Champs Elise, Chateau Vincennes and La Defence.

Thursday we had an easy day, walked to the Champs Élysées up to the Arc de Triomphe. The Arc de Triomphe honours those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I. The streets were full of tourists doing the same. We then wandered slowly back to our apartment just enjoying the sites and architecture along the way, returning through the lovely Tuileries Garden crowded with people enjoying the summer weather.

Friday we decided to take to the underground in practice for next weeks' day trips out of the city to the royal palaces. First stop was the Chateau Vincennes which is a fortification originally outside the city but is now very much within the suburbs of Paris. The Chateau is a lovely area with extensive walled grounds a medieval church and a fortress with a very tall keep section in the centre which was originally a royal castle that was added to over the centuries. The buildings are in surprisingly good condition although there is quite a lot of renovation which has been undertaken in the past few years and is still ongoing.

Next stop at the other end of the metro line was La Defense which is the very modern area of Paris with its tall ultra modern office buildings, shopping malls, a futuristic arch and various other architectural creations. This area is so utterly different to the old part of Paris which the tourists come to see.

Friday night the Louvre is open until 9:00 pm so we continued our visit there and found lots of areas we have not yet seen. This time mainly the ancient Egyptian section with carvings, stone inscripted tablets and sarcophagus' from many different tombs. We also visited the French Louis XIV - Louis XVI section which was amazing with treasures from the 18th and 19th centuries on show which was astounding in quality and priceless in value and just a pleasure to see. The Louvre will be an ongoing visit for us whilst in Paris as it is a fabulous museum.