Tour Bus - Day Two

The first day of the tour bus was quite the adventure in getting to know the city.  Also we had to find the best places to sit on the bus to get the best pictures.  This helped since we planned to use the second day to take more video, and knowing what was coming up on the tour helped to know when to be ready with the video camera.

There is so much to see in Paris, it is hard to know where to start.  But that's okay, you can all come over and see the 5 hours worth of video that we shot from the tour bus.

Of course all of the big sites were on the main loop we rode, including the National Academy of Music, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and the Notre Dame cathedral.  Although it is September, the tourist are still here by the thousands.  Everywhere you go, there are lines into everything.  Without dedicating more than a few days to the main sites, I don't know how anyone can visit everything here in Paris on a short visit.

The first time we passed the Louvre, at about 10 in the morning, it looked like the entrance line was about 2-3 hours for getting into the glass pyramid, the new entrance to the Louvre since the last time I was there.  So instead we continued on with the tour bus to see the sites and record them for posterity.

At the end of the loop, we finally got off at the Notre Dame cathedral, where of course there was another line of people waiting to get in, as well as another couple thousand people out front walking around to see the sites as well.  We took the opportunity to visit the local souvenir shops and buy some items from China, that said something about France, in English.  What a small world we live in.

To finish off the day, we decided to participate in a grand Parisian tradition and take the metro from Notre Dame back up to our apartment.  This is what you would call the French rush hour, as hundred of people try to squish their way on to already packed subway cars for the long ride home.  Then in what must be a traditional French salute, we raised our hands to grab on to the overhead bar, thus allowing the day's garnered odors to waft through the air and mix with everyone else.  And I thought the cheese here was stinky.  I suppose that it is only after such a nasal assault that one may find some cheeses here palatable.

Remember to go and see all of the photos that we post at http://picasaweb.google.com/jroberts.px/Europe201002# .