What did we do? There were three things we knew we wanted to do: Notre-Dame, Eiffel Tower, and Louvre, anything else was a bonus.
We visited Notre-Dame Cathedral of Paris. "The history of the Cathedral is closely linked to the history of France. Built in the 12th century, modified in the 18th century, and then restored in the 19th century, it is the symbol of Catholic worship in Paris over the centuries."
I had obtained free tickets for a timed entry of 10:15. Advance tickets are not necessary if you want to stand in line. The tickets are available a few hours before entry. Yes, I was up at 6 am obtaing our tickets. We walked right up and entered immediately. You can obtain your tickets here.
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| Steam was used to clean the marble statues of centuries of grime. |
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| Virgin Mary |
Bells will be ringing!
The restoration is just amazing.
Eiffel Tower well we didn't really get to do the Eiffel Tower the way I wanted to. First I waited too long to purchase tickets, so the only tickets I could purchase was "To the second floor via the elevator 🛗 with a glass of champagne 🍾." I'm okay with that even though it would be at 1 in the afternoon. Rob was totally fine with that since he didn't have to go to the top.
The one and only day France decided to strike, yep you got it, the day we were to visit. They still opened the grounds so you could go and see it from below. When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade and we bought tickets for the Hop On Hop Off bus that day.
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| Look at my man holding up the Tower |
Multiple views of the Eiffel Tower
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| While on the Big Bus Paris |
Louvre Museum We purchased our tickets in advance for a 10:00 am entry along with hundreds of other people. When we showed up there were already people in line for the 11 am entry, wow.
Let's get started, we have a lot to see.
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| Symbol of Filial Piety Pero breastfeeds his imprisoned father |
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| Borghese Gladiator The Fighting Warrior |
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| The Sleeping Hermaphroditus |
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| Rob thought this was a statue of him |
The Famous Mona Lisa -- this is where everyone heads to first. We did not but I don't think it made a difference.
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| This was as close as Rob got, I did not even try to get close |
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| A zoomed in version |
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| Everyone waiting "in a line" to see The Mona Lisa |
The Crown Jewels (of course I am writing this after the jewel heist).
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| Louis XV Crown Case |
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| Crown, necklace & earrings Sri Lankan Sapphires |
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| Jewelry belonging to Queen Maria Amalia Jewels were purchased in 1821 by Louie Philippe king of the French from 1830 to 1848 |
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| Emeralds |
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| Bodice brooch belonging to Empress Eugenia, wife of Napoleon III 2,438 brilliant-cut & 196 rose-cut diamonds |
So much more to see:
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| Saint Anne, the Virgin Mary, and the infant Jesus playing with a lamb DaVinci 1503-1519 |
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| The Conscreation of the Emperor Napoleon & the Coronation of Empress Josephine at Notre Dame Cathedral 1804 |
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| Supposedly there is a famous portrait behind us, lol. |
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| The Head of Saint John the Baptist On a platter 1600-1700 |
We spent hours inside the museum and still did not see everything.
Arc de Triomphe is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France. It is located at the western end of the Champs-Élysées.
Deportation Martyrs Memorial is a memorial to the people sent to Nazi concentration camps in WWII. It was built in 1962. We were not allowed to take photos. Very depressing!
Saint-Eustache Church building was built between 1532 and 1633.
We were doing our little walk about and Rob says, "Let's go down this street." Two seconds in I say, "I don't think we want to go this way". Rob gave me that "Why Not" look. Then he saw what I had seen. It seems we found Paris' red-light district. The most amusing part was the protistutes were almost all the same age as us!
Random Pictures
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| Have Passport will travel |
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| Pont Alexandre III Bridge |
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| Equestrian Statue of Simón Bolívar |
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| Grand Palais |
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| We did try the metro... once |
Where did we eat?
Bistrot Gisèle
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| Bread, oh the bread is so so good |
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| Duck Foie Gras |
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| Onion Soup My least favorite only because the top was burnt |
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| Salmon with mushrooms |
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| Salad Nicoise |
Café du Trocadéro
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| Cappuccinos |
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| Mixed Board Cheese & Cold Meats |
La Flânerie Notre-Dame
Le Central the gentleman standing outside did a great job to get us to come inside. The food was good and the service was excellent. The menu is presented on a chalkboard, one side French, the other side English.
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| The Menu |
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| Onion Soup Soup was good but needed more broth |
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| Not French Onion Soup |
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| Snails |
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| Rob learning to use the medieval utensils |
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| Burrata Cherry Tomatoes |
Les Turbines
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| Beef Bourguignon |
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| Onion Soup |
Where did we stay? Hotel Le 123 Sebastopol is a cinema themed hotel. Our room was spacious and comfortable. We had a mini fridge stocked with soft drinks and water. Snacks and non alcoholic drinks were provided every afternoon. We did not but could also stop in at their sister hotels and enjoy the afternoon snacks.
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| Our own private smoking 🚬 Lounge |
When did we visit? 30 September - 4 October, 2025
How did we get there? Our original plan was to take The Chunnel back from London to Paris, but it turned out to be cheaper and quicker to fly. Our first flight since arriving in Europe.
We took the tube (which is so easy and convenient in London) from St James Park to Heathrow Airport 🛫.
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We had Lounge access (along with everyone else) but we found a seat. British Airways had a really nice lounge!
Thank goodness we didn't eat in the lounge as we were served a quick lunch in flight.
According to little Ms. Google, in September, we visited 6 countries, but only traveled 1,360 miles by walking, trains, taxi's and flying ✈️.
We know we missed a lot, but we really enjoyed Paris and plan to return in the future.
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