We started late on Monday and on the way to the Panthéon bought lunch at the train station – a quiche legume (vegetables), another jambon et fromage sandwich, and two café crèmes. We rode out to Châtelet-Les Halles, transferred to RER B and rode out to the Luxembourg stop.
Outside the Panthéon
The Panthéon is yet another epic piece of architecture. The interior features an airy dome, under which Foucault demonstrated the rotation of the Earth with his pendulum. Beneath the main level is a secular mausoleum – the final resting place for many famous French citizens including Voltaire, Victor Hugo, Louis Pasteur, Marie Curie, and Alexandre Dumas.
Resting place of Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, and Emile Zola
We walked back to Notre Dame to ascend the towers, but we missed the cut-off time by fifteen minutes so we walked back across the river to the Hotel de Ville stop. I bought a chicken nems (like an eggroll) and a café (espresso) at a stand.
We took the Metro out to the Arc de Triomphe and climbed 282 steps to the top, where we enjoyed panoramic views of Paris. Eventually we climbed back down and walked along the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, in search of a place to eat.
The choices were all too touristy, so we went down a side street (Franklin D. Roosevelt) and picked a brasserie at random, which for me was one of the best meals of the trip. I ordered risotto with mushrooms and roasted chicken on top. Jer had thick steak and fries. For dessert we shared a chocolate mousse.
All risotto I consume in the future will be compared to the risotto I ate that night.
After dinner, we took the Metro back to Gare de Lyon, back to the hotel and sleep.
1 comment:
I found that area too touristy too. The worst meal we ate was near the Eiffel Tower (again too touristy). As long as you get out of those areas, you get wonderful food in Paris! You should try Janet's risotto sometime! :-)
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