Paris 10th Jan

We decided to do another guided walk today, this time we were to meet on the steps of the Paris Opera at 10am, quite an effort for us on holiday mode, but thankfully only a quick metro ride from our hotel. When we arrived at the Opera House itself we walked around to try to find the appropriate meeting spot, for a while we lined up with an ever increasing group beside the statue second below, before we thought perhaps we were in the wrong place as we couldn't see anyone with a "pink jacket" the sign of the tour operator on these "by donation" walks. We made our way around to the other side of the building and sure enough there was our woman, at that stage it was just the three of us on the tour. I've forgotten her name already, but she started with a talk about the Opera and the surrounding streets. Napolean bowled all the buildings around the area in the 1800's because disease and crowding was an issue at the time with the narrow streets and close living, and he organised for the new streets to be significantly wider (with co-incidentally meant the views to the Opera (his design) were sweeping and made it a much grander looking affair.  We didn't go into the building on this tour, but Di and I had been there with mum and hilary six years earlier, it is very grand inside with plush red velvet seating and wonderful golden layers containing viewing boxes for the rich and famous. We will go back sometime and have another look, but there is so much to see and do still that we will be able to travel back to all these places another time and still see and do lots of new things. 

Huge golden statue on top of the Opera

At the start of the tour, outside the Opera

Our walking tour took us through some of the most expensive shopping and dining areas of Paris, we dribbled as we looked in shop windows at glittering pieces of jewellery, no prices though under the law all articles for sale must display their price. They get away with it by classing them as "art" which is the one exception to the rule!! and I must admit many of the pieces are indeed artworks.
We walked to the square illustrated below which is where the Ritz (last place Princess Diana had food and drink) is located, and also a huge column with Napolean atop.
We wound our way over to the Tuillieres Jardins and the Seine where from a vantage point outside the Orangerie Museum (more in a future posting) where we could see all the way down towards the Arc de Triumph (English spelling sorry), past the huge ferris wheel, Concorde obelisk down the Champs Ellyses (poor spelling sorry).

The Ritz on the right

Napolean's Column

Eiffel Tour

When the tour disbanded we headed off towards the university district and Eiffel Tour in search firstly of a coffee and then the Eiffel Tour as we had ensured Hilary we would ascend it this time (she has been wanting to go up it since we were there six years ago and didn't because the queues were too long on a balmy evening when we visited).
After our coffee we stopped off briefly to look at the outside and shop of the Musse de Quai Branly which apparently has fascinating exhibits about different cultures and which which to Hilary's delights had an exhibition about Maori.

Sculpture outside Musee de Quai Branly

Posing outside the shop

The gardens and building of the musee

Just around the corner was the Eiffel Tour so that is the direction we headed. The queues were reasonably long but moving quickly, so we bought our tickets to go up by lift, and then waited our turn.

Waiting patiently in the queue.

Can you tell Di hates heights?

The Trocadero from on high

Military museum and golden dome of Napolean's tomb location

When we were going up the tour we noticed that on the first floor they had an ice skating rink set up, so once we had been to the top and second floors and admired the views we headed back down to the first floor where Hilary pulled on some skates and then spent probably close to an hour skating around. We met lots of Australians on this day, three joined our walking tour and there were at least 3 other groups ice-skating with us. I guess it was their summer holidays and so many had travelled to Europe for Christmas, but they were definitely the majority of tourists that we saw/heard around the city at that time.

Ice skating on the Eiffel Tour

After our time at the Eiffel tour we walked back around the river on the northern bank back to near the Opera. Though the photo below implies night time it was only about 4pm I think when we reached La Fayette Galleries, a big and poncy shopping centre