Paris Day 3 Walk about

We started the day by walking down to The Conciergerie. This building has a long history being an early palace but later became an infamous prison. As a tourist feature the focus is on the first French revolution and its prisoner Marie Antoinette. For a now clean and neat place it was still a grim visit. Adjacent buildings are still part of the justice system. Inside the walls of one of these is Sainte Chapelle, a very early yet ornate gothic church. Hence to reach it we had to go through a police run security scanner just as if we were visiting the courts. For an older design it had a decayed elegance not seen in the later styles. There were adverts for concerts during the weeks, which we noted. Then we walked along the Left Bank, going past the booksellers who use large green folding storage boxes perched on the river edging. We crossed the river and went into the Jardin du Carrousel (gardens). Next was the Musee National de L'Orangerie, famous largely as the place where there are two oval rooms of Monet murals. Next we crossed the Place de la Concorde, now a simple space in the middle of a roundabout but this was where thousands were guillotined during the turmoil of the revolution. Then we walked up the Champes Elysee. At first this is just an extension of the gardens with seats and small kiosks selling foods and drinks. Then abruptly it becomes a modern strip of upmarket brand labels and remains so all the way to the Arc de Triomphe. At the Arc, while Lee took the lift to the top I was treated to a brief French military dedication at the eternal flame (the Arc has France's tomb of the unknown soldier). We decided to walk from the Arc to the Eiffel Tower, which was simple once we'd identified the right road. Nearer the tower was unsurprisingly busy with tourists. We took some photos and walked back over the river to the Trocadero, which is clearly an excellent shot to take photos including the tower. We did the whole day on foot - perhaps to get the queueing mode out of our legs - but that was enough so we took a Metro ride home.