Paris part 3: walking through the city

Many European cities are deceptively compact, which means that not having a car is no problem. Traveling by foot through Paris is a great way to see much of the city in just a few days. Of course there's always the (OLD) metro to speed things up a little, but who really wants to travel underground in a city like this?

A quiet street in Montmarte.

The last vineyard in Paris, also in Montmarte.

A view of the Seine river, Eiffel Tower, and the island.

One of the many garden stores to the side of the Notre Dame. It was a really relaxing place to be after navigating through the tourists and trying to find a meal for less than 30 Euros. (We failed... and it was Chinese food. wtf?)

!!!

There's probably some kind of story behind these pokey deals (and a better name...) They are spread throughout the city and most of them have some different, elaborate design to keep people away from some thing or another. This one is called "Devil Fork Tails in a Hurricane." I bet I could still climb over it, no problem...

hm. picnic time?

Champs-Élysées fountain surrounded by sculptures.

As you can see, the French love their hedges and sculptures. It was incredible how many famous sculptures we saw outside, especially in this section.

And finally, a view of Paris from above. Not a very nice picture but I still like it.

We made it!

We have arrived in Barcelona after our 18 hour trip! So happy to have our own place at the moment.
At the moment we are using a family member´s apartment, which is in a nice working-class neighborhood. This means that it is not touristy at all.. lots of locals, many fresh vegetable and meat markets, wide, tree-lined streets, and so much character. With very close access to the metro (subway), we should be able to explore this city with ease. So excited!
Unfortunatly we haven´t found an internet cafe close by the apartment, but until then we will be visiting the cousins´apartment and may be able to make quick updates with their internet.
I´ve got to cut this post short for now, but hopefully we´ll be back for more interesting updates (and pictures) soon.