Paris | Day 6 | Musée de l'Orangerie, Napoleon's Tomb, Tour Eiffel, & L'Arc de Triomphe

 This was one of the busiest days we had on our trip, and definitely the
one filled with the greatest number of steps to climb.

Our first stop was the Musée de l'Orangerie, the small, gorgeous museum that Monet built as an escape from the city and from the war.  He wanted to give people something beautiful in the city, so he filled two ovular rooms with his water lilies.  Each room holds separate canvases which curve with the walls of the room, with benches in the middle so you can view them--- it's by far the most amazing way to see these paintings.

The area surrounding the museum was beautiful and the leaves
were beginning to change, so it was quite the nice walk.

We headed to Napoleon's tomb, which is attached to a functioning hospital

(the longer building to the left of the dome).

Inside, everything was dark and somber, and made of extravagant marble and gold leaf.

You can see people walking down to the tomb below.

It was a strange place, to say the least, and for some reason,

I couldn't help but feel it was a bit unsettling.

After we left Napoleon's tomb, we stopped for lunch and these

were the paintings in the restaurant! I kind of want all of them.

After lunch, we headed to the Tour Eiffel!  I think we went at just the right time, because it was late afternoon and we managed to make it to the top right before sunset.

We took the elevator up to the top, starting at Pilier Est (the east "foot" of the tower).

I'd venture to say it's nearly impossible to stand on top of the Eiffel Tower and not feel an overwhelming need to burst into tears.  It was the fact that I was standing with my sweet husband, looking out onto the most gorgeous city I have ever visited.  It's just so indescribably breathtaking that I had a hard time digesting the experience.   No matter how many things we had done in the previous days, standing on top of the Eiffel Tour signified that we were really there, and it was overwhelming.

We eventually traveled back down the tower on foot, as it's surprisingly easy to get disoriented at the top and not be able to find the elevator (right?).  Also, I said the stairs would "be more fun" than being crammed in an elevator.  And what's more fun than your legs shaking uncontrollably after walking down 700-odd steps?

After our journey down the tower on foot, we wandered our way to the Arc de Triomphe, but first we stopped to get ice cream, because OF COURSE.  Our plan was to head to the Arc de Triomphe and then take a stroll down the Avenue des Champs Elysées, which is the huge, long street that is lined with fancy stores and, oddly, expensive car dealers.

The Arc de Triomphe is deceivingly gigantic--- construction was commisioned by Napoleon in 1806, but the structure wasn't finished for another 30 years.

The eternal flame is lit every night at 6:30pm, where an unknown soldier from World War I is buried at the base of the arch.

As we walked through the tunnel that takes you under the traffic circle (so you don't die) and to the Arc de Triomphe, we learned that we could walk up several flights of stairs to get to the top, and who wouldn't want to walk up a million steps again?  So we decided we would do it, even if it felt like it was only a matter of time before our legs separated from our bodies and we fell over.  As we climbed up each level, there were a series of darkened rooms, like the one below.

We reached the top and the view was wonderful--- much different from the other views we'd seen.  The traffic on the Champs Elysées created long strings of read and white lights

that seemed to stretch forever.  

We were especially lucky because while we were there, we could see the Eiffel Tour lit up with thousands of sparkling lights, which was the absolute perfect way to end the day.