Day 15 – Paris

We didn’t set any alarms last night since we were tired from the long day we had & just wanted to wake up when we were ready. We got up around 8:30 & just got ready and set off for the Metro planning on picking up breakfast along the way. We stopped in at a bakery type place that we spotted when we first walked up the route to our hotel the other day. They had some things that looked just like Chinese onion pancakes so we tried one of them labeled as Poulet which we figured out when we ate it was chicken. We got one of the pancake looking things as well as something that looked a bit like an empanada. That ended up filled with beef (?) & some vegetables. Both were excellent.

We ate as we walked & got some cappuccinos to go from a bar near the Metro which they gave us in small plastic water cups. I don’t think they are used to “to go” orders. We then boarded the Metro and set off to hit the Louvre. Once at the Metro stop for the Louvre we found ourselves in a shopping mall which then led us to the security/bag check for the museum. We found some self-pay ticket machines and we bought tickets which were 12 Euros a pop and then started our journey into the museums huge collection of goodies. Last time I was here I remembered entering through the Pyramid which we found out later was still a valid way to enter. Apparently there are a few different entrances.

We started off by making a beeline for the Mona Lisa to get that out of the way and she was pretty easy to find. There are signs everywhere letting you know how to find here. Once in the room it was obvious where she hung since there was a mob in front of the painting. People would fight to get to the front & have their picture taken with it & then leave. Very few people actually looked at the painting. I pushed to the front & snapped a few pics & then looked at it for a bit and still don’t know what all of the fuss is about. I thing it’s decent but not great. With that out of the way we wandered about and checked out more of what the museum had to see. We spent the most time in the Greek & Mesopotamia sections since those seemed the most interesting. It was good seeing the Venus de Milo again. The crowds were huge but thanks to the self-serve ticket machines and the museums enormous size the crowds weren’t too overwhelming.

Crowds at the Mona Lisa

Joyce has arms, Venus does not

Joyce & a pyramid

We snacked about 12:30 in the museum and then left likely around 3:00. We went from the museum out to the park that goes from the Louvre to the Place de Concorde where Joyce picked up a crepe with powdered sugar that was pretty tasty. From there we wandered down the Champs Elysses where, right at the beginning of the commercial part of the Avenue i started smelling something “fierce”. Something familiar. And then Joyce spotted it. The Abercrombie & Fitch sign. Figures that they’d have a store here. It was one of their larger stores & was similar to the Hollywood & New York stores. The front of the building was plain and you walked along a gravel tree-lined path to get to the entrance on the side of the building. They pumped more “fierce” smells along the path so you knew you were coming up to something big. Once inside you were assaulted with a more Euro version of their pumped up shopping soundtrack. I was about to take a picture when I was stopped by one of the employees & told that picture were forbidden. When I asked if we were in a museum she looked confused and told me that no, it was a store. We did a quick lap so that Joyce could check it out & then left. On the way out Joyce spotted one of the male models at the door shirtless and got her picture taken with him. Looks like I may need to hit the gym harder now so I can compete.

<img class=”” style=”” title=”Jardin des Tuileries” src=”../Documents/6C240D5B-F970-43D6-8B05-4470023688F1.JPG” alt=”” width=”1024″ height=”682″ data-json=”” data-mce-src=”../Documents/6C240D5B-F970-43D6-8B05-4470023688F1.JPG” data-mce-style=””> Jardin des Tuileries

Once back out on the less “fierce” streets of the rest of the Champs Elysses we took in the sights & watched the Arc d’Triumph get closer & closer. We spotted the McDonalds & had to go in & get something because I still think it’s funny that there is one on such a plush street. One we ate there we walked through the tunnel that takes you to the Arc d’Triumph. We got of the tunnel and into the middle of the traffic circle where the monument sits and noticed that part of the area was blocked off  there were people arriving that were let in by the guards. It turns out that there was a ceremony on site that day and some of the areas that were typically open were closed. Also closed was the ticket booth to get tickets to climb up the monument. We watched a bit of the ceremony and the decided to take off.

Joyce and I post McD’s

Eternal Flame

We sat in the tunnel and plotted or next move and decided on taking in the Latin Quarter which is near Notre Dame. We took the Metro to Notre Dame & when we got there we found out that we missed visiting hours by 20 minutes. Bummer! We’ll go back again to see it before we leave. We walked all along the outside and studied the architecture of the cathedral. I love it & never get tired of looking at it. From there we walked through the park near it over to the bridge with the thousands of locks attached to the railing & walked through some of the Latin Quarter. Joyce picked up some fruit at a small grocery & I picked up a cherry tart at a baker. Then we decided to have dinner there & picked a place that smelled good & was reasonably priced. Most places in this section had dinners for 40 Euros or so per person which is a bit much for us. Dinner was great. Joyce got an omelette & I went with quiche which isn’t very manly but neither am I so I was ok with it. We also split 50 cl of red wine which was decent. After dinner we walked off to find a Metro & took a small detour down from one bridge to the path that runs along the Seine. We walked that to the next bridge. On the way were passed by a man who was walking quickly and, seemingly, with a purpose. As we approached the next bridge where we planned to climb the stairs I saw him go under the bridge and just as he did he pulled some type of instrument from his pocket and played the shit out of it complete with wildly over exaggerated body movements. He must like the acoustics under that bridge.

Notre Dame

Joyce on the lock bridge

Once up the stairs from the river path we found a Metro station nearby and caught the subway back to the hotel. Tomorrow we need to get up at 5:00 to catch the train to Brussels so it looks like under 5 hours of sleep for us. It will be worth it once I get the first waffle in me.

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