After the long drive to Paris the boys slept until nearby 10AM. By then we had missed the free breakfast but that didn't matter. It took a while to get them ready meanwhile I arranged to meet Alain Barbou, an Imp Club Member who lives nearby, at the hotel.
We had brunch at a bakery and then met Alain for a great chat about Imps and advice about Paris. The Alain showed us where to get the bus and then Metro so as to get into the city.
Our first destination was the Eiffel Tower. On the way from the metro the boys were very taken by the big pond with fountains. This was just pleasant until the water cannons started up and then it was fascinating for them. The tower is big and there is little to guide the novice as to where to go and what to buy. I suppose I should have done my homework again. Anyway, we got tickets to climb to the second level which is a good workout but we all managed well enough despite being so tired. Then we bought tickets for the lift to the top and joined the enormous queue. It is one heck of a view and as an experience worth it. The boys certainly enjoyed it and this ticked off Timothy's number one item
Once back on the ground we had a rest and then back to the metro, via a carousel, and on to the Arc de Triumph. We never did figure out how to get under it. It is surrounded by wide busy raids so crossing at street level is out. It turned out we all wanted food and drink more than a close up view so we hinted down a cafe and enjoyed dinner. Then it was back to the hotel and quickly to sleep.
However, I didn't sleep well for worrying about what ferry to catch out of France and then how to get to the next very crossing to Ireland. So I got up and searched out the options to discuss with my advisors at breakfast. Come then the consensus was to forego the view of the White Cliffs of Dover and get the ferry from Cherbourg directly to Ross,are,Ireland.
Having planned this it was off by bus and metro to the Louvre. If the Eiffel tower is confusing then the Louvre is worse. But once we got in we headed for the paintings. I knew we had less than three hours before Michael would go no more. So we saw lots of religious paintings and then found the Mona Lisa. We all agreed it is okay but can,t see why its so famous. After that we had some lunch which revived us and set off to see some more but Michael chose to stay witted at a setee rather than seeing the Dutch and Flemish collections.
After the Louvre we headed to the Cathedral du Motre Same. I set of in the wrong direction at first and by the time we got to the cathedral we were all tired. Timothy wouldn't join the queue to go in so we just looked at it from outside. Its the only free entry thing we've found in France, including toilets and roads.
Then it was back to the hotel and into the car. It was still over 30° and we only got about 5km before overheating. It was actually further if you count my several navigationals. We pulled off the motorway and went for a walk. Timothy needed the toilet so we walked to the train station and back. Then I set the boys to do their daily writing. Michael did everything but. Meanwhile, I tried to see if there was anything I could do to improve the cooling. Apart from cleaning the grille there wasn't anything to do so we set off again around 8PM.
With steady driving around 74km/hr it was possible to keep it cool and so we headed for Bayoux. But when we got there there were no rooms to be had anywhere. I was too tired to drive the extra 100km to Cherbourg so we ended up parking on a patch of grass in the middle of nowhere. In the morning nowhere turned out to be the edge of a village. I had to wake the boys up at 8AM as I wanted to drive to Cherbourg before it got hot. We arrived around 10 and had breakfast and wrote this and a couple of emails. Now to explore and wait until the ferry at 7PM.
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