Day two started at 8 in the morning when we were picked up by the tour guide for our 1/2 city tour. There were 6 of us in the van, one of the other couples we were traveling with and a couple from Waco Texas. We began with a stop at Notre Dame on the Ile De Le Cite. To be honest, it was somewhat of a disappointment. The outside was magnificent and the flying buttresses were impressive. Notre Dame was one of the first buildings to use them. The rose stained glass windows were beautiful and it is amazing that it can hold up to 6000 parishioners.
Next we visited the Basilique du Sacre-Coeur in the Montmartre area. It is high on a hill and offers wonderful vistas of Paris. It was built in 1873 to atone for the Franco-Prussian war. It was not consecrated until after WWI in 1919. We were not permitted to take pictures inside.
After Sacre-Coeur we viewed La Tour Eiffel and then on to the Champs-Elysees where we saw the Arc de Triomphe and the Place de la Concorde.
The Arc de Triomphe was built in 1836 to honor Napoleon's victory at Austerlitz (he commissioned it himself). To me it became an ionic symbol during WWII as Allied Troops road into Paris through it. It does hold the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from WWI.
Next up will be our afternoon trip to the Louvre.
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