The deserted Paris Tuileries Carnivale at 10pm. Temperature about 80 degreees.
My son and I arrived in Paris Saturday morning at 8 am. My son, proud of the fact he didn't sleep on the plane from Atlanta to Paris, slept our entire first day in the City of Light (or City of Heat this weekend!).
At 8pm, we finally headed out into the city taking the Metro right into the middle of things: Place de la Concorde. As we were inhaling our foot-long Hot Dog au Fromage, we were struck by the lack of people. We wandered into a carnival inside Les Tuileries (think of Waterfront Park during Rose Festival, but with beautifully maintained rides and hosted by well-dressed and groomed attendants) and couldn't believe the rides were completely empty on this beautiful Saturday night in the center of Paris.
And then we saw a TV in a carnival bar surrounded by scores of cheering fans watching the France-Brazil soccer match of the World Cup. So, not only is it vacation month in France, and Parisians with any sense have headed out of town, but folks were holed up at home and, as we discovered later, holed up in every bar and cafe in Paris that has a TV!
Anyway, we headed for Montmartre to get a view of the city from the breezy heights of Sacre Coeur and enjoyed the sights and sounds of an ecstatic Paris, once more savoring a total defeat of the Brazilians at the last moment. Here are some photos taken about 11pm last night.
Fireworks celebration off Montmartre balcony 11pm, steps from Place du Tertre.
Darkened Tour Eiffel lights up again, in twinkles, once France won the match.
Sacre-Coeur glowing last night. There was actually room to walk around. A crescent moon hovered over Paris.
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