7/17/11- First Day in Paris

We spent the entire day visiting all of the popular tourist attractions in Paris. Around 9AM On our way to the Chatelet metro station Ani and I visited the Notre Dame cathedral and then grabbed croissants before traveling north to the Arc de Triomphe. Recognising that today may be our only day of decent weather when we visited the Eiffel Tower we decided not to go up because the lines would have taken a good two hours to get through. After taking a few pictures from the ground we made our way to a nearby port to embark on a boat tour of Paris from the Seine River. From the Seine, as many of you know, we were able to see the Musee d'Orsay, Louvre Museum, French Parliament, Notre Dame, and other popular attractions. Following our riverboat tour Ani and I walked from the Eiffel Tower port to the Ile de la Cite, (the original location of the heart of Paris, also where Notre Dame is located), and we caught another metro train to the Sacre Couer cathedral. The area around Sacre Couer was filled with many cafes, street artists, and souvenir shops. Scaling the 300 steps up to the dome of the cathedral we experienced a panoramic view that I would argue is better and less expensive than the Eiffel Tower. Right now we're hanging out at the hotel and regrouping before dinner. Again, I'll try to get pictures up in a couple days.