City Tour and Boat Tour

9/5/11  Much  better day today.  Amazing how sleep helps change the attitude.  Got up early today to go on a bus tour of the city.  Petit dejeuner ici dans l’hotel.  Then met the tour guide.  He had three other pickups, then our tour began.  We drove by so many palaces, government buildings, monuments I can’t name them all.  I took pictures of some of them.   Our first stop was Montmartre and Sacre Coeur.  I took some pictures of the view from the hill and of the exterior of the church (pictures not allowed inside the church).  Then I walked over to Place Tertre to see the artists.  And I let myself get taken by a street caricaturist (for 20E).  I felt really stupid about it.  Oh, well.   Then we stopped at Notre Dame, which was lovely.  Our tour guide took my picture for me in front of the cathedral.  Our last stop was for photos of the Eiffel Tower.  One of the more interesting sites was the Roman ruins in the Latin Quarter.  I really don’t feel the need to go up in the Eiffel Tower.  There are so many more interesting places to go.  And I really would prefer to see the rooftops of Paris from the top of Notre Dame.  After our tour, I bought a delicious brown bread, a block of reblochon fruitier cheese and a bottle of water, walked over to Jardins Tuilleries and had my picnic.  Then I found myself walking down Champs Elysses to the Arc de Triomphe (which we had driven by several times earlier).  I got a little lost getting from there back to the Eiffel Tower for my boat tour, but I found it eventually.  I had thought I’d do the boat tour at night when la cite is lit up, but decided to go at 4:30.  It was a nice trip & went a little further east than I plan to go, so I saw a little new territory.  It was a pleasant ride.  And every tour gives a little more information about Paris history.  I walked back along the river after the boat tour.  Had another public restroom experience.  This one was free. It was so modern, opened & closed the door automatically after each person, with a thorough cleaning between users.  Of course I took a picture!  I didn’t see a restaurant I wanted to eat at as I walked back from Tour L’Eiffel to the Louvre.  So I ate at Brasserie Louvre, very near my hotel and had a delicious shrimp salad.  Back to write about my day’s adventures & rest my hurting hips.  Lovely day.   Tomorrow I plan to go to Ile de la Cite again & take my time there.  And hopefully I’ll have energy to go to Procope in St. Germain des Pres for dinner