Art and wine

The line at the Louvre was supposed to be 3 hours but it was only 2 thank goodness. We had picked up lunch on the way so we were fine. The baguettes in Paris are simple and amazing. Jeremy had just ham and bread and said it was so good. I've been trying to eat less meat and more veggies so I was doing tomato and cheese or tuna or whatever and it was all amazing. We had at least a baguette a day while we were there. They're cheap too- only like €3-4. 

The Louvre is massive, so we decided to pick 6-8 things we wanted to see as go straight to them, soaking things up on the way. Here are some highlights. 

Going down the escalator to the entrance, this is the ceiling- I. M. Pei's famous pyramid. 

We started with Napoleon III's apartments. Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, nephew of the other one, ruled France for 20 years and lived and worked in this building. Some of the rooms have been kept as close to the originals (1850s-70s) as possible. 

Hallway

Grand salon

Dining room. 

Then we wandered for a bit. 

Crown Jewels of France. 

I liked the sculptures. Need some art like this in my house...

The famous Venus de Milo, ~100 bc. 

Naturally. Really had to fight the crowd to get this. Don't believe me? Google it. 

Michelangelo's slave. 

Da Vinci's Saint Jean-Baptiste, as seen in Dan Brown :)

Chopin by Delacroix. I had so many piano books with this on the cover!

We visited the Apollo room and headed out after about 3.5 hours. So much to see!!!

After the Louvre we were tired, hungry, and so thirsty (water was €3.50 inside). So we walked home, filled up our water bottles, and hit the grocery store for some easy dinner. We ate at the hostel- not glamorous but so nice with the windows open and the Paris evening breeze coming through. 

We decided to try to go see the Eiffel Tower at night, so we set out for the metro (it would have been at least a 45 minute walk). We paid for a metro ticket, got half way there at a train switch, and realized the other line we needed was down. We were sad to turn around but it was better than possibly getting lost in this huge city or having to pay a LOT to get a cab if the metro closed while we were out (everything about times and such was in French!). So we called it a night. 

Our last day in Paris we decided to get up early and go to Versailles, the famous palace outside of the city. We knew it was the same broken line so we took a different way that would have been successful. However, at the metro station there was a hoard of people talking about Versailles, the tickets to get there were twice as expensive as regular metro tickets, and we were going to be spending €15 each to get in. We stepped aside and talked and immediately agreed- screw this. We'll do it whenever we each get back to Paris. There is so much more we could do and see with that time and money that would be way less crowded.

So we turned around! This time it was a very happy thing. We now had a whole day to hang out in Paris and see/do whatever we wanted. I know, I know Versailles is great. But we are both coming back to Paris at some point. So no worries. 

So insteadddd, we went inside Notre Dame (free, and gorgeous)!!!

There was a mass just starting when we walked in so it was all quiet and lit up with candles and smelled good. It was awesome. 

And then I wanted to see the Paris opera house really bad, which I thought I would have to miss, but I got to go! Jeremy didn't care so he just waited outside but I got to go walk around it for like an hour and got a reduced under 25 (from any country!) rate of only €6. 

In case you didn't know, this is where The Phantom of the Opera takes place, but more importantly has housed the Paris National Opera for like... A long time. 

The auditorium itself. 

The famous staircase. 

Above the steps. 

Main entrance. 

Statues around staircase

And then there are like... Twelve gorgeous rooms and foyers and a huge balcony. 

It really was just superb. 

After that we found a Starbucks and some lunch (baguettes, of course) and got some wifi for a bit. 

We had heard about a park called Parc de Belleville that "isn't touristy and has the most amazing view of Paris". Translation- bad part of town, but yea. Can't argue with the second part. 

I had a peaceful moment here watching the kids play in the fountain and the gardener care for the gorgeous beds. 

And then we headed back to the hostel. We decided we HAD to eat at least one meal at a cafe so we got calamari and soupe oignon...

So good. 

We then, of course, got wine and soaked up the Paris evening outside Notre Dame. 

Did I mention I showered? Yea that's why I don't look a mess. 

So that was our last night in Paris! We finished the wine (again amazing but red this time), got some Ben and Jerry's (I had a craving but no, they didn't have Phish Food), and headed back early to leave at 5 this morning for Amsterdam. 

More on that later. I'm hungry!

<3