The best way to see Paris is a bicylce tour. Yes, that is real gold atop The Dome Church in Paris.  In fact the people that live in this neighborhood pay a gold tax every year. It was built by King Louis the 14th in 1677-1735.  It is in the area of Les Invalides, a complex of buildings containing museums and monuments all relating to the military history of France as well as a hospital and retiremet home for war veterans.  It is also known for the burial site of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Raleigh and his Dad are doing the King Louis the 14th pose.  In the late 1600’s the most attractive part of a man that he wanted to show off was his calves.  King Louis did 4 hours of ballet every morning and always wore stiletto heels to keep his calf flexed.  That is why he posed in such a way.  He became king when he was 4 and reigned for 72 years.

The Grand Palace is now an event center.  Our tour guide had been to a silent rave there which means every body has head phones and they are jamming to their own tunes.

And saving the best for last. The Eiffel Tower………

While on the tour the guide would stop and tell us a bit about each monument and then asks if we have any questions.  Raleigh raises his hand and asks, “This is bike tour, so can we get back to the biking part of it?”

Lucca, our tour guide.

More on the Eiffel Tower in the next post!