Today's main sight seen was the Eiffel Tower. I have to admit, I didn't expect it to be very exciting. That's because I completely underestimated its size, as well as its beauty. I took the stairs to the second floor, which is about halfway up the tower. (I think to that point it's about 500 stairs or something.) The view was great, and allowed one to get a good glimpse of the city. This was especially beneficial for me, as I'm still trying to get myself oriented. For instance, I wasn't aware of the significant turn in the Seine; most maps I have are of individual sections and the turn isn't discernible in most of the sections I'd been consulting.

I walked from there to the Arc de Triomphe and the tomb of the unknown soldier (WWI), and from there along the Champs-Elysees (which means "Elysian Fields" on its own, so it's really the Avenue des Champs-Elysees, since the Elysian Fields are themselves located in a nice section of Hades.) Lovely, but long. My feet were tired, but I refused to take the Metro until I got to Place St-Michel, where I could get my monthly "Carte Orange", which is a much better value than the packets of tickets I'd had to use until 1 June. I bought a baguette and some chicken drumsticks from a local rotisserie and had that, with salad, for dinner. I'm lucky enough to be going out tonight with some friends of friends (although realistically my friends, too, I haven't seen them in ages), and I may supplement my evening meal then.

I discovered that the has free admittance on the first Sunday of every month, so that's my Sunday plan. I'm sure I'll go back with Devon, but at least I'll have a chance to scope out some of the antiquities at my own pace.

Gotta run. Tomorrow I think I'll check out the Museum of Natural History's exhibit on Evolution. Take-that, Creationistas! (You know they just opened a Museum of Creationist History somewhere in the midwest...? True. Sad, but true.)