Paris: Day 3 pt. 1

Day three in Paris! Oh boy! We just squeaked in for breakfast and then headed out for our adventure. For this trip, we decided to start with the Musee D'Orsay, which we'd heard such wonderful things about. To get there, we needed to take the Metro to the RER and then take the RER to the museum. It sounds much more complicated than it was!



The stop was under the museum, so once we made it to ground level, we could just go around the corner and POOF! The museum!



That would be me heading for the entrance.



There's no photography inside the museum, so we checked our cameras (as to not be tempted). I should have snagged a few pics in the GORGEOUS cafe we ate in. The food was not so great. Actually, I think I had the worst meal of the trip there. It's not the food's fault! I'm sure it was beautifully prepared - it just wasn't a flavor profile I enjoyed AT ALL! I ordered a cold radish soup with shrimp but, the shrimp was RAW! Now, when I get 'raw' shrimp at sushi places, it's cooked! It's just cold...not this dish. The pretty pink cup REEKED of fishy flavor and the cold, slimy shrimp was just gag-inducing. I'm getting gaggy just thinking about it.

The fantastic orange scented pound cake and caramel tea more than made up for the gross soup. Once we finished our "lunch" and exploring the wonders of the museum, we found a place that served sandwiches to sustain us. Once we finished, it was back on the RER to get to Le Tour Eiffel.

"H" bag model shot

Couldn't neglect the 'model shot'. I'm a mess but, I persevere! Thanks to my wide-angle lens!

Big Box Reveal!

Here's the corner






Bouganvilla Evelyne in Epsom

The Paris Schwag

The bags


The little box.





That's right, all the way to Paris for stickies!

The big box:


The ribbon:




Behind the paper lies the goodies!

Paris: Day 2 pt. 3

Off to the main event!



I know I took pictures of "Winged Victory" and the "Venus" but, I can't find them...I'll post those when I scrounge them up!

After this, we were done with the Louvre and I had a major headache! We decided to trudge up the Rue St. Honore for a coffee break.


The prettiest and tastiest iced coffee ever! From Cafe Verlet.

Off we trudge, realizing that Rue St. Honore turns into Faubourg St. Honore! We trekked quite some time and saw such marvelous sights!






Until we reached...

Paris: The Louvre pt. 2 (day 2)

Ah, at last! FOOOOOD! We stumbled into the Richelieu wing and made our way to the cafe, which my Rough Guide said was the best spot to nosh in the museum. They had a sign up that they were closed for another 30 minutes. Oh NO! But, here's the thing... the French? AWESOME! As DH and I started talking about what our options were for a sit down spot with food, a handsome waiter walked over and asked us if we wanted to sit. He asked us, of course, in French and I responded, very politely in my screwed up version of French - basically apologizing for not having a clue. He was all "English?" and we nodded. "Excellent!" he says. "Would you like to sit and eat?". I look puzzled, "Aren't you closed?" I ask. "Yes, but, you can come in now." Have I mentioned that I love the French? LOVE! So, we sit and he hands us menus, explaining that he can't serve us the specials, as they aren't ready but, he can get us sandwiches. Cold ones. Fine, I say. He gets our drinks and we look at the menu. He comes back. "I can do these" and he points to the Croque Monsieur. "Two please" we say. He smiles and whisks away the menus. I love the French.



After lunch, it's off to see Napoleon III's apartments. Beautiful! I snapped about a billion pictures, which I will spare you.






I want this dining room. I really do.



We hit one last part - the famous Grand Salle and the Mona Lisa before we stomped off to go shopping!

Paris: Day 2 pt. 2 - The Louvre

On our first 'real' day in Paris we woke up, and had breakfast in the hotel. Tasty! Lots of bread from a local bakery with jam, and a hot beverage. Perfect way to start the day, hopped up on sugar and carbs! Bliss!

Once we'd eaten we headed out to the Metro to take the 7 up to the Louvre - it's an exit right from the Metro! So easy, why was I worried about the Metro?

We were going on a Thursday, not a typically busy day for that museum, thankfully. The lines to get tickets were very short. We waited maybe 5 whole minutes. The museum is massive and we'd planned on seeing just a few things before our heads would explode.

First up, the Medieval Louvre:







Located in the older Sully wing, and under the museum, you'll find the remnants of the medieval fortress that grew up to become the palace we now think of as the Louvre. It's beautiful to see. The current showcase involves taking some modern touches to re-invigorate that exhibit. In this case, a French artist uses quotes in neon to highlight the old and the new.

In that same wing, you'll find the Egyptian exhibits:





I love the study of ancient Egypt and I was really looking forward to seeing all the stuff in the Louvre. I felt a little disappointed when I finally got there, though. Basically, the place is so large, it gets confusing and overwhelming. We barely managed to floors of the the Egyptian exhibit when I had to bail.

We headed out to the Richelieu wing for lunch and Napoleon (part 2).