As we watched the weather forecast, Sunday was suppose to be cloudy with a chance of rain. We decided that this was a good day to spend indoors at the Louvre. Plus, the Louvre was closed on Monday, so it worked out well.
As predicted, we woke up to clouds but no rain. After walking more than 8 miles each day, we were physically tired. We slept in and then opted to Uber to the Louvre, which was a welcome break to all of the walking, which we also love. Plus, as the worlds largest museum, we knew that we had a lot of walking ahead of us.
We arrived at the Louvre to see the recognizable glass pyramid.
The castle around all around us was breathtaking and it was hard to take it all in.
Keith didn't want any proof that he was carrying the Murse.
(a man carrying a purse, that looked like a man bag.)
Finally, he gave us a sneak peak.
I took a few panoramic photos with my iPhone. It still doesn't do the view justice, but it's an idea.
As we were taking our selfie, we started to notice people taking other selfie type photos with their finger in the top of the pyramid. As easy as this looks, it's not. It was quite hilarious trying to get both of us in the photo. So much fun!
Then we got on the boxes that most people were standing on for their pyramid photo.
Once again, a hilarious attempt to put my finger on this pyramid. It looks so easy, but it took an eternity of twisting and contorting, so it felt like. When I saw the one photo that Keith took, it was awesome!
Inside the pyramid.
This is a skylight like no other.
Here we go, the Museum Entrance
Walking into the worlds largest museum.
Keith's got his glasses on, he's ready for some serious museuming.
So much fun to be in the worlds largest museum. It requires a bit of a skip in your step.
Mona, where are you?!
We're not positive, but we think this is some more of the red rock from Mount Vesuvius that we saw at Versailles. You know, that was so rare? We're not positive, but maybe.
Simply Gorgeous!
Louvre Fun.
Probably the best statue mimic, ever. He's so crazy.
There she is, Ms Mona!
Mona's neighbors are quite large. You can really tell how large these other paintings are when you see the people standing down below.
Hanging with Ms Mona behind me.
We waited in the crowd and got to the front to take a few photos and admire the Mona Lisa.
Hanging with the Mona Lisa
The room that the Mona Lisa is in is expansive. To the far right of this panoramic is the corner of the Mona Lisa.
Moving on, we headed for the Spanish art.
After a few hours in the Louvre, we were getting hungry and found a cute little cafe.
Their carrot cake was like no other.
They had "Just Merlot."
I almost ordered it, just to say we had "Just Merlot."
We ordered our food and headed out to the balcony. A balcony, like no other.
Keith enjoyed a traditional French sandwich; a baguette with ham and cheese.
I enjoyed a traditional quiche lorraine.
I may have also finally treated myself to a warm Chocolate Croissant.
The people watching in Paris was fascinating. Keith paused next to a guy that we had seen in the cafe. He had silver and lavender hair, a billowy flower shirt, a yellow beret and round glasses. He may have just been painting in the Louvre. We found it entertaining. Maybe you had to be there.
Out one of the windows, we could see one of the entrances to the original castle. I asked Keith if we could have an entrance like this on our house. So fun!
We strolled upon the African art.
Without realizing it, we found the Easter Island Stone Head Statue. There was no line and crowd of people. He was just sitting there by himself. We were quite excited since we recognized this statue.
So excited that we took a picture with him.
We also found the original sock monkey.
Hercules was even here. Keith thought that surely this was a statue of him.
Just after we saw Hercules, we found Venus. Venus had quite a crowd that we had to weed through to have a moment with her.
We happened upon the Sphinx.
One of our favorite parts of the Louvre was going to the basement to see some of the mote that was around the original castle. It was fascinating and educational to learn about the evolution of the castle.
Keith stood around a corner with the camera and he thought he was being sneaky. Ah ha... tricks on you!
After many hours in the Louvre, we had our fill of fun. As we left the exit, it was crazy that we ended up in a mall. We didn't take photos, but it was a full on mall in the louvre. It dumped us out here, on the street. Crazy!
After a great afternoon of the Louvre, we decided that we had the energy to check out Notre Dame, which was just across the Seine river.
The area around Notre Dame was much bigger than we had imagined. I thought that it was just a church on an island but in fact, it was an entire community.
Everywhere we went, we saw these deli cases. The were baguettes loaded with meats and cheeses. We also saw a lot of hotdogs. Unlike American hotdogs, Paris hotdogs were a hot dog on a baguette and smothered in cheese (top left of case).
The Notre Dame Cathedral
Just as we arrived, the bells began to ring for the beginning of mass. We really couldn't have timed it any better. The bells rang on and on for at least five minutes.
Once again, the details were amazing and you really had to stop and look at them.
As anticipated, the inside was breathtaking.
Once inside, the organ began to play as mass began.
What a treat to not only get to see Notre Dame but to see the beginning of mass as well.
After our day at the Louvre and tour of Notre Dame, it was too early for dinner but we were ready to relax at a cafe. We found a great place right next to the river and ordered a couple of Vodka Sodas. They are served very different in Paris. They serve a glass with ice and Vodka and the Soda Water is served separately.
Keith's request was to try the pizza in Paris since it's different in every city in Europe. It was a great treat and we decided to make it an early dinner instead of just a snack.
We strolled back to our hotel, busting through our usual 8 miles or more per day. After a cool and cloudy day, we just wanted to snuggle up and enjoy the evening, so we did just that. We put on something comfortable and headed up to the 34th floor of our hotel to enjoy some drinks while we peered out toward the Eiffel Tower. I chose to start with coffee.
I loved it so much that I had a second cup of coffee. I found out later that those cups of coffee were 12 Euros each, which is almost $14. It was nearly as much as the wine. Egads!
At least the coffee came with the cutest and most delicious little pastries.
As a night cap, a lovely glass of wine. At the top of each hour, we discovered that the Eiffel Tower sparkles from top to bottom for five minutes.
Such a pretty ending to an amazing day in Paris.
We have loved each and every day and they have all had their own adventures. We are three days in with one more to go, which we were determined to make a unique adventure of it's own.
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