Day 1 in Paris

Today we started our whirlwind tour of Paris. I really believe traveling slowly and allowing for unplanned experiences is good, but I'm only in Paris for two days, so we're doing the highlights, tourist-style. Today we hit the Conciergerie, the Archeological Crypt Museum, Notre-Dame, Sainte-Chapelle, the Latin Quarter, the Louvre, Jardin des Tuileries, the Trocadero, and... hmmm... what am I missing... oh yeah, the Eiffel Tower.

Person:

While waiting in line to visit Sainte-Chapelle, we talked to an American couple taking their sixteenth trip to Paris. They were renting an apartment in the same neighborhood has our hotel (Rue Cler) and were there with their kids and grandkids. They were a lot of fun to talk to, and their love of the city was infectious. The wife and I identified as we were both mass photo takers (I'm up to several thousand for this trip), while her husband and Laurie rolled their eyes together. We saw them again later on walking past a cafe we were sitting in. Small city!

Place:

Well, this was a tough one, but I've got to go with the Louvre. I've been to tons of museums on this trip, and this one was truely amazing. It used to be the French royal palace, which housed the personal art collections of the king of France. The French revolutionaries opened its doors to the public in 1793, creating Europe's first public museum. People tell you that it's huge and it's a maze, but you have no idea until you actually get in there. You can walk for hours and never hit the same room twice. I had a map and a great guide book and promptly got completely lost. Luckily, they also have the absolute best audio guide I've ever used (and now I'm a connoisseur), which we bought after about a half hour of trying to do it on our own. We hit all the biggies. The Mona Lisa was underwhelming as everyone said it would be, but the Venus de Milo and Winged Victory both blew me away.Throngs of Mona Lisa adorers (you can just pick her out on the far wall).Venus de Milo from one of her more modest angles.Winged Victory.

Food:

We ate at a great restaurant next to our hotel called Le Bosquet. For a starter I had poached eggs in a basilic creme sauce. This was decadent French cuisine at its best, and I returned my dish to the kitchen already clean.