Adieu Africa... Bonjour Paris!

We went home for about a month lasty year, from the middle of June to the middle of July.  On the way we had a three day "layover" in Paris.  We decided to see the sights and we saw them about as fast as you could.

We left Johannesburg on Wednesday night, flying into Paris Thursday morning about 5:00AM.  I think that most of the time it wouldn't have been a bad fllight but they had to change our plane at the last minute.  I think they gave us the one that the air didn't work on because it was incredibly HOT all night.  That makes sleeping VERY difficult  for grown-ups.  Clayton crashed out and slept from lik 11:30 until about 4:00.

View from our hotel window into the back courtyard

We got in and got to our hotel, Villa Daubenton, in the Latin Quarter.  It was very far south and a bit off the beaten path.  It was clean, the staff was friendly and it was about 3 blocks from the subway. 

Tyler and Brian kicking back, waiting on the train. 

We rode the subway ALOT!  There were plenty of interesting people to watch while riding.

Our first morning there we wen to the Basilica Sacre Coeur.  This is a beautiful Catholic church that was built from 1875 to 1914.  It's at the top of Monmarte Butte in the Monmarte/Opera are of Paris.

You are able to go inside for no charge but you cannot take pictures.  They have some amazing paintings and sculpture throughout the church.  The top of the basilica is the second highest point in the city next to the Eiffel Tower.

The next stop on our trip was the Arc de Triomphe.  This thing is HUGE!  It was beautiful!  I'm not sure why they put the world's largest round about around it.  The honking and rumbly engines don't do much for the ambiance.

The arch was commissioned in 1806 by Napoleon and not completed until sometime between 1833 and 1836.

The sculpture that surrounds the arch depicts "nude" Parisian youth fighting German soldiers in chain mail.  I haven't found out the significance of why they are "nude" yet.  But I'll let  you know when I do!

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

This is also where the Tomb of the Unknown from the first Wold War is located.  It is the first eternal flame in Easter Europe and what inspired the flame in Washington DC.

After we finished our site-seeing here we headed towards the Eiffel Tower. 

Along with riding the subway we spent a lot of time walking.  And when you walk you also get to see  lots of cars.  Especially when your with Doug!

We saw a chrome wrapped Maserati...

And we saw the Lamborghini store...

We finally made it to the Eiffel Tower.  We got off the subway and walked up the steps and there it was!  And there was the wind!  It must have been the way the buildings were lined up but the wind here about blew us away

The line for the lifts to the top were huge, but the moved pretty fast and before we new it we were at the top. 

This was about the time we all started to fade.  Clayton had a meltdown and Tyler thought for sure he was going to starve to death.  It was time to get some grub and head back to the hotel. 

One thing we didn't realize is how late the sun stays out. This picture was taken about 9:00 at night. It looked like it was about 4:00 in the afternoon!

The next day we woke up and it was cloudy and cool.  It makes for great walking, which we did A LOT of.

We headed to the Louvre!  I was super excited to go and explore.  The kids were troopers and we had some fun of your own!

Making our own art!

Brian checking out some ancient Egyptian cats.

Notre Dame.  The line was like 100 people deep and admission was pretty expensive so we just peeked from outside and were on our way

Time for a snack!

Brian found a sticker he liked!