France 2024

This day did not go as planned. Our original plan was getting crepes for breakfast and then going to Invaldes. Unfortunately we overslept which didn't leave time for either. Instead we went to the Rodin Museum . We explored the museum fairly quickly, only spending about half an hour there. Following the museum we wandered around a bit heading toward a restaurant where we had made reservations. However instead of going to that restaurant we ended up canceling our reservation and having lunch at Ricci, which we had walked past and looked interesting.

We purchased tickets for the Eiffel Tower online prior to our trip. Tickets sell out quickly so it's best if you buy them close to 60 days in advance when they go on sale. I unfortunately forgot and ended up buying them only a month ahead of time and found all the cheaper tickets were already sold out. If you don't buy them ahead of time, be prepared to have to wait well over an hour in a long line. Since our tickets were for the afternoon, we decided to head toward that part of Paris and see some of the sites within walking distance of the tower.

The line at the Eiffel Tower was not really that bad and it wasn't that crowded. While they had warned us it could take up to 20 minutes to go through security, we where through in about two minutes. After taking the elevator to the second level, we walked around a bit and enjoyed our glasses of champagne which were included in our ticket fee.

For the afternoon we decided to come back to Invaldes another day and instead crossed the Pont d'Iéna bridge toward the Palais de Chaillot. Part way across the bridge we stopped to have a video chat with our kids with the Eiffel Tower in the background. We then took a bus to Place du Concorde, which was largely under construction for the Olympics, and walked around a bit before heading up to La Madeleine. From there we walked over to the Petit Palais which houses a museum of beaux-arts. Unfortunately by then we were hot, tired, and dehydrated, so after walking around the museum for a bit we went into their courtyard where they have a café and shared a bottle of water.

We had made dinner reservations near Champs-Élysées with the idea that we would have dinner and then visit the Arc de Triumph, but with it still being early we decided to flip those plans and go to the Arc de Triumph first. After leaving the Metro station it took us a little bit to figure out how to get to the Arc. You have to follow the signs and cross a few streets until you find the entrance to the underpath that takes you to the arc. Once there I jumped into line to go up, not realizing it was stairs and not an elevator. We also didn't realize that the elevator is available only to those who need it. The arc has 284 steps and is a bit of a workout to get up.

After visiting the arc, we went for a long walk along the Avenue des Champs-Élysées checking out shops and looking for a place for dinner. After walking almost to the end, we decided to hop a bus back up and go to Bistro de Champs which we has passed earlier. One thing we noticed while dining in Paris is that you do not tip in restaurants, there isn't even a place to do so on the check, and it shows in the quality of service. It seemed like almost every restaurant we dined in the wait staff were in no hurry to take your order, try to make the minimal number of trips to your table, and you always have to get their attention and ask for the check (L'addition, s'il vous plaît) when you're done.