It's our second day here in Paris and it has been absolutely amazing. We decided to go to the Louvre today and it was the thing we have been looking forward to the entire trip. We walked a few blocks and then picked up the metro to get there (trying to save as much energy as possible to walk around the museum). When we hit the main street by our hotel, we saw the outdoor market - and it was huge, selling everything from fresh produce to purses, to fish and meat. We loved it! It was wonderful and as we walked through we picked up some fresh strawberries and pastries for breakfast.
The Louvre was breathtaking - from the moment we first walked in and saw the inverted pyramid to the time we walked out - words cannot describe that place. I've been in some museums in my life - and really enjoy them a lot - but I wasn't ready for this one...holy smokes. Makes me want to check out the Smithsonian and see how they compare...We knew it was going to be huge, but ummmm...let's just say the DaVinci Code movie doesn't do a great job of showing how enormous that place really is. Here is a quick movie to show why we didn't get the chance to see everything today - this entire building is the Louvre Museum.
We took so many pictures it was ridiculous, and there is no way I could possibly post them all. We spent roughly 7+ hours there today and really just took our time and tried to let it wash over us.
Based on a recommendation from a friend, we made reservations for dinner at the Chez Paul restaurant not far from the hotel. The food was amazing and it was definitely the French experience of dinner - sitting outside, watching people go by, enjoying an appetizer recommended by the waitress - good times. We took our time at dinner and enjoyed every bit of it. We were still able to get back to the hotel by 9:45PM or so and then got ready for bed and are crashing...in fact, I'm the chump not sleeping yet. Trying to rap this up quickly.
After 2 days here, it's clear I should have extended the trip to be here longer. We have really enjoyed being here and are feeling more comfortable now that we have been around a little - oh well, guess that's something I'll know for next time. For now, we leave Paris at 1PM tomorrow on the high speed train to Brussels. We stay there tomorrow night and then fly home Tuesday. I told J and Tay it was like the end of summer camp - I'm excited to be going home, but sad to leave at the same time. It will be nice to be home - and I'm sure all of the people watching the house are looking forward to us relieving them. The one thing we have missed the most is our dog - and believe me, we will be picking her up as early as we can.
Ok, it's midnight and we have plans for the morning...time to get some rest.
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