European Vacation - Day 7,8 Paris, France

Now that we've been on so many trains, subways, taxis and planes, it's getting hard to remember each trip. Anyway, after arriving in Paris, we had to get in a rather long line at the train station for a taxi to the hotel. Once we arrived and checked in we did our usual investigation for the local cuisine. We were directed to a restaurant/café just a short walk down the street. Baguettes, baguettes, baguettes everywhere was already a noticed way of life! So we had a delicious fresh baguette, red wine, beef, salad and potatoes for our first French meal. We grabbed another baguette and bananas from the market then headed back to the room to get ready for the next day.
In the morning we had our baguette, banana, peanut butter, jam, and coffee then showered, threw some water in our back then boarded the subway. We saw the Notre Dame cathedral (during a mass) and then enjoyed quiche, salad, crepe, more baguette, cappuccino, and coffee with milk at a quaint café. The sky was pretty cloudy with some periods of rain, and we knew it was to be a day of line-ups so we bought ourselves a Paris umbrella. We strolled along the river and took in the scenery once again. We then found our way and got in the huge line for admission into the Louvre. Wow, what a building, requiring a map to find your way around amongst the hundreds and hundreds of people from all over the world! We couldn't get over how bright the paintings and magnificent the art. To find the Mona Lisa ? You simply had to follow the crowd. What an experience and quite the security in place for the famous piece of art! It was pretty neat to get in there with the crowd for a look and picture.
After the Louvre we headed toward to Eiffel tower. But before that we decided we'd better see the Arch de Triumph. What an amazing structure! Last but certainly not least, we arrived at the Eiffel Tower! Grand! Simply grand. There was construction on one side so we got our pictures from the other. Another amazing experience.  Love.
On our way back we had an early dinner at another café/restaurant. Again, delicious. We decided to walk back to the hotel, which got us back just in time to call a cab for the train station. In total 7 hrs on our feet! We were ready to get into our tiny beds in our couchette, which was a fun experience. Our little room had 3 beds, a sink with amenities in the closet, room for our luggage, and the bare necessities. Sleeping (although not the greatest) is the best way to kill time when travelling from Paris to Rome.

Our reservations made travelling by train so easy!

Notre Dame Cathedral.

Canadian Pub in Paris, France had a sport and hockey theme.

Outside of the Louvre.

Go for a ride outside the Louvre!

$90 Euros ($125 CDN) for a ride.

No crutches in Europe, they use these instead.

Beef, potatoes, salad...

...baguette and red wine.

Hotel key.

Baguettes everywhere.

Walking along the river.

Notre Dame.

Shopping.

"That" Paris, France café must-have!

The quiche was absolutely delicious.

Was hoping to enjoy some chocolate mousse later but couldn't find it.

Locks of love. You buy a lock, write on it, lock it to the fence, toss one key in the river and keep the other one.

Watch your belongings.

Beautiful art.

There she is, looking at everyone. Stunning.

Crowds of people around the Mona Lisa.

Arch de Triumph.

Wow factor, Eiffel Tower! Love the clouds too!

More scrumptious French cuisine.

Sink and amenities in the couchette.

Relaxing after a long day.

Krista took the top bunk for sleeping. We were so glad there was air conditioning.