Intermission Days 4-6

    Ok.  So we are slowly making our way towards Rotterdam for the Cruise (Float).
    Portugal was not exactly on the way, but we had never been to Portugal, and it was so close...  And there was that geeky Geocaching thing.  Now we can turn that country Green on our map.

    So post-Portugal, what is the plan?  Well, Paris of course.  Many reasons - it is a hub where you can get to where you want to go.  A geeky Geocaching thing.  It's a magical city.  Lots of reasons.
    Now to get from Porto to Paris is not quite so straightforward.  It is 3 trains.  Or 2 airplanes on Ryan Air (Spirit airlines of Europe) or 21 hours direct on a bus.  Since it seemed like all options were about 21 hours, we chose the bus.

    It was possibly exactly as you might expect for a European 21 hour bus ride through 3 countries with different languages (none of which was English) and a very wide assortment of passengers (including a number of teen/20-something backpackers), and a broken on-board toilet (door was sealed shut).
    It was far more comfortable than an airplane.  The bus stopped every 2 hrs for a 10 minute break (except 30min for dinner and 20min for breakfast), and to change drivers.  USB ports for charging.

    At a few places, a bunch of folks got off, and a bunch got on.  A bunch of drama just before leaving Spain when a young woman was begging to get on the bus without a ticket.  After a significant amount of scolding by the driver and wailing/threatening by the 'passenger', the police came to sort it out.

    And no one likes to be on a bus for 21 hours.

    Anyway, bus arrived in Paris at about 10AM.  We got off the bus and went to our hotel (nearby).  Dropped off our suitcases since we were way early, then started walking in our semi-catatonic state from our sleep-depriving bus ride (and we are old).

    First, we accomplished our very geeky Geocaching thing (where I had previously solved 20 puzzles to get the coordinates. in the off-chance we would someday be in Paris), then continued walking the few miles down to the Notre Dame Cathedral.  It is still heavily under construction.  The lines were very, very long.  It got very, very hot (over 90F and thick with humidity).  We chose to leave this visit to the outside.  
    Got lunch.  Good food.
    Went to the Sainte-Chapelle with its impressive stained-glass windows.

    Then we cheated (didn't walk) and decided to get transit to the Eiffel Tower.  We tried to ride the Metro (like the Berlin song), but all of the machines that gave new cards were broken - you could only charge an existing card, and the info/help center with a living person was closed, and we were not yet aware that you could do it all through your phone.  Anyhow, we came back to street level, walked a few blocks, and caught a bus that took cash.

    The Eiffel tower is, of course, an amazing site.  As are the grounds.  Amazing parks, hucksters selling all manner of goods, and the tower itself.  The line to get into the tower was amazingly long, and there were people dropping from the heat (security had their hands full). 
    We walked some of the blocks around the Tower, and then headed back to the hotel (in a taxi) for dinner.  Exhausted from the bus-ride to Paris, and the Paris heat, we were wiped.  (with only 7 miles of walking this day).

    And next door to the hotel was the Indochine concert (they were really big in the early 80s, and were popular with the Alternative kids in high-school).  Based on the T-shirts, I think half the guests in the hotel were there for the concert.

    We do have to go back to Paris at some point.  But it can't be for one day.  And it will need some better structure.  So that we are not trying to figure stuff out on the fly.

    Next morning, bus to Liege (Belgium).  Short ride.  A hot day, so we day-toured in the blocks around the hotel today.  But tomorrow should be cooler and we have a rough plan on what we want to do/see.  Will post more on Belgium once it happens.

Some photos (and no, I am not including bus or bus-trip photos):

    Arrived in Paris; this is a hundred yards from our hotel, looking down the Seine River.

    And of course, the first thing I focused on was the pair of mute-swans under that 'nearby' bridge:

    And  Black-Headed Gull diving (successfully) for some prey along the Riverwall:

    I don't know if I mentioned.  It was hot.  There is a boat on the river with swimming pools in it (piscine Josephine - I think that rhymes, even in French).  And A line to get in (one out = one in).  This is the front third of that line (that was not moving):

    Further on the walk, a Lesser Black-Backed Gull:

    Oh - and Paris has some buildings.  A bunch of them, I think.  Here is one.

    The front-side looks better.  Notre Dame Cathedral.  Huge.  With amazing detail.  And long, long, slow lines (so we did not enter).  At some point, we will go back.

    Across the street is the Sainte-Chapelle, where we did go inside, with its amazing stained glass windows (on the 2nd floor, where nobles were allowed to worship).  And each row of panes tells a story from the bible.

    Then a bus and we were at the Eiffel Tower!  The Eiffel Tower is also a big building.  So when you are this far away (where the bus drops you off) you think you are really close.  It is a little farther...

    From below, with a good look at the nets to catch the things that 'fall' from the 1st and 2nd levels:

    There is also a park along one of the legs.  With Grey Herons and Common Moorhens:

    Up the street is the famous spot where all the Olympic Telecasts ended.  And Jana with the gold!

    21 hours after arriving on a bus, we were out on a bus.  5 hours later, in Liege.

    First look at Liege, down the river.  Today, post arrival, was just a scouting expedition for tomorrow, which should be pleasantly 15-20 degrees cooler.  There will be more to report when we see/do something worth writing about: