urostar, the high speed train that carries passengers from London to Paris via the Chunnel. Ray and Traci had reservations for the early morning 6:55 train. Accommodations on the Eurostar were quite comfortable, similar to the Japanese Shinkansen (Bullet Trains) – with tourist select advance purchase tickets, a pretty decent breakfast with croissants, fruit, orange juice, cheese omelet and chicken sausage was included. The Eurostar arrived on time at Paris at 10:15 (2 hours, 20 minutes later – Paris clocks are 1 hour ahead of London). Travelers need to know that checking into the Eurostar is more involved than a typical train – baggage is screened, riders need to go to metal detectors, and passport control needs to be navigated. As at airports, last minute arrivers may miss their transportation. At minimum, passenger should arrive 30 minutes ahead of the train departure. The Eurostar drops passengers off at Paris’ Gare du Nord
. The first thing one notices is the dudes in berets walking around in fatigues brandishing assault weapons – France is really serious about security, even the “TSA checkers” who guide passengers thru metal detectors are packing Glock pistols. The next thing visitors discover is the plethora of pay bathrooms in Paris, even at train stations. Usually 1 euro is required to get past the gate of a bathroom to use the facilities. Travelers are advised to not leave home without euros!
Fortunately, the weather was wonderful for a brief Paris Adventure – cool and partly sunny. From the Gare du Nord, Ray and Traci hopped in a taxi for a 10 euro ride to Notre Dame, the famous cathedral in Paris. Words cannot do justice to the magnificent Notre Dame. Even on a Monday morning, large crowds milled around. While viewing the inside of the cathedral is free, visitors do have to pay to climb the steps to the higher levels offering views of Paris. During Ray and Traci’s visit, the lines were too long so they walked to their next stop, Sainte-Chapelle – another great church located in Paris. Unfortunately visitors do have to pay to get into this cathedral, and the lines were even longer than at Notre Dame so when you have only 10 hours to spend in Paris, you are going to skip a lot! From Sainte-Chapelle, Ray and Traci walked to their next destination, the Louvre.The Louvre is the most incredible museum both Ray and Traci have ever seen, and they probably only walked around 25% of it. For a mere 9 Euros each, visitors are treated with the most comprehensive collection of art anywhere! While well known attractions like the Mona Lisa
and Venus de Milo
highlight the collection, the wide range of art from all civilizations and all of recorded time is overwhelming. 
Ray and Traci basically spent 2 hours in one of the Louvre buildings looking mainly at Egyptian and Roman artifacts. Visitors spending a week just at the Louvre probably leave feeling that they missed out on some great works. The crowds at the Louvre are large, but the cavernous exhibit halls accommodate them even at high profile exhibits such as the Mona Lisa.
All of the museums Ray and Traci visited (England and Paris) had the majority of their sculptures and paintings unprotected from the crowds – while the fragile ones were encased, most were not which makes for some very fun picture opportunities.After leaving the Louvre, Ray and Traci walked past the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel which is a smaller version of the larger and famous Arc de Triomphe. Along the way, they noted the Paris traffic circles which surround many monuments – the traffic flows were insane with drivers trying to navigate the circles without a clear pattern.
Now walking down the Champs-Elysees, Ray remarked how amazing it was on a Monday afternoon to see so many people doing nothing – sitting around in parks, sipping coffee at many sidewalk cafes and crowding the sidewalks. Ray and Traci actually got separated during their trip down the Champs-Elysees, causing 15 minutes of near panic. They ended up sharing a baguette sandwich and buying drinks at a sidewalk café before reaching the Arc de Triomphe. 
Both Ray and Traci noted the decreased appetite both had during their European adventure – all of the walking should be stimulating an appetite. Traci thought the 8 hour time shift forward suppressed appetites since sleeping occurred in London during typical Seattle meal times. With long lines becoming a recurring theme, Ray and Traci decided to not purchase tickets to the top of the Arc and instead continue their walk to one of the world’s most celebrated landmarks, the Eiffel Tower. 
Lines (or queues if you are British) were long. Tour groups get to buy tickets in advance and bypass the long lines. The word is internet ticket purchases to individuals will be possible in the near future – do it if you can. With 4 hours left in Paris, Ray and Traci decided to wait what turned out to be 90 minutes to get to the top of the tower (tickets were about 14 euros each). The views are great and getting pictures on top of one of the world’s landmarks is fun also. The tower is open at night, and Ray looks forward to some future nighttime visit to see the city of lights. From the Eiffel Tower, the travelers wandered around the immediate area and found a taxi stand. A Mercedes Benz taxi (A first for these travelers!) took them thru pretty busy Paris streets and dropped them off at Gare du Nord for the 9:10 pm return trip back to London. The Eurostar, again, served a good meal consisting of a chicken dinner (Ray and Traci didn't take the advice of the steward who recommended the fish pie). Unlike Japan where the Shinkansens are never late, the Eurostar ended up arriving in London 20 minutes late.
As in London, money is readily available from overpriced currency exchange shops as well as ATMs although tourist locales such as the Louvre and Eiffel Tower accept credit cards (the best option). The entire Paris visit (Louvre & Eiffel tickets, 2 taxi rides, and snacks and drinks along the way) cost 100 euros (1 euro = $1.32 at the time of the visit). This brief trip to Paris was quite exhausting and isn’t recommended but both Ray and Traci are happy they had a chance to visit Paris for a day and plan to return sometime in the future.
As in London, money is readily available from overpriced currency exchange shops as well as ATMs although tourist locales such as the Louvre and Eiffel Tower accept credit cards (the best option). The entire Paris visit (Louvre & Eiffel tickets, 2 taxi rides, and snacks and drinks along the way) cost 100 euros (1 euro = $1.32 at the time of the visit). This brief trip to Paris was quite exhausting and isn’t recommended but both Ray and Traci are happy they had a chance to visit Paris for a day and plan to return sometime in the future.
