We left Lisieux this morning around 10:30 am after another pain au chocolat breakfast at a cafe. We arrived in Paris just after noon under a light drizzle and grabbed some sandwiches of grilled meat with fries at a Turkish sandwich shop. We ate these standing up in the hall of the St. Lazare train station. While we were there we finally saw our first American Veteran GI. 
He had on a maroon beret and a uniform loaded with medals, including an Airborne badge. We were so lucky to get to speak to him! Turns out his name is Bill Coleman Jr. and he is from Orlando, FL. He parachuted into Normandy the day before D-Day and he was in Paris to receive the Medal of the Legion d'Honneur from France's President Sarkozy. He got the medal yesterday at Les Invalides (the Military School and the place where Napoleon is buried). They gave him and his buddies a gun salute, a military parade and the President of France pinned the award on him personally. This man is 89 years old and he looked like he was a very fit 70. We got to see the pin he was awarded and we got to hear his personal story first-hand.
After we got settled at our hotel, we made a bee-line for the Eiffel Tower. Everyone went up except Madame and Jessie, who hung out together at the base waiting for the others (in the rain and cold!) We met some nice people from Chiapas Mexico and Madame got to use Jessie as a translator for Spanish! Then we walked up to the Esplanade for Human Rights at the Palais de Chaillot and got some great pictures of the Eiffel Tower. We took the Metro over to the Arc de Triomphe just in time to see a full military parade there, related to the Battle of Normandy.
We walked down the Champs-Elysees under a steady rain and then took the Metro to the Place de la Concorde, which we visited under a torrential downpour. That's okay, because the obelisk and the hieroglyphs are impressive in any weather.
Completely exhausted, we returned to our hotel, had a quick, warm dinner, and settled in to rest and relax.
He had on a maroon beret and a uniform loaded with medals, including an Airborne badge. We were so lucky to get to speak to him! Turns out his name is Bill Coleman Jr. and he is from Orlando, FL. He parachuted into Normandy the day before D-Day and he was in Paris to receive the Medal of the Legion d'Honneur from France's President Sarkozy. He got the medal yesterday at Les Invalides (the Military School and the place where Napoleon is buried). They gave him and his buddies a gun salute, a military parade and the President of France pinned the award on him personally. This man is 89 years old and he looked like he was a very fit 70. We got to see the pin he was awarded and we got to hear his personal story first-hand.After we got settled at our hotel, we made a bee-line for the Eiffel Tower. Everyone went up except Madame and Jessie, who hung out together at the base waiting for the others (in the rain and cold!) We met some nice people from Chiapas Mexico and Madame got to use Jessie as a translator for Spanish! Then we walked up to the Esplanade for Human Rights at the Palais de Chaillot and got some great pictures of the Eiffel Tower. We took the Metro over to the Arc de Triomphe just in time to see a full military parade there, related to the Battle of Normandy.
We walked down the Champs-Elysees under a steady rain and then took the Metro to the Place de la Concorde, which we visited under a torrential downpour. That's okay, because the obelisk and the hieroglyphs are impressive in any weather.Completely exhausted, we returned to our hotel, had a quick, warm dinner, and settled in to rest and relax.
