I just said I'm not doing that in the rain and decided to go for lunch. After lunch I donned my raincoat and headed out to walk to the Arc de Triomphe. If you walk away from the Louvre straight past the glass pyramid you will eventually come to the Arc de Triomphe.
This arch is not it but a smaller arch right behind the Louvre.
Looking back at the Louvre and thinking how stupid that pyramid looks.
From the small arch I come to the Garden of Tuileries with some nude statues popping up behind the shrubs.
After that, still continuing in a straight line I arrive at the Place de la Concorde, the big square which contains the obelisk.
Across the square I head into a wide street, the Champs-Elysees, a high-end shopping street.
There were lots of people out wandering in the rain.
I don't know if you can tell from the picture but the man in the center is wearing a lime green outfit with a patterend robins-egg-blue jacket.
They have walk behind street sweepers for the side walks here. This one doesn't seem to want to start.
It is not a skin condition but a lovely floral tattoo.
I was in one of the malls and used their public bathroom. It cost two euros to get in. You could buy supper with that much in Thailand. The place was also a bathroom boutique and decorated to show off their products.
After six months of absence from comfortable bathrooms I had to take pictures. What color toilet paper do you want or perhaps a floral?
Three Kermits are better than one.
I am here, at the Arc de Triomphe. It is really big.
I went up on top and looked down the street I had just walked down. You can barely see the Louvre down there at the other end.
Twelve roads bring traffic flow to the huge traffic circle around the Arc.
This is Sacré-Cœur Basilica in Montmartre, the area where I'm staying. It is the highest point in Paris and the elevation of the dome of the Basilica is the same as the top observation deck of the Eiffel tower.
I have seen this view of the Eiffel tower before and now I know where they took it from.
Looking the opposite direction from Champs-Elysees is this view with a square arch in the center. More on this later.
Back on the ground I saw the eternal flame.
I was curious to get down to ground level to see the police action. There was some kind of demonstration while I was on the Arc but they had everyone loaded onto the bus by the time I got down. Besides the bus there were six smaller paddy wagons but they didn't use them all.
The mounted police were there.
I didn't know that police had buses.
My Metro stop was right in the middle of that police action but it was fine to use by the time I got there. I headed back to my home stop and decided I still had enough energy to go up to Sacre Coeur. I have been here three days and it is only blocks from my hostel and it is time I saw it. I took this funicular railway to go up.
And here is the Basilica of Sacre Coeur.
This is its lovely bell tower.
I wasn't able to get into the dome today so must be satisfied with this view for now.
The thing I didn't know about is the neat little neighbourhood over there full of shops and restaurants......
...artists and craftsmen....
.....cobblestone streets and beautiful buildings.
This is not part of the basilica. It had a sign on it indicating it was used in national defense.
These guys with serious guns were hanging around underneath.
On a lighter note, the tulips are in bloom here now.
My feet are much better tonight after wearing the sandals so I think I can keep going. I think I will figure out a plan in the morning.
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