Paris - Day Two

Day two rolled around far too quickly, we stumbled out of bed and went back to the Notre Dame for the meeting place for our next tour, but this time on two wheels. We also managed to squeeze in some breakfast (croque monsieur - ham and cheese toasties to you guys) and the best coffee Louise had ever had in her life.

Not the usual bike Hamish is used to riding

The biking tour had a slow start but eventually we were off, whizzing around (well Lou was doing her best) the back streets of Paris with a very informative guide. We stopped a lot for her to point out interesting buildings and little known facts and took us to places off the beaten track, including the most famous restaurant in Paris, where you have to book up to 6 months in advance and a set meal costs £300 without wine! (This was the restaurant that the movie Ratatouille was based on).

Gardens of the apartment where Victor Hugo lived

We stopped at a nice bakery for lunch where we had (you guessed it!) more baguettes. The tour finished about 2pm, and we headed to our next destination the Arc du Trimophe. 

The Arc was built in 1806 to honour those who fought for France, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. On the inside and the top of the arc there are all of the names of generals and wars fought and underneath is the tomb of the unknown soldier from World War I. The roundabout that encircles the Arc is bizarre, there are no lanes and there seems to be no order as to where the cars are going, luckily people can access it by an underground subway.We bought tickets to head to the top of the arch to see another view of Paris, the best part of this was seeing the massive roads that stretch out in dead straight lines for miles and a view of the Eiffel Tower.

Saturday nights dinner was done in true Parisian style, we bought a rotisserie chicken from a local butcher, fresh bread from the baker and wine and cheese from the deli and had ourselves an amazing picnic on the banks of the river in front of the Notre Dame. The lights on the Notre Dame at night were outstanding, and we felt very ‘local’.

For desert we went to the Île de la Cité where we were told the best ice cream in Paris was sold, and they were not lying.

To cap off a very romantic night, we added our own padlock to the famous Pont de l'Archevêché bridge. The story goes that couples lock a padlock onto the bridge and throw the key into the Seine to signify that their love will never be broken. We were feeling really happy with ourselves until we realised that all the other couples had bought massive locks and had engraved them with their names and dates etc, and we bought the smallest cheapest one we could find. Oh well, the thought was there.

Our little lock!

Highlight: The picnic by the river, the roast chicken was to die for. 

Lowlight: Trying to find public toilets in Paris is a mission in itself. 

Interesting fact #1: When popular French King Henry IV was assassinated by François Ravaillac in 1610, Francois was pulled apart by four horses and before this he was scalded with burning sulphur, molten lead and boiling oil and resin, his flesh then being torn by pincers. Following his execution, Ravaillac's parents were forced into exile and the rest of his family was ordered never to use the name "Ravaillac" again, and the name is still banned in France today – now that’s a vendetta. 

Interesting fact #2: There is a guerilla artist around Paris who puts up images of Space Invaders around the city, and no one knows who he is, supposedly if you join up all the Space Invaders locations on a map, it would make a big Space Invader. 

Example of the Space Invaders