Paris - Day Cinq

Our Paris recap continues today with day five.  If you've missed the first four days, you can catch up by clicking below ~

Day 1     |     Day 2     |     Day 3     |      Day 4

Eric and I had ended the night of Day 4 by attending a late performance at Moulin Rouge, so technically Day 5 began with our taxi ride back to the hotel.  After a good night's sleep short nap, we rose early on Day 5 to head to the Eiffel Tower.  The lines are famously long at this site, so our plan was to be there before it opened so we didn't have to waste a ton of time just waiting in line.  

As painful as it was to rise and shine early, we persevered and sucked it up.  It paid off in a major way because our wait was minimal.  The downside to our plan turned out to be the morning was cloudy and by the time we reached the top it was spitting rain.  

The views were still spectacular even though we were looking through the clouds.  

The Eiffel Tower is 1,063 feet tall and has three levels you can visit.  We opted for the second level, which is 377 feet off the ground.  If you choose to go to the third floor of the iron lady, you will be looking over the city from 905 feet.  In St. Louis talk, that is 275 feet taller than the Arch!  People, that is TALL!  If it's not cloudy on our next trip to Paris, I would love to venture up to the tippy top.

Even at 377 feet, it was fun just being up there and peeking over the edge.  My semi-afraid-of-heights husband loved it too.

We eventually let the elevator lower us back to the ground and we were off to our next stop.  Our two-day bus pass was still valid so we climbed abroad and headed to the Louvre.

Our magic Museum Pass let us bypass the long line at the Louvre and the entrance was painless.

Now, I'm going to be honest.  Everyone goes to the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa and frankly, it's just not one of my favorites.  Sorry Mr. da Vinci.  I did feel the need to see it, though, since we were there and all.  So we followed the signs that led us to her.

She's not hard to miss because of the crowd all pushing and bumping to get as close as possible to this masterpiece.  I was more intrigued with the crowd than I was with the actual picture.
 

But not to worry -- there were plenty of other things to see at the Louvre.  Seeing the crown of Louis XV made me pretty happy!  And so did wandering through the statues!

This was one of many locations where the ceilings were just so beautiful.  It kind of made me want to just lay down on the floor and gaze upward for a while.  But since we hadn't gotten a lot of sleep the night before, I probably would have just fallen asleep and that wouldn't have been so cool.  #tackytourist

You could spend days at the Louvre, and we did spend quite a bit of time there before moving on to our next stop - the Sacre-Coeur.  Officially known as The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, this church opened in 1914 and is perched high on a hill overloaded Paris. 

As we climbed the 300 steps to the top, dark clouds loomed overhead and soon began to drop buckets of rain.  Our leisurely climb quickly became a sprint to the top!  We entered the church and was grateful for the cover.  

With so much beauty around us, we didn't mind just taking our time and appreciating all the things to see.  As a matter of fact, we took so long in the church we missed the last bus and had to take the Metro back to our hotel area.

Thursday was the day we had designated as our fancy dinner night.  Our plan was to eat at Le Florimond, which had been highly recommended by some friends of ours that had eaten there before.  We found it fairly easily only to discover it was closed.  It's not uncommon for Parisians to go on holiday during August and close their stores, so we weren't totally surprised but definitely disappointed.  We consulted our handy Rick Steves Best of France book to find an alternative.

After a short little walk, we found our alternative - Cafe Constant.  We got lucky because this place was a winner!

We took a seat inside the quaint little dining room and ordered a glass of wine.  Followed that with an appetizer, entree and dessert.  Hey, we had worked up an appetite and the food at this place was fabulous.  Our disappointment from the first restaurant being closed quickly faded.  

The chef, Christian Constant, has authored a couple cookbooks.  One of them, Everyday French Cooking, is now in my kitchen and I'm hoping it teaches me to make the mouthwatering mashed potatoes we experienced in his restaurant.

After dinner, we moseyed in the direction of our hotel popping in little shops along the way.  Tomorrow was going to be another fun day as we were planning to visit the Palace of Versailles.  That summary will be coming to you soon.

When we got to the hotel, we opened our balcony doors to let the sounds of Paris linger in and catch another look at the Eiffel Tower.  Paris - we love you!