We did calls with folks back home today and it was lovely to touch base. Who would think it's less than a week before we're back - and we still have a bit to do yet.
Today we took the Batobus tour down the Seine. How wonderful and different it is to see Paris from the river! Yes, of course I kept looking for the location where the dog barks at the shark in 'Under Paris' - and I think I found it! Another reason to re-watch it - to check the location. I did the ride up/down the river with Sooz inside the boat and then when we turned around near Notre Dame to come back, I went up top to take some photographs - and just as well I did or I would have missed the dinosaur.
The steps up from the boat dock (near the Eiffel Tower) do not have handrails so we wandered down/up the river to find the car ramp. I will say this for Paris: access for people who can not walk well or climb stairs can be a challenge. It's little things sometimes, like the shower in our room being over the bathtub so you have to climb in to the bathtub. Back at the Eiffel Tower, we jumped on a Tootbus so Sooz could see a bit of Paris. Okay, I may have been on a couple of HOHO bus rides already here, and I could easily keep doing them. I think I have worked out I prefer exteriors of buildings so there will be no Mona Lisa at the Louvre for me - but I do love those glass pyramids.
We jumped off the bus near Notre Dame and grabbed some lunch at St Michel's there. I was still cold from the bus so it was good old Spaghetti Bolognese for moi and Sooz, who never feels the cold, had Salad Nicoise. We did end up sharing though.
I went back out on the Tootbus this afternoon - hoping to get some sunset shots. I did see a bit of pink but not as much as folk had captured last night. While the Tootbus say their last run is at 5pm, I think I misunderstood what stop that was from so ended up getting off near Hausman Opera and catching a taxi back to the hotel.
Tonight we stayed up past our usual bedtime and took a 2CV tour around Paris. We were picked up at our hotel at 9.30pm by Romain in his yellow 2CV (the French equivalent of the Volkswagen) for a tour of the main sights of Paris. Alas, we are a tad early for the street decorations but you can see what/where they're going to be - along Av. des Champs-Elysees they will turn the trees into champagne glasses with bubbles! They were working on the decorations on the Christian Dior store as we drove by tonight.
At 10pm we were at the Eiffel Tower and at exactly 10pm the lights on the Tower started twinkling. By then a light mizzle had started which gave the scene a magical quality. We could have closed the roof but we kept it open: we were well rugged-up so it wasn't an issue and it wasn't raining so hard that Romain's glasses were fogging up or getting rain-splattered. While there were a few Police vehicles around tonight there weren't nearly as many as during the day. They're probably out at the stadium for the France/Israel match lest there be a repeat of last week's Amsterdam unrest.
Romain was a wonderful guide - complete with iPad fitted to the dash so he could share additional information about places we visited. He even took us down the street from 'Midnight in Paris' - yes, the same film that came up in my FaceBook memories yesterday from where we had seen it 13 years ago at HOTA. How amazing is that!