What better way to spend New Year's Eve than with sidewalk crepes and cheap champagne? We had eaten such a late lunch that a real dinner was out of the question. As we walked in search of a bottle of champagne to ring in the new year we happened upon one of Paris' many sidewalk creperies and decided that would be a perfect 
amount of food to keep us energized until midnight. Lisa and Colleen went the sweet route with nutella and chestnut butter but I decided on fromage (cheese). Our attempts at buying a nice bottle of French champagne for the occasion were foiled when the only bottle shop we new of was closed. Instead we purchase a four pack of mini bottles for about 7 Euros. Not exactly high class, but it was all we could find. Since we still had a few hours to go, we decided to stop at a nearby restaurant and share a bottle of wine before heading to the Champs Elysees for the countdown. The street was lit up thanks to GE and MasterCard but we were a bit disappointed by the lack of countdown. We figured it must be midnight when we saw bottles popping and home-style fireworks go off.
Next we decided to walk to the Eiffel Tower to see it all lit up at night. This seemed like a good idea but by the time we neared the tower the lights had gone off and we had to walk a long way back to our hotel through all the crowds in heals. And did I mention it was freezing?
Apparently France has yet to really embrace their capitalist side since the city is nearly shut down on January 1st. This really reduced the amount of things we could do. Our plan was to visit all of the outdoor places starting with the Arc d'Triumph. Figures that this was the coldest day that we have experienced so far. It was even snowing when we left our hotel although it didn't last, the sun never came out and it never warmed up. After visiting the Arc, we boarded the Metro to the Eiffel tour.
Did you know that radio saved the Eiffel Tower? Apparently they were about to tear it down when radio caught on and Paris discovered the need for a radio tower. Pretty amazing that one of the most recognizable and visited tourist destinations in the world is only around thanks to radio. But I digress... we arrived at the Eiffel Tower only to see that every tourist in all of Paris was already there. It is the only tourist attraction in the City open on New Years Day and therefore the crowds were ridiculous. We stood in line for about 25 minutes before deciding it was far too cold and far too crowded to wait any longer. I estimate that if we waited two more hours we could have made it to the ticket booth at which time our feet would be too cold to to climb the steps. Instead we moved to a nearby cafe for some hot wine (vin chaut) to warm up.
Just as we were leaving the cafe, the lights to the tower came on and glittered (apparently they do this on the hour). We were in the perfect spot for photos and when we got our fill and turned around we learned that about 50 other people found our same spot. I felt like a movie star being shot by the paparazzi. But then I walked by and realized that the Eiffel Tower was the real movie star.
On January 2nd Paris re-opened and we were able to spend our last day in Paris in full tourist mode. We ordered tickets for the Louvre online and had to head to a FNAC store to pick them up (I highly recommend this method to avoid the hours long lines at the Louvre). Since FNAC is just a few blocks from the Arc d'Triumph, we decided to return and climb to the top. It was the first day with clear skies and the view from the top is supposed to be (and is) one of the best in the city. After enjoying the view, snapping more pics of the Eiffel Tower, we hopped on the Metro, Louvre-bound.
Once in the museum we headed straight for the Mona Lisa via the Winged Victory. I was able to see the Winged Victory up close and personal but couldn't get closer than four rows back from the Mona Lisa. I tried to push up to the front but was neither big enough or aggressive enough and eventually just got too hot to try anymore. I was able to catch a glimpse of her from the back and from the view finders of many more aggressive patrons. After checking out a few more highlights my blood sugar had dropped too low to go on so we stopped at the food court fo
r some grub before heading to our next, and final, tourist destination.
Our last stop of the day was the Sainte-Chapelle Cathedral. If you haven't checked this out, I highly recommend it. It is a rather small cathedral but the walls are covered with stained glass depicting various books of the bible. It is really a site to see.
Next stop - Chamonix-Mont Blanc.
amount of food to keep us energized until midnight. Lisa and Colleen went the sweet route with nutella and chestnut butter but I decided on fromage (cheese). Our attempts at buying a nice bottle of French champagne for the occasion were foiled when the only bottle shop we new of was closed. Instead we purchase a four pack of mini bottles for about 7 Euros. Not exactly high class, but it was all we could find. Since we still had a few hours to go, we decided to stop at a nearby restaurant and share a bottle of wine before heading to the Champs Elysees for the countdown. The street was lit up thanks to GE and MasterCard but we were a bit disappointed by the lack of countdown. We figured it must be midnight when we saw bottles popping and home-style fireworks go off.Next we decided to walk to the Eiffel Tower to see it all lit up at night. This seemed like a good idea but by the time we neared the tower the lights had gone off and we had to walk a long way back to our hotel through all the crowds in heals. And did I mention it was freezing?
Apparently France has yet to really embrace their capitalist side since the city is nearly shut down on January 1st. This really reduced the amount of things we could do. Our plan was to visit all of the outdoor places starting with the Arc d'Triumph. Figures that this was the coldest day that we have experienced so far. It was even snowing when we left our hotel although it didn't last, the sun never came out and it never warmed up. After visiting the Arc, we boarded the Metro to the Eiffel tour.Did you know that radio saved the Eiffel Tower? Apparently they were about to tear it down when radio caught on and Paris discovered the need for a radio tower. Pretty amazing that one of the most recognizable and visited tourist destinations in the world is only around thanks to radio. But I digress... we arrived at the Eiffel Tower only to see that every tourist in all of Paris was already there. It is the only tourist attraction in the City open on New Years Day and therefore the crowds were ridiculous. We stood in line for about 25 minutes before deciding it was far too cold and far too crowded to wait any longer. I estimate that if we waited two more hours we could have made it to the ticket booth at which time our feet would be too cold to to climb the steps. Instead we moved to a nearby cafe for some hot wine (vin chaut) to warm up.
Just as we were leaving the cafe, the lights to the tower came on and glittered (apparently they do this on the hour). We were in the perfect spot for photos and when we got our fill and turned around we learned that about 50 other people found our same spot. I felt like a movie star being shot by the paparazzi. But then I walked by and realized that the Eiffel Tower was the real movie star.On January 2nd Paris re-opened and we were able to spend our last day in Paris in full tourist mode. We ordered tickets for the Louvre online and had to head to a FNAC store to pick them up (I highly recommend this method to avoid the hours long lines at the Louvre). Since FNAC is just a few blocks from the Arc d'Triumph, we decided to return and climb to the top. It was the first day with clear skies and the view from the top is supposed to be (and is) one of the best in the city. After enjoying the view, snapping more pics of the Eiffel Tower, we hopped on the Metro, Louvre-bound.
Once in the museum we headed straight for the Mona Lisa via the Winged Victory. I was able to see the Winged Victory up close and personal but couldn't get closer than four rows back from the Mona Lisa. I tried to push up to the front but was neither big enough or aggressive enough and eventually just got too hot to try anymore. I was able to catch a glimpse of her from the back and from the view finders of many more aggressive patrons. After checking out a few more highlights my blood sugar had dropped too low to go on so we stopped at the food court fo
r some grub before heading to our next, and final, tourist destination.Our last stop of the day was the Sainte-Chapelle Cathedral. If you haven't checked this out, I highly recommend it. It is a rather small cathedral but the walls are covered with stained glass depicting various books of the bible. It is really a site to see.
Next stop - Chamonix-Mont Blanc.
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