15 July 2010 Possible re-post

6. 15 July 2010
Have to explain why I have not posted as much as I would have liked thus far. We are so busy from morning to late at night! The light hangs around until almost 11pm. And yesterday, being Bastille Day, was a very busy evening with fireworks...and so many people trying to get home. We have a metro station, 3 actually, outside our windows in the street below, and the police had to close the station to just let in a few people at a time. It took about 2 hrs to clear the crowds! The hoards of people down below were incredible, but all well-behaved and patient. By 2am it was all clear. I am glad I was not out in it last night. We watched the fireworks from our rooms, a lovely vantage point...I have posted some photos of the event.
We managed to get the car back to Paris in one piece, a delightful vehicle, a Peugot, it never missed a beat. We covered 2000 kms in it.
Our apartments near the Eiffel Tour are excellent, better than anything else we have stayed in on our trip...highly recommend the Citadines setup.
First day we got caught in a torrential downpour at the Eiffel Tour and on the way home from it. No problems though as it is high summer and it was all part of the experience. Too much walking for Libby but she soldiered on and eventually we reached home. But that was enough for one day until we watched the fireworks later last night.
Today we caught the Red Bus which runs a fixed-route, with commentary on headphones which they supply, and we went right around and on to the Louvre. Worked out how to get a wheelchair for Libby, also gave us free entry, thank you, with under 18s free also. We saw the Mona Lisa, hundreds there too! Then right through the Egyptian and middle east antiquities...fascinating...and the buildings that house the Louvre are showpieces in themselves.
We caught the bus again to the Cathedral Notre Dame for food and souvenirs. Then took the bus all the way back to the Eiffel Tower stop, the closest to us. I took us, twice, past the Arc de Triumphe, the Pont Neuf (New Bridge..even though it is now the oldest bridge in Paris!), the Grand Palais, the Opera and Galleries LaFayette, plus all the main road, eg. Des Champ Elysees, and Place de la Concorde, where the heads were chopped off I believe.(not lately, hundreds of years ago!)