We Came, We Saw, Our Feet Hurt

Today we finally found all of the rude people in Paris, they are all of the tourists crowded around the Mona Lisa. Each one of them trying to take a blurry shot of their precious child in front of the famous painting. Yes, today was one of those cranky tourists days. Dave and I marched across the city and took in a lot of the must-see sights.

We started late, after sleeping in a little. But it was a good idea, because apparently there were some early-morning thunderstorms. A good reason to stay in bed an extra hour. Then we headed out, grabbed breakfast quickly at a coffee shop and worked our way toward our first stop of the day - Notre Dame.

The cathedral was as beautiful as I remember it. We were impressed with the towering ceilings and stained glass. And I think we both agreed that our favorite part was looking up at the flying buttresses from the small park behind the cathedral.




From there, we walked over to St. Chapelle chapel. The small chapel was a true gem and I'm glad we waited in line to go inside. All of the sides of the building were brightly colored stained glass windows. All of windows met at the ceiling which was painted blue with gold stars. It was enough to just sit on one of the chairs in the chapel and stare up at the colored lights and delicate ceiling.

We had already been dealing with tourists and crowds up until that point, but nothing could prepare us for what we encountered at the next stop, the Louvre. The building, while gorgeous, is large enough to house the population of a small country. It is massive. We walked into the main square with the famous glass pyramid - and we were thankful to have purchased tickets in advance so we didnt have to wait in the long lines. We went in a side door and right into the building.

Slightly overwhelmed, we followed the signs on the wall with the image of the Mona Lisa, winding our way through gorgeous marble hallways filled with Grecian sculptures and Italian paintings. To me, the building itself and the way that the art was displayed was more interesting than the actual art.

Finding the Mona Lisa was easy, just look for the massive crowd and the dozens of flashing cameras (blatantly ignoring the no cameras signs). I got a better view of the painting through other people's viewfinders than by looking at it directly!

We were starting to feel claustrophobic. The entire museum was absolutely packed with tours and people. The only section we were really interested in was the ancient Egyptian artifacts, so we worked our way over there. But the museum is such a maze that it took about 30 mins to find that section and then, when we decided we had enough, it took almost an hour to wind our way out to the exit. Yes, it was the Louvre, and yes it's full of priceless and important artifacts, but we've never been so glad to feel fresh air again!

By this point, it was 3pm and we were tired and hungry. We decided to limp our way to the Paris Opera House and to then visit the famous department store Printemps that is a few blocks behind it. We must have hit the urban city section of Paris. Which, on any other day, would probably be great - but we were tired and hungry and the place was packed with cars and people. We finally found a place to eat lunch and restore our energy. But it was only enough fuel for a quick visit to the department store (which was incredible. If I had energy, fresh legs and a lot of money to spend, I'd have a field day in there!). But Dave and I just looked at each other and we didn't even need to say it outloud: a nap was needed.

We we worked our way on the metro back to our hotel and arrived here around 5:30. Shoes off and in comfy clothes, I decided to write my blog entry now so I didn't need to worry about it tonight. The plan for the rest of the day is, first, a nap...followed by dinner out near our hotel. Then most likely it will be early to bed. First thing tomorrow, Dave will pick up our rental car and we'll start our 8 hours of driving into the alps. But for now, naptime!