The Big Trip, Part 8

The Big Trip, Part 8

Today, we purchased baguettes and butter for breakfast. Wow; I could eat fresh French baguettes and butter for the rest of my life and die happy.

We spent a large portion of the day in the Louvre, and saw every room except one before it closed.  We spent most of our time marvelling at the marble and bronze sculptures as well as the historic treasures:

Afterward, we visited Notre Dame and explored its inside and outside.

We walked back to our room with the plan of heading back out after supper, but we were just too tired, and went to bed after eating.

The next morning, we woke up late (the advantage of not travelling!) and ate fresh croissants for breakfast. We toured around the city on the Metro and saw the site of the Bastille, Victor Hugo’s house, St. Chapelle, the banks of the Seine, and then went to Musée D’Orsay, which houses many of the impressionist masters’ works, such as Renoir, Money, Manet, Pisarro, etc. It was really neat to see the originals of some of those famous paintings.

We headed back and I did some sink-laundry. Ah, the joys of backpacking across Europe.

Staying in a church building certainly has its advantages. However, there are a few things that we needed to get used to. Almost every night that we stayed there, there was a group using the building. Some were rather friendly, so when one nice guy introduced himself to Ruth-Anne, she tried to shake his hand, but for those who know, most Europeans don’t shake hands; they do the cheek-kiss. So that surprised her a bit. I wish I was there to see her go beet red!

After an early supper, we went out to see the Eiffel Tower. We climbed its stairs (cheaper than the elevator and quicker than waiting in line for it) and watched the sun set over Paris.

Very nice.

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