Day 5: Eiffel Tower, Seine, rainstorms, and Bach

The Olympic clock, on the pier where we met our boat tour.

We planned Sunday as a light day. For breakfast we picked up croissants at La Maison d’Isabelle and coffee at the café next door. Then we tried to take the Metro to the Eiffel Tower, but that exit was blocked. We got off at the next exit, walked back, and found our way blocked by a marathon or relay race. We later learned that this was the Ekiden race, a relay marathon for people of multiple abilities. I'd had no idea there would be such a thing, so it was fun to discover and then pick our way around it.

Our next stop was the Eiffel Tower. We walked around the base and took some pictures, but neither of us was too interested in taking the elevator up high. So from there we walked down to the piers along the Seine, and picked up a boat tour up and down the river. The tour was fun, if a little cheesy. From there we strolled down the Champ de Mars. Our plan was to visit the Hôtel des Invalides, but a sudden downpour changed our minds., We ducked inside a convenience store to buy lunch, and then made our way back to the Quartier Latin in time for a performance of Bach by candlelight at the Église Saint-Éphrem-le-Syriaque. Marie cried during this performance, too. Afterwards we walked one block to a restaurant where we had dinner, and then another couple of blocks back to our hotel where we planned our itinerary for Monday.