Days 4-7 – Back to Civilization

After our little “family reunion” outside of Mt. St. Michel we began the long 4 hour drive back to Paris. All of us were happy to get back to a place where you could get by knowing almost no French. Over the next couple of days we did many activities that included exploring the city, climbing up to the top of the Arc de Triomphe, going to the very top of the Eiffel Tower, and visiting the Louvre.

View of Paris from the Arc de Triomphe

First we went to the Arc de Triomphe. Thinking that we were just going to go there, see it, and take a couple of pictures. We were very surprised when we found out that we could actually climb the stairs up to the top of the Arc and see the view of Paris from one of the most famous monuments in the world.

Small model of the Arc de Triomphe

View from the top of the Arc de Triomphe

The next day we decided to visit the Eiffel Tower. Which was the highlight of our time in Paris. We arrived at the tower in the afternoon. It was amazing, we all ran around taking pictures of the view and the tower itself. But don’t worry. We didn’t lose Mom here. It was getting dark. Just as we were about to leave, they lit the Eiffel tower blue! The lights coming off the tower and flashes of cameras down below were beautiful.

Looking up at the Eiffel Tower

Looking up at the Eiffel Tower lit up in blue.

Next up was Mom and Dad’s choice. We went to the Louvre. We tried to do the Louvre in a day. We failed, miserably. I don’t think you can complete the Louvre in a month let alone a day. There is so much to look at. Sculptures, paintings, Napoleon Bonaparte’s castle, etc. My favorite part of the Louvre was Napoleon’s castle and the famous glass pyramid that is outside of the Louvre. However, when I think of the Louvre I will forever remember RUNNING through it to try and get to the Napoleon exhibit before it closed. We made it just before it closed, just in case you were wondering.

Glass Pyramid at the Louvre

View of Napoleon's castle

View of Napoleon's castle through the glass pyramid.

We had so much fun in  Paris, we explored so many places throughout the city. As we were walking around we passed things like the Notre Dame Cathedral, and France’s Statue of liberty.

The Notre Dame Cathedral

Statue of Liberty in France