Paris

Bonjour
we landed in Paris May 10 and map in hand , set off down Champ Élysées toward the Arc de Triomphe. Champs Élysées was not what I expected. I thought it would be quaint and tiny shops and bistros but to my surprise it was lined with high end shopping and was noisy and busy with people and traffic all coming to an end at the Arc de Triomphe. Here, at etoile Charles de Gaulle 12 lanes of traffic converge making it impossible to cross the street so there is a tunnel to get to the Arc. Note that you either have to be crazy or French to drive here!!
The Arc de Triomphe is the largest triumphal arc in the world, and was commissioned by Napoleon in 1806.

Each evening at 6:30pm there is a marching ceremony and lighting of an eternal flame to honour the veterans. We arrived just in time to witness this very moving event. We then continued on to Place de L'Alma where a replica of the torch of the statue of Libery was erected in 1987.It was meant to commemorate the French resistance in WWII but just happens to be over the tunnel where Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed were killed in 1997 so has become an unofficial shrine covered in flowers and notes to the Princess.
Day 2: We took the Car Rouge hop on hop off tour that was included in our Paris pass today . It gave us a good overview of the city and enabled us to hop on and off as we wished. (No actual hopping was involved)
As no trip to Paris is complete without a trip to the Eiffel tower, we dedicated the rest of the day to that.

Erected by Gustave Eiffel in 1889, the tower was never meant to be permanent and was almost torn down in 1909 when French radio needed a broadcast tower and saved the tower from destruction. We opted for the elevator over the 1652 stairs and were rewarded with a great view of the city. OOOH LA LA !
Day 3: We took the bus to Ste Chapelle (transit is easy peasy in Paris)
Ste. Chapelle with it's 6600 sq ft of stained glass was built in 1246. It took less than 2 years to build which is quite a feat when you consider that it took 2 centuries to build Notre Dame. That was our next stop. We stood outside Notre Dame on the brass plaque in the ground; the place from which all distances in France are measured. Notre Dame is one of the greatest achievements in Gothic Architecture and is so huge it can accommodate 6000 visitors. Stunning beyond words.

We then visited a much overlooked site directly behind the cathedral. The Deportation memorial of 1945. It was built by Charles de Gaulle in honor of the 30,000 citizens who were placed on boats, from this very spot, for deportation to concentration camps. Both moving and disturbing. From there we walked to Isle St Louis for lunch and not even our very crabby waiter could spoil the wonderful atmosphere as we relaxed by the Seine in the sunshine.
We have found the Parisiennes to be fairly rude overall, even when I have done my best to converse en francais.