PM and then back out to the city for some free time but I'm not sure where I'll head stay tuned.

Last day on my own!

Well tomorrow I join the EF folks for the official orientation . . . the reason for coming in the first place.
I over did it today while in the Museum de Army I thought I felt the beginning of a blister so put some moleskin on my right foot. Got back to the Hotel this evening, right foot OK, large blister on left foot. :-)

The museum is housed in the building in the foreground, two stories and includes French military history, such as it is from Napoleon's time up through Vietnam. You might be able to guess who's interned under the gold dome . . . Napoleon.

This give you some idea of the lavish surroundings of the tomb of Napoleon, all around the circular area are monuments to his victories, didn't see one for Waterloo. :-)

 After suspecting some foot problems decided to take a boat ride up and down the Seine . . . very enjoyable. Rode by the Louvre, the De Gaulle Royal Palace, the Eiffel Tower and finally Notre-Dame. Asked a guy with a nice camera to take the photo and when he responded in English I remarked, Oh, you speak English to which he responded not really its Australian. :-) So I said back well we are three peoples divided by a common language and he agreed.

Paris Day 2

Well best laid plans oft go astray as they say. I thought today would be the museum day including the Louvre but it was not open. The guide book said closed on Monday so avoided that day turns out it is sometimes closed Monday and Tuesday. :-(
So quickly changed to plan "B". The guide book suggested using a regular city bus to see the city from west to east beginning at the Eiffel Tower to catch the bus. This saved me about 30 Euros as there are off and on bus tours but I was able to see the same sites for about 3 Euros, you know that made me happy.

So after making the first run I got off and back on when making the return run. My first stop was to see Notre-Dame and on the way crossed the Seine River, see photo taken courtesy of a Canadian tourist . . . eh.

This is where the line started to tour the Church but the tour was free and the line moved much faster than those at the Eiffel Tower so it was a good use of time.

After a good hike to get some photos showing why the church is famous, the flying buttresses was able to get this shot where they can be seen very well.

So after making the grand loop was back to the spot where I began so took this shot from a vantage spot that I remembered from my memory of history. See below although Paris has build considerably since 1942-43.

It is a much happier world now!

Greetings from Paris

Arrived this morning at 8:15 AM Paris time spent about 2 1/2 hours getting through customs and winding my way through Paris on a train, the metro and finally a bus getting to my hotel at about 11:30 AM. Took a shower after getting maybe 2 hours sleep on the flight. I was wrong on the flight time from Chicago it was only about 7 1/2 hours. I was also wrong about how many hours Paris is ahead of U.S. central time . . . it is 7 hours ahead rather than just 6.

You can see the first shot was just after eating my first meal in Paris . . . what else, Italian of course. I needed some comfort food so had spaghetti. :-)

Went up to the top which only took 2 1/2 hours and then another 30 minutes of more lines to get down, great view from the top however.
Either tomorrow or the next I'll see the Louvre depending on when it is open, you can see it in the distance in the photo.

From the top I sighted the location for my dinner picnic, sandwich, chips, banana and coke, the Arc de Triomphe, you can see it over my right shoulder

This is a shot from the bench in a small park just off the traffic circle near the Arc.

If you click on the photos you can see a larger version. :-)

All in all not a bad first day.

Well it's 4:39 PM Oklahoma time which means I need to get to bed.

Paris Orientation

Greetings fellow travelers. I'm headed to Paris soon to complete my tour leadership orientation seminar, tough duty but someone has to do it!
I'm going to try and use this trip to improve my blogging skills in preparation for our tour summer of 2011. I'll give you brief descriptions of what's going on along with a few photos. I hope to be able to do the same thing while we are on tour next summer.

Mr. P

 Trying to see how to post photos and script and as you can see it worked!


This picture was take several years ago while attending a seminar in England and was touring the Tower of London.