Historic Paris

Today we woke early and were excited for clear skies, though still cold weather. We walked around through our neighborhood and found a nice little cafe for breakfast. We had quiche and tea and coffee. It was very good and a nice little place. We then walked over to the Eiffel Tower and looked at it up close.

We bought our museum passes and then caught the subway to the Notre Dame. We walked around inside and then walked down into the crypt to see original walls and ruins of old buildings from the founding of Paris. It was very similar to the ruins at Pompeii and Ercolano that we saw in Italy, but it was completely underground, right beneath the Notre Dame.

Then we took the subway to the Louvre. It was pretty amazing as well. We saw the Venus de Milo, Winged Victory and the Mona Lisa. The Mona Lisa is a bit strange. It is very small and is in this enormous room as the single item on a large wall. It is behind protective glass. Kind of weird for a small painting, but it is very cool to see in person. We also saw two old sculptures by Michaelangelo that were similar to his "Prisoners" sculptures that are in the Accademia in Florence.

We rode the subway again down to the Arc de Triomphe. It is large and magnificent at the end of the Champs Elysees. It was all lit up at night and had a huge French flag flying in the middle. The arc was actually closed when we were there for a special military ceremony, which we actually saw marching to the arc. They had the entire Champs Elysees closed and an old marching band was leading a parade of old military folks who were carrying old flags. It was cool to see, especially with all the traffic stopped behind.

We walked up and down the Champs Elysees and looked at all the shops and stores. They have just about every high-end store you can think of, as well as many car dealerships. The car dealerships are inside the buildings; it is quite odd.

After the military ceremony, we walked underground to the Arc de Triomphe and looked around at it. We saw the large French flag and an eternal flame that was lit, surrounded by bouquets of flowers.

We then took the subway home and found a nice take-away restaurant to get some late dinner before bed. We watched Marseille versus Monaco on TV. It is nice because since there is no English-speaking TV, if we decide to watch TV, then we watch soccer.

Tomorrow we have more sightseeing with the Musee d'Orsay, Eiffel Tower and others. It will be our last full day in Europe which is a little bittersweet. We have loved our time here in Italy and France, and would like for it to continue. But at the same time we are quite worn out and are missing our families and friends (and of course, Bruno). So while we are sad to have our time ending on this side of the pond, we are, in a way, ready to be baak home and share our experiences with everyone.

'Til then, au revoir!