Paris - Day One (Part 2)

The views from the Eiffel Tower were amazing!

Then we took a cruise down the Seine River on this boat. We were grateful it was enclosed since it was snowing.

We passed a bunch of notable sites like the Louvre and Notre Dame. McKayla and I absolutely loved the architecture in Paris - stunning! Shanley just thought it was a bunch of old buildings. McKayla and I loved this one.

It's the National Assembly.
We also liked the Musee d'Orsay. We had planned to go there on our trip but the line was super long and the girls and I weren't really that enthusiastic about seeing a ton of impressionist paintings anyway.

I liked the Pont de Neuf bridge. It is pretty and historical. It is the oldest bridge in Paris and that is saying a lot because there is a ton of bridges! I have to admit I think I liked it a bit for another reason as well - I remember reading about it in The Bourne Identity.

Near the Pont de Neuf bridge there are a bunch of green stands. They are attached to the wall along the river. They contain books and booksellers just open them up and you can browse and buy. After all this fun we did a bit of souvenir shopping and then we ate dinner and hit the hotel early. We had only gotten a couple hours during the flight so we were tired. We officially checked into the hotel and were not pleasantly surprised. The lobby and breakfast area were great. The elevator said it would hold 5 people but they would have had to have been very tiny people. The room was dingy - rusty bathroom, holes in the bedspreads, etc. I could live with dingy but it was noisy - I think anytime someone peed in the hotel we could hear it. If someone was talking out on the street, we could hear it. It wasn't great for getting restful sleep. Also, the curtains didn't keep out the light really well so it was too light for me. Oh well. It seemed clean and the bedding was warm and I can stand anything for a few nights. Paris was totally worth a not-so-great hotel.