The only thing wrong with Paris is the men pissing in the street says Susan

Top of Eiffel Tower

We are on a mission.  It is our last full day in Paris.  First the Eiffel Tower.  Up on the first stage landing we queue for nearly an hour to get the lift to the top.  Only two lifts are working instead of four.  One doesn't even want to contemplate if it is safe to go in the remaining lifts.  The view from the top is staggering.  You can see for 50 kms or more in any direction and the city and its major monuments are laid out below us with the Seine snaking through it.  I am pleased to go down the lift again though to ground level where there are many hawkers selling miniature Eiffel Towers.

We walk across the Seine and up to the Arc De Triomphe and Alan points out the exact spot where he stood at 11 am on 11 November 1980. Yes my husband has a wonderful way with dates.

Onwards down the Champs Elysee where at one intersection a movie is being filmed. The director calls "Action" and we take photos of the actors driving by in a car commenting that we will have to watch French movies for the next few years to identify them.

The Musee D'Orsay has a fabulous collection of impressionist paintings with all the big names there.  I am very taken with the raw energy of Van Gogh's self portrait amongst other paintings...

A one hour cruise on the Seine gives us a chance to sit down for a while.  It is a cold on the top deck but a great way to see all the sights.  There are gypsies living along the river in makeshift dwellings, which reminds me of our gypsy gold ring scam of yesterday.

We were in the gardens near the Louvre when a woman in front of us bent down and picked up a gold ring.  "Is it yours?" she asks Sue and I.  No. "Oh well," she says "I don't want it - it must be your lucky day."  There is no-one around any and obviously no-one to give the ring to so we take it, both trying it on.  Just as she is leaving us she says "By the way can you give me some money for a coke."  Of course we feel obliged.  Neither of us feels very good about the ring and suspect it is a scam.  Next day we see her in action near Musee D'Orsay and I give her back the ring telling her we don't want her bad luck. What a way to make a living.

It is our final meal all together as Sue is leaving for Germany first thing in the morning.  We dine at La Petite Perigourdine and it is lucky we are early as it is a very popular restaurant and fills up fast.  Sue has the duck served in a copper pot with small berry fruits and pasta with mushrooms.  Alan has beef steak, served dramatically with a folded cheese potato mix.  I have the veal with fois gras sauce and aubergines.  Everything tastes amazing.  We finish with a stunning dessert of burnt plums in sticky caramel sauce with ice cream.  Absolutely divine!