Another Day In Paris (Part 2)

Such a busy day.  As usual, we walked miles, even though we didn't intend to!  Why does Paris do that to you?  Everyone says Paris is smaller than London, like that somehow makes it small, but it isn't at all, is it?
We left quite early in the morning and found the RER station (Javel) which is just over the bridge from the hotel.  Went along a couple of stops, hopped out, and there it is, the little darling.  Who can resist her charms?!

And so we joined the queue, which was quite short and moving merrily along.  I'd intended to go up to the first level (just above my head in this picture) but unfortunately it's currently closed for repairs, so I had no choice but to go up to the second level, which wasn't what I'd intended at all.  John got a ticket to the summit.
Lots of people crammed into the lift and off it went, like The Great Glass Elevator.  I clung onto the pole in the middle.  It didn't take long to arrive at the deuxieme etage. This was the most scary bit, with loads of people forcing you out of the lift and you don't know what you're stepping out onto.
But actually it's a really wide gallery, with steps down into a cafe.  John immediately vanished to continue his journey to the summit, taking the camera and leaving me without a sous, so I couldn't even have a cup of coffee!
I must tell you, I am absolutely terrified of heights, but for some reason, I made my way outside, sat down on one of very few benches, and took in the view... and loved it!  This really is a first for me.  It was amazing to look out and see the Arc twice as high as any surrounding buildings, Notre Dame, and all the way over to the Sacre Coeur.  Awesome.
So Le Tour and I are firm friends.  I waited ages and ages for John to reappear, I was getting quite worried (and thirsty!) but he eventually came strolling back to tell me the view is amazing and that I really should have gone up there.  I don't think so, darling!
We came back down to terra firma and set off to the Musee D'Orsay.  We were well underway when suddenly there were police eveywhere and the road was blocked off and we were sent around the back of the building.  All very strange.  Then, as we were nearly back to the main road, we heard the explosion.  John said it was a controlled explosion and he'd seen the guys there, but it was pretty scary, all the same.  Some other people coming towards us looked just as shocked as we were.
When we finally got to the museum, I took one look at the queue and changed my mind.  It was too nice a day to queue up for hours and spend more hours indoors, so we changed tack.
I decided to do some of the other stuff I've been dying to do, so we shot straight off to the Jardin des Tuileries.  It's a beautiful park, next to the Louvre, full of trees sporting their autumn attire.  We stopped in a cafe and had yet another croque monsieur, eating outside in the sunshine.

I didn't realise before, but if you stand with your back to the Louvre, this is what you see in the opposite direction.  How fabulous is that?!
We carried on towards the Louvre, but didn't stop.  We carried on straight to the Palais Royal.  I am a big fan of Rosemary Kneipp's blog, Aussie in France, which you can reach here:  http://www.aussieinfrance.com/  She actually lives at the top of the Palais Royal, so I really want her to see these pics!

Imagine having this on your doorstep!  So fabulous.

Some very controversial art work, but I loved it!
From here, we carried on up to the Rue St Honore (sorry, I don't know how to type accents yet).  This is the road we whizzed down on the coach in June, and that I have vowed to walk down.
Here's why:

Oh to win the lottery!  We can all dream (more of this at a later date).  We walked miles and miles around here, including the Place Vendome, which has to be one of my favourite places in the whole of Paris. 
So we came home, exhausted, but happy, had a bath and decided to have dinner in the hotel restaurant, where my mouth ulcers were so bad I just wanted to cry and could hardly eat a thing!  Oh well...
More soon, I'm sure
Jane xx