I should note that France was going through a record breaking heat wave while we were there. Coming from Florida this really wasn't too bad with the exception that many places in France are not equipped with AC! After breakfast at the hotel (baguettes, cheese, chocolate-chip croissants), we piled into a bus and headed to the Palais de Chaillot.
This provided an excellent view of the Eiffel Tower. Walking up to it, really gives you the sense of how massive it is. Two elevator rides and we were at the top where the views of the city were mesmerizing. We actually took the steps down from about the halfway point!
From the Eiffel Tower we took the metro to the Arc de Triomphe. This is the famous monument built by Napoleon. Amy and the kids went to the top while I took the opportunity to watch the French being French. After grabbing lunch we headed back to the hotel for a much needed nap before the first match of our trip.
As as side note the group we were with consisted of ~40 people made up of families, friends, and a handful of individual travelers from all ages and walks of life. The entire group got along extremely well and we all quickly befriend the three ProActive guides.
For those that weren't paying attention we were heading to the highly anticipated quarter final showdown between the U.S. and French national teams. We gathered in the lobby and then took a bus to the match.
The stadium, Parc des Princes, is home to Paris St Germain (PSG) the largest French professional soccer team. The French fans were out in force. Attendance was reported as 45,595 with roughly 2/3 being French supporters. Our seats were close to one of the corners of the stadium and we were surrounded by French fans. To say the atmosphere was electric, is an understatement. After the match the French fans were very gracious. The group re-convened outside of the match. We piled into the bus and headed back to the hotel for the night.
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