Day 2

As you can tell from today's subheading, I had quite a sight seeing session today. Favorite place: Definitely Notre-Dame.

I started out to get another slice of Paris at 9 o'clock, and was at le Notre-Dame around 9.30. It was still relatively calm, although a long trickle of tourists waiting to go in had already formed. Luckily, I wasn't interested in entering as I figured nothing could beat the building's magnificent Gothic exterior, and instead did a slow circuit of the immense cathedral. I loved the small gardens that run along one of the cathedral's sides, which provided a peaceful place to contemplate le Notre-Dame and all it's brilliant twists and turns of details and spires. Afterwards, left slightly oar-struck, I wondered back across the Seine, and perhaps as a result, proceeded to get utterly lost.

One hour later, I had managed to locate Le Louvre, and walked through les Jardin des Tuileries, which I hadn't visited yesterday. I wouldn't say the gardens are especially tranquil, as they provide the main tourist route from Le Louvre to Le Place de la Concorde, but it's a nice leafy place to recuperate for more sight-seeing, and even sunbathe if the weather's nice.

After that, the sights got a little confusing. Reached Place de la Concorde, which, being honest, didn't make much of an impression. Building work/ Preparation for some event is currently taking place around le place and also along Les Champs-Elysées, which meant my view of both was obscured by some large stands of seats, like you might get in a stadium. I don't know if large groups of people will soon crowd onto those stands and applaud the obelisk in le Place de la Concorde, as if it's just scored a goal, or more likely - it's because le Tour de France runs through Paris, and people will be cycling through 22nd July.

Anyway, I managed to see le Arc de Triomphe from a the distance, and the large amount of cars, that look like beatles glistening in the sunlight, surging towards it. But just as I started to get to the interesting part of Les Champs-Elysées, and past the tree/ seat stand cloistered section, fatigue/ the need to be back for 12.30 took hold, and I pulled out of my sight-seeing tour via the Champs-Elysées Clemenceau metro station.

Before I go; bizarre encounter for the day. A woman came up to me on l'Avenue de Marigny, and asked me in English, with a French accent, where Les Champs-Elysées was. My first though that this was some kind of test, run by random section of the French population, to see if tourists really know where they're going. But, appreciating not all French people know Paris, I said that I thought we were on it, assuming that the green cluster of seats and trees couldn't be Les Champs Elysées, at which point she nodded, thanked me, and proceeded totally in the opposite direction. I once saw a Micheal Macintyre sketch about when you ask people directions, and quickly realise they have no idea what they're on about, but you still proceed in whichever way they suggest until they're out of sight.
Not this woman.

Maybe the English have a lot to learn from this 'No shit directions put up with here' approach.