Day 11

Off we go to Paris!

But first, on the way to the train this morning, Philippe was kind enough to take us to the famous Strasbourg Cathedral for a quick tour. This Cathedral was stunning. Construction on it was begun in 1176 and it took over 350 years to build! The architecture is late-gothic and it is just as beautiful on the inside as the outside. Some of the pics aren't great as it is hard to get good photos in this low-light environment.

Next we boarded the bullet train for our 2-1/2 hour ride to Paris. Another comfortable, great ride -- we need more of these in the US. It is much better than air travel!

After arriving in Paris, we had the rest of the day/night to just hang out and sightsee. Our first stop was the Sacre Cour, a cathedral in the Monmartre district. This cathedral is much more modern, but still quite impressive. It was an incredibly steep climb up the stairs, but the view from the top was amazing. You could see the entire skyline of Paris! The only bad part was this was the first day it has rained on us since we left the States :-(.

We had a so-so dinner in the district, then looked around some of the art vendors, and of course walked down to the Moulin Rouge.

We had decided to just head back to the hotel and get some rest, but once there, changed our mind and decided to go to the Eiffel Tower. Yep, we went all the way to the top! Fantastic views of the city especially at night as things begin to light up. They lit the tower while we were going up, and as we were leaving they started the dazzling light show that looks like millions of flash bulbs going off at random times. Great night!

Off to bed. Concert tomorrow at the Selmer factory.