Paris, France, part 2

My mother and sister were taking their own trip around Europe, and all four of us arrived in Paris on my mother's birthday, so naturally, we had to meet for dinner. Fortunately, things had changed somewhat since our last visit to Paris; the Metro strike was now over, although the museum strike was still in effect. It was now much easier to get around, but there was still a severe limitation on what we could expect to see.


The four of us had a pleasant dinner at a restaurant near their rented apartment, which they invited us to share that night. Even without enough beds, it must have been comfortable as we were able to sleep in before venturing out for breakfast from a local crêpe stand. Resolute in our desire to not take Paris lying down, we ventured out for a walk to see the sights, even if the strike meant they could only be seen from the outside. We set off along the Champs-Elysées in a light intermittent rain, window shopping our way to the Hôtel des Invalides. Surprise of surprises, it was open for business! It took us a while of course to figure that out, but once we did, we toured the war museum's collection of artifacts depicting French military history, including, of all things, Napoleon's horse and dog (stuffed, of course). The last stop at the Hôtel des Invalides is Napoleon's tomb, a really massive marble sarcophagus at the center of a gallery honoring French military leaders.


Another surprise awaited us at the Champ de Mars: the Eiffel Tower was also open! (So now you're thinking, "Just what kind of a strike is this, anyway?" as we were. It seems that the strikers realized that there would be rioting among the tourists if everything was shut down, so they took it upon themselves to open certain attractions on certain days in an unpredictable and unannounced schedule. We just happened to get lucky.) Due to the strike, there was no line to get in, either, so we were quickly whisked up to the top observation level. Rain came and went, but after the heaviest downpour it subsided, leaving us with a spectacularly clear view.

Our next activity was a Bateaux-Mouche (marque deposée) tour on the river for another perspective on the city's monuments. Unfortunately, soon after we boarded, the dark clouds rolled in and the rain came down again, forcing us to the lower deck for cover. However, a short while later we were rewarded with a brilliant rainbow arcing over the Seine as we passed by decorated buildings and bridges.

On the day of our departure from Paris, we discovered that we couldn't make reservations on any train earlier that the 14:55 to Brussels, so that's what we took. We stored our bags at the station and set off to see our last Parisian sight, Sacre-Coeur. We toured the church and took in the panoramic view of Paris from the steps before returning to the station, retrieving our bags, and setting off for Belgium.