Paris - July 7, 2016

WE've been going non-stop since we left the States, so today was a bit of a rest day.  We slept in until 9:30, which would be unheard of at home with the dogs around.  Then we planned a walking route to the storefront where we were to pick up our Paris Passes, which was a little less than 5km away.  Our route took us past the Gran Palais, the Petit Palais, and onto the Champs Elysees, where could see the Arc de Triomphe further up the road.  We made a right and could see a large ferris wheel, we think set up for Bastille Day next week as there were other carnival-style rides set up as well as we got closer. Past the Jardin des Tulieres and into the Place de la Concorde, we passed the Obelisk Luxour, which used to stand at the entrance to the temple of Luxor in Egypt, and under the ferris wheel, headed toward the Louvre and its iconic glass pyramid.  We wound through the streets a while longer to get to the Paris Pass office and then altered the route back so we strolled down the Boulevard de la Madeleine and the Rue Royale.  Then is was back to our Paris flat (through Airbnb) to map out the rest of our time here and try to fit in all that we want to see.  This evening we went in a different direction to find a place for dinner and found a number of small bakeries and patisseries to try later.  LOTS of French soccer fans parading through the streets on their way to the Euro Championships Fan Zone near the Eiffel Tower on the Champ du Mars.  They were quite loud and expressive, very excited for the semifinal match against Germany.  We settled on a little sidewalk table at a cafe just a few blocks from out flat, and I had by  my first food adventure fail.  Margo was safe with ordering a Croque Madame, an open faced egg, ham, and cheese sandwich.  But I tried to order something more daring, and I thought andouillette sausage would be something similar to the Andouille we get at home sometimes.  Wrong!  It was a chitterling sausage, filled with chopped pig and cow intestines.  I could tell as soon as I cut into it that I wasn't going to like it - the smell itself was off-putting.  But I tried a bite and forced it down, but that was as far as I got - Margo handed me some bread to keep me from thinking about it too much.  I finished my salad and fries and not wanting to offend the French server, Margo wrapped the sausage in our napkins and hid it in her bag for me until we could find a trash can!  Lesson learned.  As I type, France has gone up 1-0 on a penalty kick after Germany drew their third yellow card of the match - we can hear the fans on the street below celebrating as they watch at a cafe down the block!  Tomorrow we will meet my dad and stepmom when they arrive at Gare de Lyon train station, coming from Basel, Switzerland, and then the sightseeing will begin in earnest.