Best of Burgundy Day 17
Best of Burgundy
DAY 17 - 10-05-05 - Wednesday - Arc de Triumph/Champs de Ellisse -Paris
Today was Ciça, Pedro and Eduardo's departure day so we decided to sleep a little later and then catch up on things we had not done. We went down for breakfast at 9:30 and were out of the hotel by 10:30. We went across the street to Gare de Lyon to buy our TVG (bullet train) tickets to go back to Lyon tomorrow morning. OAT has a silly rule that in a breakaway one has to make the flight connections from the last city on the tour. When we went to Denmark we had to return to Rome to fly to the US instead of leaving from Copenhagen. Tomorrow we cannot fly from Paris! Instead we have to fly from Lyon to Frankfurt then to Denver.
The people at the station were very agreeable and understanding and I was able to get a "senior discount" for my portion of the trip - 15 Euros.
As we walked out we were able to go to the Metro on our way to the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysees. We are getting to be real pros on the Metro of Paris.
Once we arrived at Charles de Gaulle Station it was a short walk up to the monument saluting Napoleon, the Arc de Triomphe. We took some pictures, walked under the roundabout and saw the monument close up. We were also able to see the Tomb of the WWI Unknown Soldier directly under the edifice. As we walked around, we were amazed at the traffic that winds around. There are 12 streets that feed into it and 5 lanes around. It is said that if one can drive around it twice without an accident, one is a great driver!
We walked back under the roundabout and began our decent on the Champs Elysees looking at all the people eating their lunches, students milling about, high class stores, many restaurants and cafes. One of our goals was to go to the Disney Store for Pedro who had 5 Euros burning a hole in his pocket. Unfortunately, he was not able to find anything he wanted for 5 so he was a very disappointed boy. We returned to the Peugeot store so everyone could see their concept car. Gennie bought a miniature and gave it to Ciça to give to Pedro on the train back to Florence, Italy.
As 2 PM approached we began to look for a place to have lunch. Eduardo decided on Pizza but all in this central area were very expensive - double those around our hotel. We did come across a yellow Lamborghini and silver Ferrari that should have been a clue to the wealth of the area. We decided to return to the Gare de Lyon and have dinner there. As we were on the subway, Eduardo reminded me that I wanted to take some pictures of one of the most picturesque stations in the Metro - Bastille. I got off the Metro and took a whole set and then met up with the rest of our group at our home station. By 3 PM we hungry and Pedro wanted McDonald's - we acquiesced and walked to a nearby Golden Arches.
We returned to our room, checked emails, and rested a bit before we set off for the Gare de Paris Bercy at 6 PM. Eduardo decided we could walk even though we had Metro passes. We saw a whole new area of Paris and in 20 minutes we arrived at the station. After a couple of pictures and tearful goodbyes we left them to get their sleeper train directly to Florence and we retraced our steps to the hotel to pack and get ready for an early morning on Thursday.
Well, this is our last journal from France. I will write #18 when we arrive back in Colorado and have our experiences on the bullet train, flight from Lyon to Frankfurt and then on to Denver where we will face the heavy rush hour traffic.
Today was a record day for walking. Gennie always wear a pedometer and her goal is 10,000 steps per day. Today we had 15158 steps - 15.16 KM - 9.42 Miles!!!
Pictures:
Arc de Triomphe
Roundabout at Champs Elysees
Lamborghini
Bastille Metro Station
Ted, Ciça, & Pedro
Accommodations: Hotel Terminus Lyon - - - Meals: B
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