The water canons that are part of the fountain display are easier to see in the second two photos.  They were not operating when we walked through the gardens.  Here is a lovely black and white video of the fountains, water canons and the underground pumps, dating back to around the 1960s (I think). You will have to polish off your French in order to understand the commentary, although it is not necessary because the video is enjoyable without.

The original plan for the day was to arrive at Trocadero and take in that view of the Eiffel Tower and then walk through the gardens before ascending the tower. The hotel receptionist advised that there were two hour queues at the weekend so the plan was flexed and we went straight to the tower. We did not have to queue but there was a lot more security and multiple checking of bags than I have previously encountered.

The tower was shrouded in mist as we arrived and I suspect that this was part of the reason there was no queue. The misty view led to interesting views and a great atmosphere as the clouds dissipated. As I looked at the view of the Champ de Mars through the mist I noticed two rows of what looked like statues of people. When I went to investigate later, I found that they weren’t people at all and that it was a very interesting artwork project. I will explain more about that in another post.

We then had lunch by the river, it was crepes all round. They were delicious! Then we crossed the bridge and walked through the Trocadero gardens then hopped on the metro and made our way to the Arc de Triumph.

The Paris virgin quite understandably wanted to go up to see the view from the top of the Arc de Triumph and one of the Paris veterans accompanied him. I took everyone else to the Champs Elysees to have coffee and cake watching the world go by whilst we waited for the Arc de Triumph adventurers to join us. One of the party didn’t want to stop at any of the cafes… Then that person ‘claimed’ a loo break emergency which involved going into M&S and a stressful walk rather than a leisurely stroll for both groups

I have to admit I was beginning to lose my cool (especially as there was no emergency really!!)…

Eventually both groups reconnected and we went into the nearest cafe which was more expensive than I would have chosen and they did not serve cake, but they did have a rather nice Belgian Beer which helped to refocus my mood And on the way back to the hotel I purchased a naughty cake to enjoy at my leisure

Our evening meal was good, you saw the desserts in my previous post. After the meal almost everyone wanted to go back to the hotel and it wasn’t even 10pm… Mr C found a very nice cafe bar and the two of us sat outside enjoying the 22c temperature, it was heaven