September 6 and 7

Thursday September 6

Today was a short in distance but long in time bus ride. We were taken to the Latin Quarter of Paris to see a neighborhood where people live.

 Ben Franklin, he lived in this area when he was in Paris way back when.

 The Eiffel Tower from the Trocadero, so a nice elevated view of the Eiffel Tower from across the Seine.

 Arc de Triomphe, surrounded by 12rings of traffic, when we went through it wasn't bad. But the delays started after this. From what they figured out, due to the high number of emergency vehicles was that there was a gas leak!

 Finally made it to the Latin Quarter, Ernest Hemingway lived in the area in several places, and we stopped for a break in a small square surrounded by cafes. Here if you want to use the toilette, you need to buy something to be polite. Not like in the US where we just go into a fast food place and do your business but don't buy anything.

 Little shops selling seafood and fruit.

 Bus ride back, we pass right in front of Notre Dame and right under the Eiffel Tower.

  After dinner the captain unmoored the ship and we went a short distance up the river so we were closer to the Eiffel Tower. The still shot shows a small version of the Statue of Liberty in France which was given to France by the US to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the French revolution. Initially the statue faced the Eiffel Tower, but it was switched and now faces its counterpart in the New York harbor.

At night the Eiffel is lighted but additionally at the top of the hour lights are flickering, so by moving us closer we had a much better view.

 Yes, I really was there, me and Eiffel in the same shot!

September 7

Another cloudy, misty morning and another AM trip, this time to the Montmartre area of Paris which is up on a hill, over 400 feet higher than the area below. If the weather is fine you can get some nice pictures, we weren't that lucky.

Our bus journey took us past the Arc de Triomphe and down the Champs-Élysées. This time we were not so lucky as traffic was at a standstill. We finally got to our destination which was to pick up a cute little train to take us to the top of the hill. Yes, we were right in front of the Moulin Rouge.

The Basilica of the Sacre Coeur, or Sacred Heart.

The misty view that was available while we were there. Not the bright clear view of Paris on a sunny day.

Our little train that would take us back down. Yes, just as we were leaving the sun came out with no time to go back to get a better picture!

 Many of you show pictures of cats when you travel. I did not see anylive, furry cats during my trip. Lots of dogs, no live cats. I did seelots of things with cat pictures!

The ride back was a bit quicker than the way. We passed through the Place de la Concorde and then after a short distance more entered the Alma Tunnel. Yes, this was the tunnel in which Diana was fatally injured in a car crash. The pillar that the car hit has a painted image of Diana on it.

Then all aboard the ship was 4:30 with us beginning our voyage on the Seine. Before we went down river, we got the chance to go up river. The Bizet is small enough to fit under the lower bridges on the Seine. Now the rails on the sundeck are moved from upright to a 45 degree angle, the sun shades are all lowered. For the first part it is so low we were not allowed up on the sundeck due to the low clearance on the bridges, but once we got into central Paris we could go up on the sun deck.

From here the pictures were taken from the sun deck.

 Yes, there was a river traffic signal ahead for river traffic. We had to sit for about 20 minutes until we got the green light to proceed.

 

 Back side of Notre Dame cathedral.

 Our turn around point. Looked like a defunct China town area. At this point we had gone 10 kilometers upstream from our starting point. At this time it was time for the port talk for the next day and dinner. So time to head inside.

We could watch the river go by once again as we turned and sailed down stream, this time continuing to our first stop outside of Paris on Saturday.