Port 97 Honfleur, France Take 2

by Ed · June 24, 2022

Bonjour!

We return to the port of Honfleur for a second visit on 18 Jun, 2022. We were just here a few weeks ago, on 6 Jun – D-Day! – so I don’t worry about getting up early for today’s sail-in.

Within fifteen minutes we pulled in to the dock. We’re a little farther back from the bridge this time.

We have a tour today – a long one! We are both going to see the highlights of Paris!

We head out on the bus and see the inner harbor of Honfleur. I don’t believe I showed you any of these photos last time – they were not very clear. But this is a lovely little harbor!

A short while later we cross over the River Seine for the first time. It is serene and beautiful!

Then we pass over the River Seine again as it wanders back across our path!

After a couple of hours we finally reach the edge of Paris! We catch our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower as we pop out of the highway tunnel!

The bus swings around a traffic circle and suddenly this interesting sculpture is in my view! I learn we are at the Trocadero, and this is on the corner of the Fountain of the Trocadero! The fountain isn’t working when we first arrive, but it turns on just before we leave!

Big flowers catch my eye! We pass this cute cafe – just a taste of Paris!

Our first stop is to see the Eiffel Tower. We make a pass around the Tower to find our parking spot. Paris is setting up for a big rock concert that starts tomorrow – this is an annual thing – and the normal place the buses park for tours is fenced off, so we head back across the river to find a parking spot near the Trocadero.

We get off the bus and head to the bridge to get closer to the Eiffel Tower – and hopefully get a view that is not backlit! We spot this pile of locks on the bridge rail! Ah, love is in the air!

We finally get to the side of the Eiffel Tower for a decent photo! I’m here!

Of course I have to bring some Joy into the picture!

We finish our Tower shoot and head back to the bus. We see the Trocadero Fountain is now working!

The bus continues the tour, and we pass this pretty little carousel!

We pass by the Hotel des Invalides. This was a home for retired soldiers, invalids! But now it’s a museum. Out front is a surprising display of aircraft!

We get our first and only glimpse of the Notre Dame Cathedral. So sad we can’t tour it yet.

We follow the River Seine away from Notre Dame and I see this lovely building. It is the Judicial Tribunal building.

Then we see the Louvre! This place it huge! Chris, our tour guide, tells us buses are no longer allowed to drive through the Louvre, so we don’t get to see the Pyramid out front. We stay on this side of the Seine.

The Louvre keeps going…

…and we finally reach the other end! When we come back I want to plan a couple of days to walk through this museum!

We see Thomas Jefferson standing at the bottom of this pedestrian bridge!

We arrive near the Place de la Concorde for our final parking spot. This fun sight is close to our parking spot! It is the Tulips of Jeff Koons!

We begin our free time! We head up the direction of the Paris Hard Rock and keep our eyes open for a cafe for lunch! Grace, one of the other passengers, is brave enough to go with us!

I look up and see a strange sight at the top of a building!

We stumble on the Opera House, Palais Garnier! Gorgeous!

Then I spot the Vendome Column (Colonne Vendome) honoring Napoleon Bonaparte! We are looking at his back from this vantage point. I won’t get around to the front of this monument. This reminds me a lot of the Column of Trajan!

On the back side of the Church of Madeleine (L’Eglise de la Madeleine) is a poster of Mont St Michele! This is a travel advertisement. I’m not sure why this neoclassical polar bear is here! There is also a blue gorilla on one corner, and a red gorilla on the other corner.

We pass by the front of the Grand Palais. This building is incredible! You can see a piece of the glass roof through the doorway. But you can’t see the dome in this view – it’s hidden behind the arches!

On each corner of the Grand Palais is a remarkable sculpture like this! Here you can see the frame of the glass roof in the background.

Across the street is the beautiful facade of the Petit Palais!

We reboard our bus and head up the Champs-Élysées toward the Arc de Triomphe. I am humored at seeing the Air France headquarters here! Mai non? It makes sense!

Finally we approach the Arc de Triomphe! It is a glorious structure, and a huge French flag is hanging in the middle, above the eternal flame. Our bus driver takes us around it twice so everyone has a chance for their photos. Sadly, we still have to contend with window glare.

Having completed the highlights tour, our bus takes us back to the ship. Here’s my gratuitous photo of Insignia as we enter the port area.

We push away, and a tug latches on to us. I get a nice view of the flags in front of the terminal building! I get a tingle every time I think about how much the people in northern France still love the US! This is evident by seeing the US flag flying here!