Triumph of The Arc and The Champs Élysées

We caught a train to Pont d'Alma on Thursday 25, and then walked to The Arc de Triomphe. Once there we headed up. I am terrified of heights and get vertigo easily, plus I have a bad right knee. I had agreed to go up the top as I thought there was an elevator, and then just 40 or so stairs. We headed under the ground to get to the monument and bought tickets to get up and it was ALL stairs, no turning back I started to climb them. They were small, open spiral stairs, the worst kind, I reckon hundreds of them.

About halfway I got rather giddy and thought I might faint, but where could I go, people were behind me! There were a few holes in the walls to stop and rest, but it was not physicality that was hindering, my knee whilst feeling the climb was doing ok. My headspace not so well, but I made it to top, poor Amanda look worried. I couldn't t go to the edge of the building, but I appreciated the magnificent view, then after a break and some shopping headed back down. At first it felt worse than going up, but once I got a rhythm I was ok. Amanda said she would catch me if I fainted, lol, she didn't have to worry.

The sunglasses hide my freaked out look!

Once back on the ground I felt very relieved, and as we made our way down The Champs Élysées I felt rather proud of myself, yeah I can do a anything!?! And then subsequently almost tripped over myself on a cobble stone...reality huh!

The shopping was a bit exy on The Champs Élysées but was still fun. I picked up some bits and pieces including two pairs of winter gloves for next year. It was lovely looking at all the types of shops and department stores. I am not really into shopping, but is was different, plus all the stunning buildings and passers by added to the experience. We had lunch in one of the man cafes and then made our way through to the Opera area for a look in the large department stores where things were ultra exy, but still nice to look at. We needed a bathroom stop and went there, rather exy at 2 Euro to go, but the swishest toilets, yep I took a photo!

The Petit Palace

Cannot remember where this was taken, but I like it

Madeleine Church

Printemps shopping centre

Toilet within the shopping centre cool wallpaper and shopping in a glass cabinet above the cistern...fancy bathroom things and books about bathrooms or bathroom reads!!

Looking over towards the larger palace

We collected Chinese for dinner and headed home, another amazing day completed...time was starting to go fast, a week later we would be on our way home.

Amanda wouldn't let me out with the striped shirt AND red beret, so here I am at the end of the day, happy with my conquering and shopping, and our good friend, The Eiffel Tower in the background.

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