Analogue Adventures – Europe 1984 -Paris, France

All photos taken on July 2, 1984.

Breakfast in France was a real improvement. In addition to rolls and coffee, we also got a croissant and orange juice for our petit déjeuner.

Because we did not sign on for any Cosmos $13.50 optional tours, we were on our own. Allison gave us one more chance, before the bus pulled away, but we declined. We had already picked up “un carnet” (packet of 10 Metro tickets) at the nearby Tabac (news shop licensed to sell tobacco products), so we were good to go.

Patty was feeling better, so we hopped on the Metro to a station stop near the Grand Palais.

The Grand Palais des Champs-Élysées, commonly known as the Grand Palais is a historic site, exhibition hall and museum complex located at the Champs-Élysées in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Construction of the Grand Palais began in 1897 following the demolition of the Palais de l’Industrie (Palace of Industry) to prepare for the Universal Exposition of 1900. That exposition also produced the adjacent Petit Palais and Pont Alexandre III.
The building was designed to be a large-scale venue for official artistic events.

From there, we walked down the Champs-Élysées to La Place de l’Étoile and l’Arc de Triomphe.

The Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile (lit. ’Triumphal Arch of the Star’) is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Place de l’Étoile — the étoile or “star” of the juncture formed by its twelve radiating avenues. The location of the arc and the plaza is shared between three  arrondissements, 16th (south and west), 17th (north), and 8th (east). The Arc de Triomphe honours those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I. It was inaugurated on July 29, 1836.

(Source: Wikipedia)

We wandered around taking in the views, but chose not to go up to the top.

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We hopped on the Metro back to the Louvre Museum for our tour.

The Louvre or the Louvre Museum is the world’s most-visited museum, and a historic landmark in Paris. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the Mona Lisa and the  Venus de Milo. A central landmark of the city, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the city’s 1st arrondissement (district or ward). At any given point in time, approximately 38,000  objects from prehistory to the 21st century are being exhibited over an area of 72,735 square meters (782,910 square feet).

The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace, originally built in the late 12th to 13th century under Philip II. Remnants of the Medieval Louvre fortress are visible in the basement of the museum. Due to urban expansion, the fortress eventually lost its defensive function, and in 1546 Francis I converted it into the primary residence of the French Kings.

(Source: Wikipedia)

As we approached the Louvre, 2 young girls walked toward us carrying a piece of cardboard. Oh no you don’t! We’ve seen this movie before. We shouted at them and turned around and retreated looking for their next victims.

We enjoyed our visit to the Louvre, but ended up being locked in for short period of time, because one of the visitors touched a painting.

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After the Louvre, we were back on our own again and hopped back on the Metro to Opera stop and found the nearby offices for British Airways. Patty was not feeling well enough to withstand another full day on the bus, ferry and train to get back to London. We were going to fly between Paris and London, a flight of only 70 minutes, a lot better than the 10 hours our compatriots would face.

Tickets secured, we took the Metro back to the stop near the Eiffel Tower.

Somewhere in the area, we stopped for lunch. Pat had A composed salad, a salade composée, a salad of many ingredients that are not tossed together but, instead, conscientiously arranged, whether in a pile or side by side, on a plate or in a bowl, with attention to complimentary flavors and colors and a lemonade. Allan had roast chicken and a beer. We paused along the Seine for the views.

Pat by the Seine River Paris France

Seine River, Paris, France

Then it was time for the quintessential French experience. We were going up the Eiffel Tower.

The Eiffel Tower, French: tour Eiffel is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars  in Paris. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower.

Locally nicknamed “La dame de fer” (French for “Iron Lady”), it was constructed from 1887 to 1889 as the centerpiece of the 1889 World’s Fair and was initially criticized by some of France’s leading artists and intellectuals for its design, but it has become a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. The Eiffel Tower is the most visited monument with an entrance fee in the world; 6.91 million people ascended it in 2015. The Tower was made a Monument historique in 1964 and named part of UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991.

The tower is 330 metres (1,083 ft) tall, about the same height as an 81-storey building, and the tallest structure in Paris. Its base is square, measuring 125 metres (410 ft) on each side. During its construction, the Eiffel Tower surpassed the Washington Monument to become the tallest man-made structure in the world, a title it held for 41 years until the Chrysler Building in New York City was finished in 1930. It was the first structure in the world to surpass both the 200-metre and 300-metre mark in height. Due to the addition of a broadcasting aerial at the top of the tower in 1957, it is now taller than the Chrysler Building by 5.2 metres (17 ft). Excluding transmitters, the Eiffel Tower is the second tallest free-standing structure in France after the Millau Viaduct.

(Source: WIkipedia)

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We did not care about all the stats. We just wanted to see the views from the top.

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After our “Tour” tour, it was back on the Metro to Hotel des Invalides.

Les Invalides, formally the Hôtel national des Invalides, also Hôtel des Invalides (literally, “House of the disabled”) is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, containing museums  and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and a retirement home for war veterans, the buildings’ original purpose. The buildings house the Musée de l’Armée, the military museum of the Army of France, the Musée des Plans-Reliefs, and the Musée d’Histoire Contemporaine. The complex also includes the former hospital chapel, now national cathedral of the French military, and the adjacent former Royal Chapel known as the Dôme des Invalides, the tallest church building in Paris at a height of 107 meters. The latter has been converted into a shrine of some of France’s leading military figures, most notably the tomb of Napoleon. Construction took from 1678 to 1706.

(Source: Wikipedia)

As it was already 6:30 PM, there was no point trying to go in.

Pat at Hotel des Invalides

Then, back on the Metro to our hotel, where we found a Chinese restaurant in the area and had quite the spread for supper…wonton soup, corn soup, spring rolls, fried wontons, veggies, rice, beef saté accompanied by green tea and beer. Fried bananas for dessert.

Later, as we compared days with some of our travel compatriots, we hatched a plan for a farewell party on our last night together. It would be called the “Cosmos 5161 Dissidents Party”, but we all agreed that Allison and Enzo could come too.

The hotel was good enough to agree to lend us the use of one of their meeting rooms and we would gather supplies the next day.

Patty was still not feeling that well, so we went to bed early to get rested for our last day on tour.

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