This is looking west along Paris's most treasured and prestigious avenue - the mighty Avenue des Champs-Élysées. Lined with cinemas, theatres, cafés and luxury shops along its western half, and gardens, fountains and several grand buildings along its eastern half, the Champs-Élysées (which translates to "Elysian Fields" in English) is one of the most famous streets in the world, and the second most expensive strip of real estate in Europe (behind London's Bond Street as of last year) with rents as high as €1.1 million annually - ouch! It even has its own website here hehe. At the western end of the 'Champs' is the 50-metre high, 45-metre wide Arc de Triomphe ("Arc of Triumph" or "Triumphal Arc" in English) - one of the most famous monuments in Paris. The Arc honours those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars. I've been to Paris numerous times and have been living here since September, but I've never done the touristy thing of climbing to the top of the Arc. Well, with Kristina's mom in town for the week, today was the day :) So during my lunch hour I headed into the city and we all tackled the 280 steps straight up, emerging in this gallery area.

No idea who this guy is, or his little friend on his head.

No idea whose foot this is either. Construction of the Arc started in 1808, and was completed in 1836.

Few more steps and you're on top of it all.

And these are the views :) Too bad it wasn't a nicer day today, so I've stolen the panorama below. The Arc de Triomphe stands in the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, the meeting point of twelve straight avenues - all of them visible in the panorama below.

View of the Eiffel Tower, constructed 50 years after the completion of the Arc de Triomphe.

The Basilique du Sacré-Cœur (Basilica of the Sacred Heart) atop Montmartre - the highest point of Paris.

This should give you some idea of my daily commute on the bike (except this week - I'm resting the legs for the Paris Marathon on Sunday). The Champs-Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe form part of the Axe Historique (Historic Axis) - a line of monuments, buildings and thoroughfares that extends from the centre of Paris and out to the west. It runs between the Musée du Louvre (Louvre Museum) off in the distance in the centre shot above, and La Grande Arche (The Grand Arch) in La Défense seen in the shot on the right which is where I work just outside of Paris in the west. My 10km cycle route to work is pretty much exactly the Historic Axis, and as you can see there is no shortage of traffic hehe, but I love it! :)

Couple of panoramas I took tonight while out and about with Kristina and her mom. This is somewhere behind Notre Dame...

...and the courtyard of the Louvre. Nice!

I had to go to a running expo today at the Parc des Expositions at Porte de Versailles in south Paris to submit my medical certificate and receive my running bib for the Paris Marathon on Sunday.

There were a few large photos around the place of previous marathons, including this one of the Champs-Élysées where the race starts. Yup, I'll be in there somewhere - among 39,999 other idiots.

The route in a nutshell starts at the top of the Champs Élysées, and heads southeast past Châtelet and Les Halles near my apartment and into Bois de Vincennes on the far-right above. After some fun in there we head back northwest again, and follow the River Seine past the Eiffel Tower and into Bois de Boulogne on the far-left. And just out the other end of that is the conclusion to 42kms of hell.

Along with my bib came a small guide in French but with English translations of everything you need to know about the Paris Marathon as a runner. There's a section in there entitled "Last Advice Before Departure" with a checklist of items to bring. I rather like their English translation of the last item hahaha!

Zero training, zero running in about ten years (a shit load of cycling though so I know my cardiovascular system is up for it) - that's how I roll when I run marathons ;)

Another perfect spring day in the city of romance, and so while I'm still able to walk before running a marathon tomorrow I joined Kristina and her mom to visit this - La Sainte-Chapelle (The Holy Chapel), perched beside the Palais de Justice (Palace of Justice - where justice of the state has been dispensed since medieval times).

No one took any notice of this.

The lower chapel of the Sainte Chapelle (cool ceiling!). Building work started on Sainte Chapelle around 1240 in the time of King Louis IX (if anyone cares), and was completed about a decade later. It was built to house precious relics including Christ's crown of thorns.

The upper chapel, most famous for its awesome stained glass depicting a raft of stories from back in the day.

Summer in Paris - I can't wait! I'll be running along here in the marathon tomorrow, and the weather is forecast to be much the same as today - sunny and 23.

From Sainte Chapelle we wandered round the corner to Notre Dame, where people seemed to be more amazed by the sausage on a leash rather than the amazing cathedral in front of them hehe.

From there I left Kristina and Mom to it, and raided the supermarket for pre- and post-marathon food. Pasta, breads, grain bars, fruit, nuts, and a lot of Powerade! Bring it on! :)