Segway Tour of Paris, Arc de Triomphe, Jardin de la Nouvelle France

Picture-heavy post today. Pretty busy day!

 Charlie on a Segway for the first time. When Ben, our guide, asked who wanted to go first, his hand went up so fast, I think I saw sparks. He was quite the champ with it, willing to make mistakes and learn. Starting out on a Segway is not easy, but once you've got it, it's a blast.

Charlie riding around. Not bad for a first time!

Me & Charlie on our way to being Segway champs. The sculpture behind us is called Wall of Peace (Mur de la Paix). It's the word for peace in 32 languages and 15 alphabets.

And here's Charlie as a Segway pro.

Iconic French photo.

Quick photo in front of the Église de Dôme before running back to hear its history.

Then I deposited Charlie at our apartment and went to the Arc de Triomphe to try to meet a friend. When I got to the top (puff, puff--384 steps! Did my 'step class' for the day), I was so blown away that I forgot to look for my friend at first. Here's the view down the Champs Élysées to the Louvre museum.

The Arc de Triomphe is in the middle of the Place Charles de Gaulle Étoile, the biggest roundabout I've ever seen (7 or 8 lanes!), so it has views down many streets of Paris. Here are two more.

And two more.

And another. The scaffolding is up because they are doing work on the lead sheets that have been holding up the stonework decorating the outside. The lead is original and is deteriorating. So I say, Yay for the scaffolding!

Sticking my camera outside the protective bars (and even that gets my heart racing) to get a photo of The Eiffel Tower. I never get tired of looking at her.

Inside, they have some of the pieces on display. A giant foot!

And a beautiful lion!

And some angry gal! I wouldn't want to get on her bad side.

When I got down, there was a ceremony going on, surely commemorating WWII veterans and events.

Even the underside is decorated. I believe these are the cities that Napoleon's armies had been to.

On the way back, down the Champs-Élysées (figured out a bit ago that that means the Elysian Fields, as in the home of the Greek gods!), stopped at Sephora. Saved from spending too much on lipstick by them being out of my favorite. Had to take a photo of this beautiful display.

And I just happened upon this beautiful little garden because a sculpture outside caught my eye. What a hidden gem! Lovely and peaceful.

There was even a little pond.

I then proceeded to walk all the rest of the way home, which was a mistake and my feet hurt. Next time, Métro or grabbing a Vélib rentable bike--they were in use everywhere!