Paris and about time too!

So much to do, so much to see, it must be Paris.

Where to start? Well after a late night it was an slow start, but we soon made our way to Champs De Elyess and up to the Arc de Triumph. We explored the base of this impressive monument but in the fog that had decended on the French capital we decided not to climb the 300+ steps to the top. Maddy in particular was impressed by this decision as she has never been enthusiastic about stairs and being at the foot of this famous landmark did little to change her opinion.
Although there would be no climbing, there would be walking and we headed down to Concorde scene of Marie Antonette’s beheading. We continued until we arrived at the Louvre where we discovered to our dismay that the museum does not open on Tuesday’s. Determined not to be beaten we continue down Paris’s Left Bank and marvelled at the River Siene and the bridges that zigzagged across it. Photo oppurtunities on the Pont Neuf were not missed and in no time at all we found ourselves outside Notre dame de Paris. After the photos outside, minus the scaffolding that had been on the church during Prue and my last visit we headed inside. It truly is a wonderful building and it never fails to amaze me how beautiful it is.
Not ready to return to the poorest hotel room of this European vacation we decided to fulfil Maddy’s lifelong dream and ascend the Eiffel Tower. Doing this by night added another dimension to this experience and Maddy and Joseph both loved the 324 panoramic views by night. Once we were down we headed for the Metro, but we didn’t get far. Each night the Eiffel Tower comes to life and performs. The light and music show that followed was as Maddy described it a once in a lifetime experience.
The next day we headed straight for the Louvre. 35000 pieces of art was going to take some time and we were not ashamed to call time 4 hours later with ¾ of the gallery still to view. It was getting to the point where we would start to forget some of the breathtaking artwork we had seen. We used the afternoon to wander the city of Paris for what we believed would be the final time as tomorrow we were moving closer to Disneyland.
But wait there’s more. We managed to get a bonus day on Boxing Day. We began by heading to Montmartre and visiting the Sacre Couer. Translated to sacred Heart this church overlooks Paris from the highest point the hill above Montmartre. The street urchins who inhabit the area below this sacred site make it an interesting walk up, but one that is well worth it. From Sacre Couer we moved through the bohemian streets to Moulin Rouge. This world famous nightclub is still a sight during the bright daylight we experienced it complete with its iconic spinning windmill. We walked through Paris again until we found the Opera House which was unfortunitly closed but is still majestic to view from outside. All in all we felt we had seen the best Paris had to offer and we were glad for the extra day. But the biggest star of this trip was always going to be Christmas day at Disneyland!