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When entering the city, the coach came upon the Arc de Triomphe. The five hundred foot monument boasted four huge relief sculptures at the bases of the four pillars to commemorate Triumph of 1810, Resistance, The Departure of the Volunteer, and Peace. The fourth is rather ironic considering the noisy turbulent traffic provided by the nine lane rotary surrounding the arc. Beneath the Arch is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and eternal flame commemorating the dead of the two world wars.

The Eiffel tower, after undergoing a recent paint job was ready for our tour group. WE took the elevator up to the first level, then the stairs up to the second. To get to the third level, there was a $3.oo fee which many of us just didn't have at this point of the tour. The view from the second level was just fine with me.

Originally a gothic cathedral, Notre Dame was first constructed during the later half of the twelfth century.(1163) The gigantic flying buttresses extending out from the sides along with the gargoyles and pilasters have been restored by Violet Le Duc. Inside, the focus is on holy light. Stained glass has never been so impressive.

The architect Visconti redesigned the Hôtel des Invalides ( built in the late 17th century) to accommodate a more narcissistic cause three hundred years later: Napoleon's remains were exhumed and brought to Paris to be locked inside six coffins in this tomb. Almost mocking Napoleon's smallness, everything is scaled to fit a giant.

Arrete! C'est ici L'Empire de la Morte - Stop! Here is the empire of the dead. In the later part of the eighteenth century all the bodies from Cimetiere des Innocents were exhumed and moved into the tunnels under Denfert Rochereau to make space needed for the cities expansion. Once the catacombs had been dug and the bodies moved, things got a little jumbled, so they decided to make a general shrine instead of mix and match. Absolutely bizarre!
French classicism as it's finest; The louvre, home to the royal court currently houses one of the largest and most diverse collections of art today. Built by Lescot and later on Perrault the entrance has been refurbished to include modern architect I.M. Pei's pyramidal entrance. Along with the wonderful interior architecture, the museum presently shows about five percent of what it actually owns. It is said that if you were to look at each piece of art for one second, for twenty four hours straight, it would take you two months to see everything. -pace your self!
For its finale, the group headed down town .Located at the foot of the Hillock Montmartre, in view of the Moulin Rouge, is the acclaimed cabaret "the Eve News". Can-caning since the late nineteenth century, the review is still as fresh and young as the dancers themselves. Conceived and carried out by Adrien Pierini, with the original music of Nicolas Skorsky, classicisme shakes and shimmies in arms length of diners. Full dinner with show is worth it, if you can remember to eat your moneys worth. After the show, there are a series of modern clubs just around the corner. The Loco is a bit expensive but shake what you've got, you're going home tomorrow.