The second day in Paris started with a bit of a sleep in. It was the first time in days that I'd been able to get back to sleep after waking up in the middle of the night.
We lined up to be one of the first groups to go up the Eiffel Tower. We took the lift all the way to the top of the tower. Up there you can see most of Paris. Unfortunately the smog cuts the visibility back some. Looking into the sun is something of a trial as well (below).
Looking away from the sun we could see a number of Paris land marks. The Arc de Triomphe was pretty easy to spot.
The River Seine looks very different from high in the sky.
We descended to the lower floors & found that with less smog to peer through that the view was in fact better. The modern business district can be seen behind Le Palais de Chaillot (below).
If you get really keen you can throw some coins in a telescope and get an even closer look at the sights.
Reluctantly we came down from the tower & set about more sightseeing. We walked across the concourse of le Palais de Chaillot & up to the Arc de Triomphe (below). We sat there for a while & watched the near car crashes for a while.
After a short stint under the arch, we set off down the Champs Elysees (below). We had lunch along the way at one of the many cafes.
It's a fairly decent walk from the Arc de Triomphe to the Louvre. There are many public parks & ponds along the way. The halfway is marked by Place de la Concorde (below).
It's very popular with tourist & local alike.
Eventually we reached the Louvre (below).
We sat on the edge of the fountain pond next to the Louvre entrance for a while to rest our feet & cool off a bit.
We decided to split up. Kerri & Julie went on a bit of a shopping stroll near Notre Dame checking out street vendors (above) while I went into the Louvre to see some of the exhibits I couldn't find 10 years ago when I was last there.
I was very keen to find the Egyptian exhibits but found the Greek sculptures along the way including the famous Venus de Milo (above) with her missing arms. Not sure why it's so popular myself.
In the end I did manage to fine the Egyptian stuff. The Sphinx (above) was the first sculpture I found.
The Egyptian treasure was spread over two floors. The exhibits varied widely from the black stone sculpture of Ramessis II (above) to beautifully painted & carved reliefs (below).
The statue above stood out thanks to the gilding. The one below stood out for a different reason. I like to call him Sleazy Sanchez. He was centuries ahead of his time with style. This look didn't really take off until the 1970s.
Having seen what I'd come to see, it was time to go. Then it was just the matter of how to get out. I fumbled around for a good 15 mins before I finally found reached the entrance. I'd seen it plenty of times but couldn't get to it. The map I had with me didn't help at all.
Finally I smelt the sweet smell of freedom! The arc out the front of the Louvre is called Arc de Triomphe de Carrousel (below).
I met up with the girls and we set off again. We were all a bit weary & hot so we decided to head toward the hotel but not before checking out the Patheon (below). The one in Rome is far more impressive by the way.
We cheated a little & caught the Metro most of the way back to the hotel. We walked the last couple of hundred metres past a prime Eiffel Tower view point (below).
We kicked back in the room for a couple of hours before having dinner at a restaurant nearby. By the time we'd finished it was getting dark so we collected our cameras to go photograph the Eiffel Tower lit up at night.
It's an impressive monument lit up. At 8pm & 9pm the tower sparkles for 5 minutes. The normally yellow lights are overpowered by flahing bright white ones.
No Eiffel shoot is complete without putting oneself in it.
The River Seine looks very different from high in the sky. 
We descended to the lower floors & found that with less smog to peer through that the view was in fact better. The modern business district can be seen behind Le Palais de Chaillot (below). 
It's a fairly decent walk from the Arc de Triomphe to the Louvre. There are many public parks & ponds along the way. The halfway is marked by Place de la Concorde (below).
We sat on the edge of the fountain pond next to the Louvre entrance for a while to rest our feet & cool off a bit.
We decided to split up. Kerri & Julie went on a bit of a shopping stroll near Notre Dame checking out street vendors (above) while I went into the Louvre to see some of the exhibits I couldn't find 10 years ago when I was last there.
I was very keen to find the Egyptian exhibits but found the Greek sculptures along the way including the famous Venus de Milo (above) with her missing arms. Not sure why it's so popular myself.
Finally I smelt the sweet smell of freedom! The arc out the front of the Louvre is called Arc de Triomphe de Carrousel (below).
I met up with the girls and we set off again. We were all a bit weary & hot so we decided to head toward the hotel but not before checking out the Patheon (below). The one in Rome is far more impressive by the way.
We kicked back in the room for a couple of hours before having dinner at a restaurant nearby. By the time we'd finished it was getting dark so we collected our cameras to go photograph the Eiffel Tower lit up at night.
It's quite a pleasant trip over all. By the time we'd navigated the Metro (like the Tube in London) we arrived at the hotel around 11.30am local time & ditched our bags with reception.
Many of the bridges over the Seine bear the markings of opulent Napoleon times (below). 
We grabbed a baguette from a street vendor & ate it in a surprisingly quiet garden at the back of Notre Dame. From the park, the famous flying buttresses of the grand cathedral are evident (below).
After lunch we lined up at the side of the cathedral in order to climb the towers. We were lined up for 20 minutes or so but were entertained by a street performer who wore a scary mask, snuck up on unsuspecting passersby, scaring the living daylights out of them.
After climbing seemingly endless flights of spiral stairs, we reached the top. There are plenty of gargoyles to be seen from street level, but the ones at the top of the tower are much more interesting (above & below).
The view across Paris is pretty much uninterrupted as well. Montmartre (below) on the hill in the distance was easy enough to see despite the smog. 
We descended the spirals to the ground and went into the cathedral.
We caught the next river boat back to Place de la Concorde. After some tricky traffic dodging, we found a traffic island where we could take some photos.
There was a festival of some sort at Montmartre. They had live music & lots of food & craft stalls. There were also lots of people! We found a restaurant to have dinner & a couple of glasses of red.
