Adventures in Africa: Paris Holiday

During most of September we were in England, visiting family, but we also took a few days for ourselves travelling to Paris on the Eurostar direct rail link.

The River Seine runs through the centre of Paris and is criss-crossed by numerous bridges.

We stayed in a small hotel about 20 minutes walk south of the Eiffel Tower, near to the river, so it was a very pleasant walk along the riverbank to Paris's number one attraction.

At intervals along the riverbank there are larger than life iron sculptures:

We particularly liked these...

We even saw a boat with our name on the back!

September 14th was our 37th Wedding Anniversary, so we decided to go up the Eiffel Tower.

The views across Paris from the top are spectacular and make you realise what an enormous city it is:

From the top looking straight down one of the corner legs, people are indistinguishable and vehicles are like ants...

...and from the first stage, through the centre, the shadow of one of the legs dominates:

On the first stage is a restaurant, where we had lunch:

It would have been even better had we been able to have a window view, but nevertheless it felt very special to be celebrating our anniversary in the Eiffel Tower.

Also from the first stage the view out to the north is defined by the hill where Sacre-Coeur (Sacred Heart) church is situated.

This is the only photo we have of both of us, taken by an australian couple we got chatting too:

In the evening we walked along the west bank of the river as the sun was setting, illuminating the tower blocks.

Set in the centre of the river near one of the bridges is a smaller version of the Statue of Liberty, which France gave as a gift to New York City:

By the time we reached the Eiffel Tower, it too was all lit up albeit artificially...

...and this is the long range view as we crossed back over one of the bridges when it was dark:

Of course, Paris is far more than just the Eiffel Tower, and we bought a 2-day ticket on the open-topped bus, which allows you to get on and off at all the main sites, as many times as you like.

This is by far the best way to see a city like Paris, plus you listen to an excellent commentary about the history and features of places along the route.

Here are just a few of them...