Touristy Day with Julia - March 24

Julia (my lovely Australian friend) and I dedicated our entire Wednesday to doing as many touristy things as we could.

We spent the whole day biking about the city from site to site.

First stop, getting Julia a Velib rental. A Velib (derived from the French word for bike "velo") is a bike that you can rent all over the city. There are Velib stations practically everywhere... where bikes sit outside and can be rented electronically and returned to any station. It took us a while, but we finally figured it out. I was able to skip this step since I have Funky Monkey/Hott Mess. Except she lost her kick stand... so I was unable to prop her up as seen below. (Don't worry, she is now new and improved and has a working kick stand in place thanks to Graham!)

First Stop: Place de la Concorde. This is one of Paris' many beautiful sqaures. Ironically this square, whos name literally means place of harmony/peace, used to be the site of public executions. It is located between the Champs-Élysées to the west and the Tuileries Gardens to the east. The statue of Louis XV, one located here, was removed during the Revolution, and was replaced by the Obelisk of Luxor given by the viceroy of Egypt, Mohamed Ali, to Louis Phillipe. The sun was shining and the fountains were flowing... so beautiful!

Second Stop: La Madeleine Church.

Third Stop: Paris Story. One hour movie briefly describing the history of Paris.

Fourth Stop: Petit Dejeuner (Lunch at a French restaurant). Steak, wine, and ice cream!

Fifth Stop: Bike ride down the Champs Elysees, across the Alenxander III bridge

Sixth Stop: Musee d'Orsay to visit our friends Monet and Renoir... No bid deal! This is one of my favorite museums!

**Tip: If you go, pay the extra 5 euro for the electronic guide that tells you about the works of art, this is definetly worth it.

Seventh Stop: Pont des Arts (Lover's Bridge). Ok, I know I am always saying "this is one of my favorite places in Paris" but seriously... This is one of my absolute favorite places in Paris. It is the bridge just west of Ile de la Cite. The rails are made of wire, and people from all over bring locks and hang/lock them on the bridge. Most locks have initials/words on them... some are engraved, others are written in permanent marker... each representing a special meaning. The pictures I took here are some of my favorite photos yet!