Paris City Tour

 Our Paris city tour was very nice and our guide was very knowledgeable.  I apologize that I can't remember (and post) her great detail of the city's buildings and history, but I do have pictures.

Arc di Triomphe 

Joan of Arc

 We got dropped off near the Louvre just before lunch, and just as it began to rain.  Paris is beautiful and has so many monuments and such a rich history, but is not as beautiful in the rain as "Midnight in Paris" would lead you to believe (watched that movie on the flight over).

The Louvre

Entrance to the Lourve

 We did walk around the Louvre in the light rain (after buying a cheap umbrella that had fallen apart by the end of the day) and walked down to the Place De La Concorde and looked down the Champs Des Elysees.  We took some pictures, and then headed under the arcades for a little window shopping and lunch.

The Obelisk

Underneath the pyramid

 After lunch it was still raining so we headed under the Louvre.  There's quite a bit of shopping down there and we saw the inverted glass pyramid as well.  We spent an hour or so under there, dry and warm.  It was a nice little shopping center.  Then out into the elements.

Under the Louvre

 We walked to the Madeline Church--a church honoring the Virgin Mary.  We went inside here as well, which was also nice (though not nearly as impressive as Notre Dame).  The organ was playing, but no service was here while we were there.

The Opera House

 We then walked up to our meeting point, the Opera House.  After walking around the building, we decided not to take the self-guided tour--even though we would be dry we weren't sure if we had enough time before the bus was scheduled to pick us up.  In retrospect, we probably should have gone; the rain really picked up and the bus got caught in traffic and ended up late.  Our little umbrella wasn't holding up well either!  We ended up hopping on a different bus with our company logo on the side to stay dry and met another tour group that was finishing a 13 day tour of France.  It was interesting to see how our trips differed and to meet different people.

 And then it was back to the hotel to get ready for our last night out!