THE BIG BUS TOUR

Well, we have been here a few days now, muddling along while we get acclimated, and Bryce was asking where the historic buildings are, so today we decided to get the Paris overview by riding the Big Bus.  This was included in our Paris Pass.

First thing in the morning GG went in search of bread.  Sunday morning, not much open, but she finally found a boulangerie where she bought a couple of baguettes, some croissants and a surprise box of desserts.  When she returned from her trek the kids were up and grandpa was ready to go across town and pick up our Paris Passes.

After breakfast we made some sandwiches and packed up some water and set off for the Metro.  After yesterday's experience Grandpa had planned out all  of the best ways to get to where we wanted to go.  We hopped on the metro, headed for Ile de la Cite and Notre Dame.  From there we planned to catch the Big Bus Tour for a ride around the loop.

The metro ride went smoothly, but when we finally got to the BB stop the driver told us we had to go over to the Opera district office to get our Big Bus tickets.  This was all the way across town.  Grandpa was not a happy grandpa about this.  But, there was no flexibility or option to ride the Big Bus to a nearby stop, so we got back  on the Metro and schlepped off to the office.  It wasn't as easy to find as we wished, but we finally did find it, redeemed our vouchers for tickets and got on the bus, which had stopped outside the door.

We started by squeezing the bus through the arches which lead to the Louvre and around the big pillar with the golden statue on top.  The audio guide talked a lot about the glass pyramid which houses the entrance to the Louvre now.  The French are quite enamored of this glass structure, comprised of over 600 plates of glass, but I think it looks oddly out of place amidst the classical old palace that houses the museum.

Squeezing out through the narrow arches at the other side of the courtyard of the Palais Royal, we continued on, along the Seine River and across one of the many many bridges to go past the Cathedral of Notre Dame.  There were hundreds of  people in the plaza in front of the Cathedral, so we decided to tour that another day and stayed on the bus as the narrator told us about the construction, started over 900 years ago and the features of the structure.  This is a huge church with a lot of intricate carving on the facade and an enormous rose window.

Now the tour continued along the south side of the Seine, past the Orsay Museum, which houses many famous paintings by French Impressionists.  The Orsay used to be a big train station, but now it has been converted to a huge gallery.

Past the National Armory, back over the Seine, around the famous Obelisk of Luxor, which was a gift from Egypt in 1833 and has heiroglyphics which tell about the reign of Ramses II.  The Obelisk sits on the spot where the guillotine that beheaded Marie Antoinette and Robespierre once stood. This location is now called "The Place de la Concorde", but during the revolution it was called "La Place de la Revolution".  We could look to the right and see all the way down to the Louvre and to the left all the way to the Arc de Triomphe.

Next the tour took us all along the Champs Elysees.  There were hundreds of bleachers set up along the road, ready for the fans to watch the final laps of the Tour de France, which will be a week from tomorrow.  As we continued down the long boulevard we could see thousands of people shopping in the many famous stores, strolling along the sidewalks, sipping cafe at the sidewalk restaurants, looking in windows.  I mean there were thousands!  It is tourist season, without a doubt. The bus stopped for quite some time so we could admire the Arc de Triomphe while we listened to the history of the boulevard and the Arc, which was erected by Napoleon to honor his troops.  It was through this arch that Hitler marched his troops when he arrived in Paris and Charles de Gualle did the same when he arrived after the liberation.

Back down the Champs Elysees, back across the river again, and on to the Trocadero for the view of the Eiffel Tower, and then back across the river for the hundredth time and on to the Eiffel Tower where there were at least another thousand people milling around under the structure.  We learned that the Eiffel Tower was erected in 1889 on the 100th anniversary of the Revolution.  It was the highlight of the World Expo in 1889 and was the tallest structure in the world at that time.

A short detour through the Champ de Mars and then on past Les Invalides with it's dome  plated in real gold--a half a million dollars worth. Another trip across the river to the Grand Palais, on to the Opera, tour guide giving us so many historic facts we were glazing over by now.  We stayed on the bus through the very first part of the tour again because we wanted to get off closer to a metro stop and then it was home for taco dinner with yummy French pastries for dessert, phone calls home, showers and bed.

An educational overview of Paris today.  Tomorrow we begin to visit the museums and points of interest in detail.                                               

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