C'est notre dernière nuit à Paris

We've had perhaps our most fun day yet. We made it to the Louvre just as it was opening, and went in without any line. We went straight to the Mona Lisa, checked that off, and then went straight to the Venus da Milo. Tom really loved the museum and knew way more about certain art than I did, and way more than I would have expected. He is also a European Street Crossing Savant. I have yet to figure out when to cross the street safely anywhere, Tom has performed better than a local in every city within an hour.

We spent more than 3 hours in the Louvre, and could have easily spent 3 days. We went in at 9:30am (the opening) and by 11am it was packed, but it was not really crowded except at certain spots, because it is so huge. We wandered through along with the other million people, barely noticing the art, or the building itself because we are all looking at maps trying to figure out where we are in the Museum.

They have a DaVinci Code Audio Tour of the Museum, we used the regular audio tour, but Tom pointed out the significant DaVinci Code items to me as we went.

After the Louvre, we headed towards the Paris Opera House, and stopped for lunch along the way. No we did not have Italian, we went to a famous Hemingway/Fitzgerald hangout- Harry's American Bar. They serve the best, most expensive and perhaps only Hot Dogs in Paris. The bar is decorated in American College Pennants, Alabama and Providence are both represented prominently- Sorry, No Monmouth or Rutgers.

The Paris Opera House was closed today for a a special event, so that was a bummer, (for me, when I read closed for the day, Tom read "Early Nap"). So in addition to not seeing the Phantom, we also haven't seen the Hunchback, Tom says he is either too busy ringing the bell, or only meets people on the VIP tour. Instead of the early nap, we wandered through the city and went past the American Embassy (#41 Rue St. Honorie), the French President's House, and several art/antique houses. Tom's trick for finding directions is to remember three Tabacs (diners) by name in a row, and then try to follow them back. It works surprisingly well, and better than me being "munsoned" on every corner.

We tried to get reservations for our train tomorrow, but the line was longer than any airport line I've ever seen. So the plan for tomorrow is to go to the station, and take the best available option without waiting in a huge line. We think the best option will be going to Brussels in the morning, and then going to Germany the following day, on our way to Amsterdam.

We went to dinner (Italian) on the Champs Elysee and then went shopping for Ice Cream and Twix bars at the MetroPrix(K-Mart) across from our hotel. After tiring of Der Prince Von Bel Air, Tom is now becoming a financial wizard, because CNBC is the only English Channel in the Hotel, we spent much of the day discussing various business, finance and economic concepts.

Thanks for all your comments,

Bonsoir !