Eurotrip2011: Day 23

Paris

Our morning started with an early stroll to Notre Dame, where we met for a pre-organised bike tour of some of the lesser known parts of the city.

The tour was good fun, but unfortunately wasn't as personalised or as intimate as the tour we had enjoyed a few days prior in Amsterdam. With twelve people in the group, it simply didn't compare. Nonetheless, we saw some pretty amazing sights, some of which are pictured below.

Following the tour it was decided that we should fuel up with snails and frogs legs (when in France, right?!). 

Unfortunately, we hadn't done our research well and instead chose a restaurant en route to our hotel. This was a mistake - the place was clearly geared towards tourists and, while edible, the food was pretty average. The frogs legs in particular were overcooked and thus dry and my tuna salad (not pictured) was quite the meagre offering. 

Back at the hotel we parted with our travel companions and my beloved and I headed in the direction of Galeries Lafayette. While we found ourselves lost and asking for directions on a number of occasions, this proved to be a blessing in disguise, as we stumbled across some fantastic architecture....

...some *interesting* parking...

...and some pretty wonderful Parisien "street" crepes (with a great sport of a vendor - say cheese!).

Once at Galeries Lafayette, we were overwhelmed by the size and grandeur of the department store.  

The view from the top of the Galeries Lafayette wasn't too shabby either:

After soaking in the excellent view, we headed to that small pointy structure on the horizon - La Tour Eiffel. Well, perhaps it's not such a small structure up close. 

After a lot of queuing (even with our pre-booked tickets) we finally made it to the top of the illustrious monument. As a hater of heights and crowds, the journey up wasn't my cup of tea. It was made worse by the long queues for the elevator on every level. On a more positive note, the views were once again well and truly stunning.

It's safe to say that I preferred the structure from below, particularly as night fell. Check out those vivid shades of blue!

While waiting for our travel companions to join us below the Eiffel Tower, my beloved and I scoffed down our second crepe for the day. We then consumed another two (between us) - four in a day! Needless to say, we fell into bed well and truly stuffed!