Christmas Day Paris

We woke to another bleak day, but it didn't matter because it was Xmas and we had presents to open!

Neil and I went downstairs to breakfast and took a doggie bag of croissants up to the kids, who would now rather sleep than wake at 5am for Xmas (thank God!) We then rugged ourselves up and caught the train to the Eiffel Tower. We actually caught the RER Line A to Chatelet, then RER C to Notre-Dame and from there on the Metro to La Tour Eiffel. The first two trains were easy, with accessible platforms - we didn't even have to go up or down to get to line C. The metro, however, is a definite no-no for wheelchairs, unless you have someone with you who can haul a chair with a person in it up and down stairs. We expected this, but did it anyway. It got us to the Eiffel Tower quickly, but you can use another RER train to get there more easily.

We spent an hour or so at the tower, which was quite eerily shrouded in fog so we only saw the bottom half - makes for interesting photos! Neil and Richie went up to the second level using the lift, which does cater for wheelchairs. It cost 8,40 Euros for the two, which wasn't too bad.

After consulting our map we decided to visit the Louvre, and first investigated going by boat (Bateaux Mouches). However they are not necessarily wheelchair friendly from this departure point. Getting down there involved stairs, and not all boats were accessible apparently. Also the cost is exhorbitant if you're only going from A to B. So we decided to hop on a bus. This was not an easy mission either, as the bus we chose, which went pretty close to the Louvre, was not wheelchair friendly. Fortunately another passenger helped us get the chair on and off. Other buses are accessible, but you have to find out beforehand.

Once at the Louvre, we discovered that it is open every day except Xmas! It didn't matter really, as we then proceeded to walk through the Tuileries Gardens and then the whole way along the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe, which was a great experience, and took us all afternoon. All of Paris seemed to be doing the same walk (probably because nothing else was open), but it was nice to be sharing our Xmas day with other people. Chelsea and I walked under ground through the tunnel to come up immediately under the arch, which Richie couldn't access in his wheelchair. We then found an entrance to the RER line underground and made our way back to Noisiel. We had tea at the motel - and I should point out here that the owners and the staff were really accommodating at Les Deux Parcs. The rooms were clean and accessible by lift, and the bar/restaurant was good value. It was nice to have a yummy meal served by friendly people on our last night in France.

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