Paris Sojourn 22 - 26 September 2012

Well after a gliche with Offexploring and a helpful visit to the Apple shop we are continuing on.

We left Dresden after a lunch at a German restaurant near the airport with our gracious hosts. It was farewell to our friends and off to Paris .(22nd September) We caught a taxi to the apartment on Rue de Levi's and met our helpful host with the key - phew it all worked successfully. After negotiating more steps with our luggage we checked out our petite apartment. A local supermarket was open so we gathered some supplies. Bed was a good option after our travels.
Sunday we decided to walk up the hill to Sacre Coeur Montmartre. It was so calm & beautiful even with lots of people around. It took us about 1/2 an hour but it was well worth it. The views over Paris were amazing as well. We stopped at a kerbside cafe for a poulet baguette & cafe au lait for lunch. Interesting people everywhere - photo with a typical French man - fun! Artists , musicians it was all happening. We then proceeded down hill and ever onward to the Opera house - another gilded and ornate structure. We had a wander around and then caught Les Cars Rouge (red bus) which took us on a circuit of Paris . Wow , like a Parisian monopoly board we drove down the Champs Élysées ,round the Arc de Triomphe, past the Grand Palais, Trocadero, more amazing buildings and a great view of the Eiffel Tower down the Champs de Mars past Ecole Militaire ,Hotel Des Invalides, around another corner and onto Assemblee Nationale, Musee d'Orsay, magnificent Notre-Dame cathedral and Musee de Louvre. We had many ideas for our next day's activities.
Darkness was closing in , the lights on the Eiffel Tower looked beautiful. We then did a river cruise up the Seine another wow time. We got caught in a down pour on our way home so decided the Metro back would be a good option.
Good to get back okay and dry ourselves off.
A new day and onto the train and the red bus from the Arc de Triomphe to visit the Louvre. I think half the world was there too! We walked our feet off and viewed many great paintings including the famed Mona Lisa. The D"Orsay was next on the list ,oh it was closed, so off to the Eiffel Tower to go for a ride in the lift there. That was another great experience with views all over Paris.
After a cup of coffee on the 2nd level of this unique structure we returned to our Paris abode.
Nice to have a home cooked meal and prepare for the morrow's adventure.
After a good nights rest we set of for the air museum at Le Bourget. We arrived at Le Bourget okay and found that we needed to catch the 152 bus. We duly waited & waited but the 152 was a no show so we hot footed down the road and lo and behold 25 minutes later we discovered Le Bourget Air Musee. After our tour of Helicopter, WW11 ,Concorde etc hangars and the cafe we decided to risk the 152 back. Eventually it showed up and we returned to the station and back to the Rue de Levi . After pasta dinner we packed our bags and ordered a taxi for our exit on the morrow. It was farewell to Paris and onto the Eurostar from Gare du Nord to St Pancras U.k.
Looking forward to catching up with our family - yeah.