British Isles Cruise: Paris in the Summer

This morning we boarded the bus for our only Princess excursion -- a City Tour/River Cruise. I admit that my expectations were rather low, after all there were a large number of buses transporting people and a 2-1/2 hour drive each way -- not exactly a recipe for a personalized tour of Paris. I am happy to say I was most pleasantly surprised!

Picture from bus window on the trip to Paris. France looks very different than I imagined!

First look at Paris

Paris version of the "London Eye"

Area in front of Eiffel Tower

Musee Du Louvre --we did not get to go inside but our guide told us there were 30,000 works of art. I think it would take a week to go through there!

Arc de Triomphe stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle, at the western end of the Champs-Élysées

The river boat we dined on while riding down the Seine

First course -- yum!

Plenty of food and wine makes Al contemplate the mysteries of the universe....

The sun interfered with photos when we stopped first thing to see the Eiffel Tower up close. This picture was taken from our lunch cruise on the Seine River. The tower was the focal point of the Exposition Universelle (1889 World's Fair) and drew millions of people to Paris. Nearly two million people visited the Eiffel Tower in 1889 alone. Three hundred workers joined together 18,038 pieces of puddled iron between 1887 and 1889. Only one worker died during the building process. The tower quickly became a tourist attraction and brought large amounts of money into France's economy. Many of the people of France felt the tower was an eyesore (it was made of metal and actually designed to be torn down easily after the end of the Exposition). Eiffel was able to save it by installing broadcast/commuication equipment from it. The Eiffel Tower is now a national symbol of France and brings a sense of pride to the people who live there.

Scenes of Paris from the Seine