Europe: Day 18, May 18, Paris, France

A brief report on our day in Paris.  We arrived in Paris about noon and then we began the day with a quick orientation tour in our bus.  We then had a boat ride on the Seine River. 

One of the interesting sights along the way was of the bridge of the "Locks of Love".  It was covered with locks that had been placed there either by couples who were pledging their love to each other by placing the lock and then throwing the key into the river or there were locks that were placed in memory of a loved one.

 We then went on our own to the Eiffel Tower, the Arch de Triumph, Norte Dame, and the Louvre pyramid. We didn't go inside the Louvre.  It takes hours to walk through and most of us had been there.

Our hotel was in the Montmartre district and in the evening, we walked from our hotel to visit Sacre' Coeur ( a beautiful cathedral set on a hill overlooking the city).  

We decided we wanted some Gelato and walked many city blocks looking for some.  We gave up and walked back to our hotel to find there was an eating place right below our hotel and we found gelato there.

One of the most exciting parts of the day involved riding the Metro (subway).  The stops are pretty brief and before we figured it out, Keith got his foot caught as the door closed. Everyone was trying to force it open before the train took off.  Finally a guy inside came and helped and he broke free just before the train took off.  It was a little scary. I don't know if the train would or could have started without the door being completely closed, but it shook Keith up pretty badly.  He doesn't rattle easily.