Make it count: Day #3

Day - #3 TMB Trek

Saturday, August 5th

A busy, great day in Paris! Only got back to the hotel around midnight - so writing up the blog on Sunday morning.

We got it started at 9am at the Louvre - where we had already purchased tickets on-line prior to our trip. Waited in line 20 minutes to get in the doors. Including a lunch break - we spent nearly 4 hours in the Louvre - one of the best art museums in the world (home to the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, etc). I’m not a seasoned art-guy by any standards, but it’s definitely an impressive place to spend a morning

Next up - we walked over to Saint Chapelle - a royal chapel - within the medieval Palais de La Cité, the residents of the kings of France until the 14th century. We then made our way to Notre Dame - medieval catholic cathedral that had a fire back in 2019. The cathedral is still being renovated today - with expectations to reopen in December 2024. It was amazing to see just how much the fire destroyed - and the immense efforts required to restore this historic cathedral.

We next had some lunch while walking over to the Pantheon. The Pantheon was initially intended to be built by King Louis XV as a church dedicated to Ste Genevieve - Paris’s patron Saint. After the French Revolution, the new government transformed the Pantheon to a place to honor those who had passed away fighting for the new chapter of French history.

We finally headed back to our hotel in Montmartre around 6pm. We walked over to Moulin Rouge and then up to the Sacre Coeur - the famous Catholic Church that overlooks Paris from a steep hillside on the northern side of the city. Spectacular views!

Next we grabbed a couple slices of pizza and hit the metro again - back to the Eiffel Tower. Here we watched the sparkling light display as the lights turned on for the night. This is my favorite view and time of day to be at the Eiffel Tower - just incredible! We concluded the night with a chocolate/banana crepe - while we walked back over to the Arc de Triomphe to see it lit up while towering at the start of the Champs-Elysees.

After a 13.2 mile hiking effort - seeing some of the best sites in Paris (both in the day and at night) - we got back to the hotel around midnight. Rewarding, satisfying, and tiring day in the City of Lights.