JEUDI 23RD AVRIL
Woken by the sound of the alarm beeping, both of us wished for more sleep but 6:45am was the time to be up because today was Segway day! Very excitable and wanting to ensure we found the location of our Segway tour in plenty of time, we quickly readied ourselves and headed out the door. Thankfully, all stations were present and correct on our journey today which resulted with an early arrival at the Segway tour on
Rue Edgar Faure, just a few streets away from the Eiffel Tower. Knowing we had some time to spare and our stomach informing us of our need to eat, a delightful bistro was chosen to enjoy breakfast where we sat outside watching the everyday life of Paris go by as we tucked into fresh croissants, orange juice and coffee.
Following this, it was Segway time. Being 'experienced' Segway riders, it was like riding a bike once we were on the footplate and circling our practice area.
Once the whole group was feeling confident, we were on our way. Our first stop was the Ecole Militaire, founded in 1751 by Louis XV for the training of aristocratic army officers, including Napoleon Bonaparte. During WWII, Nazis occupied this building, along with many others, but the French didn't want any historical buildings destroyed through bombing or shelling from tanks. So, the allied forces had to use hand held and machine guns to drive out the enemy, resulting in bullet holes all over the fascia of the building which are still visible today.
A short distance further and we found ourselves marveling at the Eglise du Dome, constructed as the private royal chapel of Louis XIV between 1670-1676, although he only used it 4 times. The golden dome added a deeper sense of grandeur to this already impressive building.
On the other side of the Eglise du Dome was the Musee de L'Armee which used to be a military hospital for around 4000 injured army personnel but is now the national war museum.
Heading north from the Musee de L'Armee, the Pont Alexandre III (Alexander III Bridge) crosses the River Seine. This is the most extravagant of all 32 bridges which cross the Seine with four golden statues positioned on top of four stone columns, two at each end of the bridge. It spans 109 metres and was the first bridge in Paris to have electric lamps running along its edges. The Grand Palais can be seen when facing north and is now an exhibition centre.
From here, we traveled east to Place de la Concorde with an Egyptian obelisk, which is older than Paris itself, at its centre. This was the site where Louis XVI and Marie-Antonette were executed by guillotine.
Continuing east, we arrived at one of the most famous museums in the world, the Musee de Louvre.
It was a fair distance back to the Eiffel Tower which was to be our final stop. Designed for Paris's 1889 Exposition Universelle, it was the tallest building of its time standing at 300m tall and was only meant to be a temporary structure. M. Eiffel invested the equivalent of €30m of his own money to construct the tower, primarily using this money for settlements and legal fees as Parisians of the time didn't want it to be built. M. Eiffel leased the tower from the government for 20 years before handing it over but he made his money back within 6 months of the tower opening and by the time the 20 years were up, it had made him a billionaire in today's money.
The Segways safely returned, we headed back for the Eiffel Tower, enjoyed a jambon + fromage crepe sitting in the Parc du Champs de Mars before our assent. Knowing the amount of walking we were likely to incur during our stay, we opted for the lift and were greeting by glorious views of Paris from the second level. But it was the views from the top which were the most spectacular, especially when sipping champagne! We descended to the first level where the glass floor was situated, installed in 2014. Although the floor appeared high from the ground, the ground looked further away when looking through the glass. Josh and I both hesitated and gingerly placed our feet on the glass. It was the strangest sensation and not one I relished but one I'm pleased to have experienced.
Viewing the Arc de Triomphe from the tower, we decided this was to be our next destination. Putting our best foot forward and refueling with a double coloured / flavoured ice-cream, we marched along the Seine and up Avenue Marceau. The Arc de Triomphe is basically a huge roundabout, towering above the road and all the buildings around it. The arch was begun in 1806 by Napoleon in homage to his Grande Armee. However, it was completed in 1836 by Louis-Philippe who dedicated it to all of France's army.
With the weather on our side, it was the perfect time to travel back to the Sacre-Coeur. Initially, we ventured inside the church to find the entrance to the dome but were met with the vision and sounds of a priest giving a service and nuns in chorus standing in pews behind the alter. A quick circumference of the church and no entrance. We exited the church and thankfully discovered the correct doorway which led us up the 300 steps to the summit, a mixture of narrow spiral staircases or worn down and eroded steps traversing the roof. Triumphant, the views of Paris were worth the burn in our legs and the aches in our feet.
In need of refreshments and sat in the shadow of the Sacre-Coeur, we sampled our first taste of French onion soup and sipped red wine. Both were delightful. It was the perfect way to bring to a close a pack day of sight seeing, adventure and culture.
During the casual walk home, more picture-postcard scenes presented themselves, including one very tasty patisserie.
