Le Phenix et La Tour Eiffel

Not so many pictures today since the ones from this day are mysteriously missing from Bill's camera and we have just my iPhone shots.

Another lovely breakfast - nothing like getting up and having breakfast all ready for you!

Jacque and Helene's player piano

While Kevin and Judy were out looking at some sights, Bill and I went to Rue Notre Dame de Lorette to see the place, Le Phenix bar, where the bar was that my Dad had visited after the liberation of Paris. Of course it is a different place now - but also the bar is closed and has been for a few years. Its for sale... anyone want to move to Paris and run a bar/something else?

Bill and I ate across the street from it at Cafe Matisse

where we had a wonderful quiche - the best I had during the trip - and talked with the cute waitress about Dad's story and the bar across the street. She's the one who told us it had been closed.

inside the cafe - very few people eat inside when the weather allows eating outside

This place was only a couple of blocks from rue Blanche where our apartment was located. Walking back we went by a local library and could hear a children's story being read to a group of children through an open window. 

These old "houses" are from the Haussmann era - when Haussmann created modernized Paris in the late 1800's. These houses date from about 1870's. Haussmann changed the look of Paris with the long wide boulevards and arrondissements (districts) with planned streets. Most of the buildings were leveled and these new buildings took their place. Each house has a number of apartments in it, and most are 3-5 stories high with shops and businesses in much of the lowest level. 

Looking down the street towards Rue Blanche

I did work on some blog stuff after having lunch but later we set out to see the Eiffel Tower in the evening - but it ended up taking us so long to get there we almost missed the low sun but did get to see sunset .

The Arc de Triomphe from the bus...

And we arrived just in time to snap a couple of pictures of the Eiffel Tower with the glow of late sun.

and nearing sunset

a "we were there" picture

These boys were riding skateboards backwards down these steps. The steps were fairly well used so one boy would signal to the one at the top to go or stop although a significant number of times they probably should not have gone when they did - but we saw no accidents and no wipe-outs.

Ok, well that wasn't enough of the Eiffel Tower - we wanted to get it after dark as well so we decided to find a place to eat and wait until the lights were turned on. Most of the area is pretty residential and we actually had to walk several blocks to find a place. When we did it was definitely off the beaten path and not a typical tourist place. Pretty much a little bar & grill type place.

with a limited menu but good wine list

We just asked for a meat assortment and cheese assortment and a bottle of wine.

Then it was back to the Eiffel Tower where we spent quite a bit of time walking around it from all sides to get the best pictures. Its really very impressive to walk under - much bigger in person than it looks from a distance - or on the little toy versions sold EVERYWHERE :)
Here are a couple of representative shots of it lit up for the night

one with the sparkling light show going

and a couple closer up

By the time we had done this to our satisfaction (read to Kevin's satisfaction), it was late and the last bus had already departed. Luckily the metro runs much later and we were able to figure out a couple of metros that got us back home....