We woke up pretty late Wednesday morning; I guess a combination of exhaustion and jet lag finally set in. Matt once again got us some croissants for breakfast...really, is there anything better than a croissant in the morning? It never fails to get us moving (and by us I mean me...because I'm really the only one with issues waking up. I know that's very surprising to all of you) and ready to face the day.
We began the day by heading out to the Latin Quarter, to visit the Pantheon there and get a bite to eat. I got a picture of the hotel we stayed in last time I was in Paris: it was so charming when we went! But the square was much busier than I remembered, and the building next door to it was under some kind of major construction, so there was stuff everywhere blocking it.
We began the day by heading out to the Latin Quarter, to visit the Pantheon there and get a bite to eat. I got a picture of the hotel we stayed in last time I was in Paris: it was so charming when we went! But the square was much busier than I remembered, and the building next door to it was under some kind of major construction, so there was stuff everywhere blocking it.
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| Hotel du Pantheon |
We also decided to explore the Pantheon. Matt wasn't too keen on the idea but now says it was one of his favorite parts of the trip. It's an amazing building- the sheer size of it takes your breath away. We managed to get yelled at also, because I was leaning too closely to one of the murals on the wall while taking a picture (sorry monsieur, but it's not like I don't know not to touch it or something. Us Americans aren't nearly as stupid as we look), so I was pretty embarrassed about that until we headed down to the Crypt.
The crypt is my favorite part of the Pantheon. It's pretty creepy, it's absolutely huge, and (at the risk of sounding crass) there's a ton of really famous dead people down there. It's an awesome collection of bodies in a really morbid way. It's also freezing down there. Who knew dead people had to be kept so cold? Or maybe it's because (surprise!) the Pantheon has no heating/ac system. Who knows.
After the Pantheon experience, we decided we were very near starving so we headed over to Crepes a GoGo, a restaurant that I've also been to before. Unfortunately, we betrayed our American roots rather fast by being unable to figure out the etiquette for being seated. Do you just sit anywhere? Does it matter? Is inside different from outside? We still haven't learned the answer to this question: however, luckily, we did learn that as long as you walk in and look sort of uncomfortable and confused, someone will come help you. It's a little embarrassing, but not as embarrassing as I would imagine getting yelled at by a french waiter to be if you mess something up (hint: it's probably traumatizing). We both had savory crepes: Mine was called Le Cheverette and came with goat cheese, cream, and honey. Matt
had something involving cheese and bacon, and both of them came with green salad piled high on top. Don't worry though, I was able to pick through it.
I've also been ordering Orangina with every meal, and it's been costing me between 3 and 5EUR every time, a price I consider to be exorbitant for something that is essentially sprite and orange juice mixed together. But I guess that's just France for you. We also have wine with every dinner, and Matt has a beer of some variety with just about everything he eats (except for the croissants, although I think that may just be because even here, drinking anything other than a mimosa before noon is considered...irregular). Also, the beer and some
glasses of wine are cheaper than the aforementioned Orangina. Unbelievable.
So feeling like we had finished the Latin Quarter (though I'm sure we did nothing even near that), we headed over to the Louvre. Now, I was very excited for this part of the trip...but not because of the art. I mean yeah, the Mona Lisa is awesome and stuff, but holy cow it's a Gigantic Castle. This is pretty much my dream museum. I guess I just once again proved that I'm not old enough to appreciate art...somewhat. I mean, I love art. I go to the torpedo factory all the time at home, and I love little museums and stuff like that. But the Louvre...is huge. And there's a ton of art in it. And you couldn't enjoy it all in one day even if you wanted to. There's just far too much of it, and that's really how I feel. There. I said it. Even though that's practically sacrilegious here in France, I find it difficult to appreciate one certain statue when there are 40 more just like it lining a single hall. So sue me.
Well anyway. We forgot to pick up a map in the entrance hall, when we first arrived, and as a result we couldn't find what I wanted to see, which was the Mona Lisa. So, unbelievably, we had no idea where she was. We were literally running up and down the Grand Gallery trying to find her, and we just...couldn't. We couldn't do it at all. We did manage to locate a couple who was clearly looking for the same thing we were, and were clearly willing to ask people for directions...so we let them do the work and followed them around. And finally we found her in some side room (thanks, Louvre), and I have to say, I was pretty impressed. I mean, I hear a lot of people say that they waited in some huge line for hours and they finally got to see her right before the museum closed and she's so small, and what a disappointment, and oh not worth it but it's da Vinci so we have to...but I actually really liked it (there you go Leonardo, I guess you have my approval). Total understatement, but she's beautiful. And the sfumato background is beautiful. And her smile is just as enigmatic as everyone says. And good gosh does she look like Leonardo when you get up close. So, yeah, completely worth the trip (though I didn't stand in line, so I can't speak to that).
What really made the trip to the Louvre worth it to me though were the preserved apartments of Napoleon Bonaparte himself. That sounds really dumb, but to someone wandering the Louvre just trying to imagine what it was like as a castle, and what it was like to live in, it was like finding a gold mine. His apartments defy description. They were beautiful, ornate, luxurious...perfect. The good news is, I found my preferred decorating style. The bad news is, it's probably going to cost us several million to decorate anything like that. Oh well. I guess you can't have everything... Poor Matt was having to help me wipe the drool off my face the whole way through the exhibit. Oh, it was beautiful.
The Louvre was about to close by the time Matt and I got through everything we wanted to see, so we wandered outside and sat by one of the many fountains by the entrance to the Louvre, just sort of taking in everything and enjoying the end of the day. It was quite lovely out, and we managed to find the part of the courtyard where there weren't 500,000 tourists. That view of the Louvre always really brings home for me how big that thing is. It goes off into the distance. It's unreal. I love it.
We went home for a little afterward to relax, and watch some TV. There's always some kind of variation of a game show on, and we have become addicted to Money Drop and the French version of Family Feud. I won't bore you with the details, but they are fabulous.
We were so exhausted from the day that we ate dinner in our room and then went to bed. It wasn't a majorly notable night or anything. I love being able to by alcohol at the grocery stores here though. They don't even bat an eyelash. It's going to be hard to go back to the
states and wait for 2 more years.
Click to read about our adventures on Monday and Tuesday.
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| The Pantheon |
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| Creepy. |
had something involving cheese and bacon, and both of them came with green salad piled high on top. Don't worry though, I was able to pick through it.
I've also been ordering Orangina with every meal, and it's been costing me between 3 and 5EUR every time, a price I consider to be exorbitant for something that is essentially sprite and orange juice mixed together. But I guess that's just France for you. We also have wine with every dinner, and Matt has a beer of some variety with just about everything he eats (except for the croissants, although I think that may just be because even here, drinking anything other than a mimosa before noon is considered...irregular). Also, the beer and some
glasses of wine are cheaper than the aforementioned Orangina. Unbelievable.
So feeling like we had finished the Latin Quarter (though I'm sure we did nothing even near that), we headed over to the Louvre. Now, I was very excited for this part of the trip...but not because of the art. I mean yeah, the Mona Lisa is awesome and stuff, but holy cow it's a Gigantic Castle. This is pretty much my dream museum. I guess I just once again proved that I'm not old enough to appreciate art...somewhat. I mean, I love art. I go to the torpedo factory all the time at home, and I love little museums and stuff like that. But the Louvre...is huge. And there's a ton of art in it. And you couldn't enjoy it all in one day even if you wanted to. There's just far too much of it, and that's really how I feel. There. I said it. Even though that's practically sacrilegious here in France, I find it difficult to appreciate one certain statue when there are 40 more just like it lining a single hall. So sue me.
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| Musee du Louvre |
What really made the trip to the Louvre worth it to me though were the preserved apartments of Napoleon Bonaparte himself. That sounds really dumb, but to someone wandering the Louvre just trying to imagine what it was like as a castle, and what it was like to live in, it was like finding a gold mine. His apartments defy description. They were beautiful, ornate, luxurious...perfect. The good news is, I found my preferred decorating style. The bad news is, it's probably going to cost us several million to decorate anything like that. Oh well. I guess you can't have everything... Poor Matt was having to help me wipe the drool off my face the whole way through the exhibit. Oh, it was beautiful.
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| My dream dining room. |
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| Too beautiful for words. |
We were so exhausted from the day that we ate dinner in our room and then went to bed. It wasn't a majorly notable night or anything. I love being able to by alcohol at the grocery stores here though. They don't even bat an eyelash. It's going to be hard to go back to the
states and wait for 2 more years.
Click to read about our adventures on Monday and Tuesday.
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