First Day Cruise 8-18-15

Our first full day with Jim commenced with a bit of breakfast followed by a fairly early start as we headed out on the subway down to the Seine.  Our line, #5, takes us almost directly south and right to a stop that exits next to where the Canal St. Martin debouches in to the Seine.   From there it was an easy walk across the Pont d'Austerlitz to where we could buy tickets for our favorite batobus, the hop on, hop off boat that plies the Seine from Austerlitz in the east to the Pont de Grenelle in the west.  Of course when we got to where the ticket office was located we found that it had been moved and was now about a 10 minute walk further east along the river, so we trudged over there to buy tickets.  We got on and took the boat all the way along to the Pont de Grenelle which is about a half mile further south from the Eiffel Tower, which used to be the furthest west point so another changed embarkation point.  We got off there and walked across the river to find a brasserie where we decided to have lunch.
It was my first meal of steak tartare since we arrived, I figured that since they offered several varieties of spices and accompanying ingredients that they must sell a fair amount so the meat would be fresher.  It was delicious.  Jim had a salad with a burger and bacon, while Deb had a four cheese quiche which were both pronounced good.
After lunch we walked back to the quai and caught the batobus to the next stop which was the Eiffel Tower.  We walked through the throngs of people over to the Champs de Mars and sat for a while watching the crowds.   Jim is having a bit of a hip issue so going up the tower is off the table.   We got back on the bus and rode over to the stop that gives good access to Notre Dame.
We walked over to the place in front of the cathedral, but the line was absolutely the longest I've ever seen.  It snaked around from the entrance all the way to furthest point out and then curved around for a couple loops like a ski lift line, way to long to consider standing in it.  So we sat and studied the front facade with binoculars and a camera for a while and then caught the bus back to the apartment. The temporary beach along the Seine, Paris Plage, has ended down here and they are gathering up the sand for the season, it will continue up near us to the end of this week.

 A quiet dinner at the apartment and then getting some down time for the evening.