Yesterday’s blog got delayed due to a big dinner and a big bottle of wine at Cafe Latin.
We started out heading towards Le Musée des Égouts de Paris, or the sewer museum.
It’s slightly difficult to spot at first, as there is no physical building for the museum just a ticket booth.
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From there you head underground, into a partially operational part of the sewer system.
It’s dim, dusty and it did have a slightly disagreeable odour (not the odour you expect, just an old smell). They provide you with a helpful map (in a language of your choice), although it isn’t a large enough space to really get lost. Lily and I strongly followed their rules.
“
- Avoid any contact with waste water, walls pipes,
- Do not eat,
- Wash your hands when you exit
- Do not run, do not bend over the manrope…
“
These were used to clean parts of the sewer that are inaccessible to people
I enjoyed it slightly more than Lily did, but she feels that you’re better off watching a Discovery channel documentary of the Paris sewers if you catch it.
From here we walked over and around the Grand Palais and onto Place de la Concorde.
Outside of Grand Palais
Le Petit Palais. Across from Grand Palais
We headed up to L’Eglise de la Madeleine, another massive church.
We passed by the opera house
and then up to Galeries Lafayette. This is a large (10 story) department store. It encompasses a couple of different buildings spanning a city block or two.
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The domed stain glass roof of the Galeries Lafayette main store.
Galerie Lafayette levels
We maneuvered through the massive crowds to the upper level looking for some lunch. Near the top we hit ‘Lafaytte Cafe’ and, despite the crowd, decided it seemed as good as any spot to grab a quick, late lunch.
37.5cl of wine later we were ready to press on. After a bit more browsing
We moved next door to Printemps, another large department store but not quite as busy as Galeries Lafayette.
Lily was still looking for a few more things to bring back so we quickly browsed the different buildings and then started our trek home.
They celebrate a bit of Canada on this street during December. http://www.letourismeaparis.fr/noel-canadien-et-limousin-rue-caumartin-jusqau-11-janvier/
We passed by Place de la Concorde and it’s large winter ferris wheel again.
After a bit of circling the streets like wild, hungry dogs we settled on Cafe Latin for some dinner.
Cafe Latin
Amazing service, good food and great wine. It’s more a bar than a restaurant, but that didn’t stop them from bringing us a good meal. Fantastic end to a long, good day.
iPhone panoramic of the Eiffel Tower, peak of the Grand Palais, and Place de la Concorde
Lily’s up next with the blog, but it’s going to have to wait as I’ve already taken to long with this one.
