Since Sam’s bag got lost we spent most of the afternoon, because we slept almost until noon, looking for a nice outfit for him to wear on our big date that evening. We had booked dinner at the Eiffel Tower and a show at the Moulin Rouge through a tour agency before we got to Paris. After our three hour shopping experience at the local mall Sam ended up with a nice blue checkered shirt, a yellow tie and a really nice pair of French designer dress shoes.
We found a little internet café near the hotel and went to check for the confirmation on our tour. However, there was no confirmation to be found. So, we found another agency and booked with them with only a hour and a half until the tour departure. We hauled it back to the hotel and got ready.
I will never forget the cab ride from the hotel to the tour center. Since we cam via subway to our hotel we did not get to see the city the first night. And since we stayed in a cheep hotel, $80.00/night, we stayed further out towards the edge of the city not in the heart of it were all the beautiful buildings and monuments are. I remember the look of awe on Sam’s face when we drove down Rue de Goblins and turned onto the street bordering the Seine River. It was about sunset and the magnificent white buildings were glowing in the golden rays of the setting sun. We crossed the river in front of Notre Dame and were like kids in a candy store pointing wide mouthed and speechless at the buildings, churches, bridges, and monuments as we passed them. No wonder Paris is called the city of love, its like living in a fairytale!
When we arrived at the tour center via cab we found out that we did not have reservations their either. So, we picked another tour, from the same company, and went for dinner because our new tour did not leave for another hour.
We had dinner at a little café around the corner. The food was soooo good! All of the food we had in Paris was so good! And so expensive. Drinks there are ridiculously priced; we paid around $8.50 for one glass of juice and $6.00 for a soda. I had veal in a creamy mushroom sauce, it was wonderful. Sam and I ordered different drinks and I watched the bar tender make them from our table. He put the same thing in both of them and when the waiter brought them to us he said “Apple” as sat Sam’s down in front of him and “pineapple” as he sat mine down in front of me. I think that he thought my French was so bad that I would not know the difference! The funny thing is that they tasted nothing like pineapple or apple!
After dinner we boarded a double decker tour bus to ride around the city to see the monuments lit up in the dark. They were amazing! We saw the Opera House, The Louvre, Place Vendome, Arc d’Triomphe, Notre Dame, Musée Du Cinema, the Eiffel Tower and many other monuments. While we drove we got a historical commentary on our head phones.
After the Illuminations tour we boarded a glass roofed boat near the Eiffel Tower and took a cruse down the Seine and learned a little about each bridge and monument we passed while listening to romantic French music. Napoleon built a bridge across the river and it became known at the wishing bridge. As we neared the bridge we were prompted by the tour guide to close our eyes and make a wish as we cruised under the bridge. I would share my wish with you but then it wouldn’t come true! Besides the fact that it was a bit chilly I really loved the cruise. After the moonlit cruise we went to the Moulin Rouge. I will prompt the rest of my story with this: it is nothing like the movie! I know some of you read that we went to the Moulin Rouge and think that we went to some kind of strip club or something, but it was no strip club.
We enjoyed two hours of great singing, real can-can dancing, comedians, acrobats, and contortionists. The costuming and sets were amazing. At one point a huge glass swimming pool rose from inside the floor and a woman, in a bathing suit, dove into it and swam with huge snakes! It looked like she was dancing in the water, with real boas!! They also had a number that was like a carnival and they brought miniature ponies out onto the stage. The acrobatics were amazing, one man balanced another on is feet while the man did back flips in the air. At one point the top man flipped upside down and the bottom man caught the top man on his head with his foot.
We left the Moulin Rouge at 2am and got back to the hotel around 3am… we were pooped! But what an awesome day we had!! :)
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