Day #62 - Paris, France

The Louvre

Looking back to the Arc de Triomphe near the Louvre

Champs Elysees on a Saturday afternoon

Notre Dame - my dinner spot

The Bastille

Saturday, May 15th

Last night after getting back on the train (10pm), I decided that I would stay the weekend in Paris. If this is going to be my self-proclaimed "Hub-City" - I need to learn the lay of the land. I walked around the train station location to a few hotels - but all were booked. I found a McDonalds and booked a hotel on-line. (Note - McDonalds always has free Wi-Fi - convenient location). I got a taxi to the hotel and crashed.

I woke up about 12 hours later. It was a spectacular sleepy performance - one for the ages. I haven't slept this good since the start of the trip. No worries - whenever I'm extrordinarily tired, I can sleep a long time with no alarm, a quiet room, and perfect temperatures. Ideal conditions last night. I feel fantastic today.

I got out of the hotel early afternoon and just decided to walk. Perfect weather, a little cool, but perfect for walking. My hotel is north of the Arc de Triomphe, so I headed that way. I wanted to see what the Champs Elysees looked like on a Saturday afternoon. People were everywhere. Electric, but yet composed atmosphere. Just like I remember Paris - calm, cool, no-mistakes. I walked down the Champs Elysees toward the Louvre.

I crossed the street to get into the huge courtyard leading up to the Louvre - and something told me to turn around. There's the Eiffel Tower - right where it should be. Awesome! You could see all the way back up the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe. I meandered around the Louvre taking some pictures. I didn't go in today - maybe tomorrow. I decided to walk along the banks of the Seine River. I continued on until I came to Notre Dame. Free admission on Saturdays. I stood in line a little while to get in. Mass was just starting - 6:30pm - a 2 for 1 deal. I hung around for the mass while checking out the sites.

Next, I grabbed a sandwich and ate dinner while sitting on one of the bridge supports overlooking the Seine. I took a couple pics of what I was looking at during this time. I then walked north to the Bastille Monument and then over to the Republique Monument. By this time, it was nearing 9pm. I jumped on the metro back to my place.

A great, relaxing day. Paris is awesome. Distinguised, classy - like I mentioned on Day #1 of the trip. I'll decribe it as "tight" as well. I'm reading this book where one of the bosses told his worker: "Keep it tight - partner." Meaning - do things the right way, stay organized, stay clean, stay solid. Paris is "tight" in every sense of the word. Only thing - alot of PDA (public display of affection). If I had an eligible bachelorette on my arm - we'd have something.

A little research note to end the day --- According to the 2009 World Tourism Organization, Paris is the most visited city in the world - some 15+ million visitors a year. According to the same publication, the top 5 most visited countries in the world are: France (76 million/year), Spain (55 million/year), US (50 million/year), China (47 million/year), and Italy (37 million/year)