Paris, Day 3…I know, but we were there for a little over 4 days and there is so much to see. Although, I think we did quite well soaking up history, having fun, enjoying eating and lots of walking. Oh and we had a bus tour for 2 days to help cut down the amount of walking although we still set records according to my fitbit. We used Open Tour Paris and well worth it. Check out some of the things we hopped off for. Oh and although Seattle has a decent public transportation system, I totally came, saw and conquered the Paris metro. It has been by far one of the more complicated systems I’ve used in all the cities of visited.

There are a few train stations in Paris and this is one that we used. It was really fun, at one point, when we came in to one station thinking that we were connecting there to our next train only to find out about 25 minutes before departure that we needed to go to a different train station. ARGH! Yes, we missed the next train even with all of frantic running.

This is the Sainte-Chapelle. We didn’t end up going inside as there was quite a line and we were not prepared with tickets ahead of time. Also, you have to go through security just to get through the wall that surrounds it and the Palais de Justice. Next time, I’ll check it out personally, but the interior looks gorgeous with all that glass.

The Palais de Justice de Paris and we could have gone inside to observe public proceedings, however, I spared Dave and the children of that experience.

The gate just in front of the Palais de Justice de Paris.

The side view of La Conciergerie. It became the principal place of detention during the French Revolution. It’s most famous prisoner was Marie Antoinette. She spent the last 2 months of her life here before being executed.

Best pic I could get of Place de la Concorde as they were setting things up in preparation for Bastille Day. This is the site where King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were executed.

La Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris which is the closest anyone can get since the fire. It looks different but still iconic and still closed while they do repairs as a result of the fire.

Arc de Triomphe which we personally were able to experience the traffic around this thing in a tour bus of all things. WHOA! Don’t mess your pants people, this is not for the faint-hearted.

A close up of the under side of the Arc de Triomphe.

A view from the top of the Arc de Triomphe all the way down the Champs-Élysées. It was unfortunate to hear about the riots here 2 days later.

The stairs we climbed down from the top.

A close up of one side of the exterior, such amazing sculptures. It’s crazy to think that Napoleon commissioned this thing and never even got to see the finished product.

Toren was so excited to see the Eiffel Tower and said he wasn’t ready to go up that high yet. Maybe when we come back for Disneyland Paris. Can you believe this thing has been around since 1889, it’s 324 meters tall, weighs 7300 tons and took a little over 2 years to make? Dave and I also didn’t mind drinking a few beers while walking through the Champ de Mars.

Of course, I can hold the Eiffel Tower in the palm of my hand. Inside they have a comparison chart showing all the huge buildings, towers, etc in the world and crazy enough, they don’t even list the Space Needle, but list other shorter buildings from the U.S. Huh?

The tomb of Napoleon.

The Musee de L’Armee.

Grand Palais National Galleries. It is thought to have one of the largest glass roofs in Europe.

So shiny! The gate into the Jardin des Tuileries. Big and beautiful especially the end closest to the Louvre. Beautiful grass because you can’t walk on it in areas. The walking paths were a little annoying because it left your shoes and ankles quite dusty. I should add we were all wearing Chacos.

The flowers were absolutely beautiful one the other end of the Jardin des Tuileries.

There is a little amusement park off to the side of the Jardin des Tuileries and it can get quite spendy. Although, we didn’t go up the big wheel, we did something more exhilarating which was the swing ride that lifts you up pretty high into the air and spins in circles. Totally recommend as you get awesome views of the city. Too bad I didn’t want to pull out my phone for a video. Did I mention Toren wanted to go back again and again.

Looking straight down the center of Jardin des Tuileries from the Louvre side at the end of the evening when we were returning to our apartment.