Paris Day 7 - Bastille Day

After breakfast we wandered over to the tower to check out how long the queue was for the lift. We had already been up to the 2nd level earlier with the tour but none of us were quite satisfied and we wanted to get to the very top! As only 1 lift is working the queue was really long and they hadn't even opened the ticket sales. We looked at Dad and said  the stairs queue is only short and he thought well its now or never, its nearing the end of the holiday and the knee should last! So we joined the stairs queue and you could also buy a ticket to the summit from the 2nd level. So off  we went behind a big group of Chinese - once we got to the 1st level they all stopped to take photos so we overtook them - let Dad have the odd rest and kept going. We were going at a great pace and by the time we reached the 2nd level the first load of lift people were just arriving. We found the spot the catch the small lift to the summit and there was no one in the queue and we went straight onto the lift and up we went. We were pretty impressed with our effort and when we reached the top there were only a handful of people there. It was great to have a good look around before the crowds started arriving although it was very cold. The views were stunning... 

And perhaps the most unexpected thing was that there was a toilet up there!!!!!! We all used it - well you have to be able to say you went to the toilet on the top of the Eiffel Tower!...

As it was Bastille Day the avenue around the Arc de Triomphe was closed to traffic - an unusual sight. They were assembling the military parade there which went up the Champs Elysees. There was also a huge French flag hanging in the middle...

View of our apartment from the top...

There is also an inside viewing are at the top which was lovely to get out of the wind and they even had heaters on in there. I just caught the military planes going past...

After spending quite a long time enjoying the top of the tower we caught the lift back to the 2nd storey Peter and I took the steps back down while Dad opted for the lift...

Sacre Coeur

We went back home and some visitors showed up. Sarah and her friend Georgia had got caught up in the military parade on their way to see us. They had arrived in Paris yesterday on their Contiki tour. I made them some "real" food and we had a quick chat. They then went off wandering and we caught the train to the Paris Vision tour office where we had to meet for our trip to Palace of Versailles. We sort of got dumped there and given a ticket to get in and told to meet back at the bus at a certain time. We had picked today to come because there was a fountain show so we went to the gardens first. The gardens were so immaculate and beautiful but we didn't really have enough time to explore after seeing the queue we had to join to get into the Palace.

We sat and waited for the fountains to do something spectacular but nothing much happened...

So we queued to go into the Palace...

It was very opulent inside but Soooooooooooooooooooo crowded...

We had to push and shove our way through some parts and it wasn't the most enjoyable visit and they seemed to have a display of some very abstract artwork which didn't really match in with the Palace theme...

Giant stilettos made out of pots and pans

Doilie  covered lions

Who knows??????

Helicopter covered in pink feathers????

Anyway it was different and I think we were a bit palaced out and too rushed to enjoy it some more. Then we couldn't remember what the bus we came on looked like and we lost Dad but we eventually got sorted and headed back to Paris. The traffic was ridiculous due to roads being closed for Bastille Day and we had come to a standstill fortunately for us not far from home so we asked if we could get off. Other people heard us ask and they let a few of us out, otherwise we would have been ages getting back to the tourist office then catching the train back home.  With so many people crowding around the Eiffel tower for the fireworks later we were kept quite entertained watching from our balcony. Our little street was closed by policemen with big guns! There were police everywhere and they weren't letting anyone through. It was very well organised...

Walkies French style (think I will stick with my sandshoes)...

We had some dinner at home and waited for it to get a bit later and the decided we had better wander over and see if there is any grass left to sit on. (we later learnt that 500,000 people attended!!)

We found a little patch and waited until 11.30 when the fireworks started. The crowd were very well behaved and it certainly makes me wonder why when a crowd of Australians get together so much trouble erupts...

We had no trouble getting home and once again watched all the happenings from our balcony :) It was very special to be in Paris on Bastille Day.