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After ticking off a few of the big sites yesterday we decided to head to the other most popular attraction first up, the Louvre. Because of the crowds at the tower we decided to get there early. Once again us being us didn't arrive until 9.30am but there were no crowds so it was fine. After photos of the famous glass pyramids, just to show we were there, we headed inside. Of course we knew the crowds would build quickly so there was only one piece of art to head to first. We navigated the labyrinth of this beautiful building and made it to the room. Unbelievably there wasn't many people there. Not big but still beautiful in all her glory hung the Mona Lisa, probably the most famous piece in the world. It was almost surreal being so close to her. We took plenty of pics before heading off to see the other famous pieces. Over the next 2.5 hours we saw The Winged Victory of Samothrace, Venus de Milo, Psyche & Cupid, Horses Of Marley & Michelangelo's Dying Slave. We finished with Napoleon 3rd's apartments which were pretty spectacular. In fact the whole place was spectacular and it would take a long time to see everything, if you ever could. So we left content enough with what we had seen and headed back out to the fresh air. The sun was shining & our feet were sore so we sat on the fountains and soothed our feet in the waters which was much needed. We stayed that way for 30 mins before deciding to trek on to our next site. There was a tour of the opera house that we could catch so did the Metro thing and made our way there. It was a guided tour but they were closing the auditorium before our tour started so they told us to go have a look. We basically saw the whole lot in 20 minutes so couldn't have been bothered getting guided around. We headed back out & found an old Australian couple to give our tickets to. Then it was on to see an hour film about the history of Paris. We both struggled to keep our eyes open, not because it was boring but because we are both so exhausted. We did see it to the end so we exited back into sunshine and oxygen to wake ourselves up. It was 3pm and we knew we wanted to get one more site in. We decided on something I had wanted to do for ages, the Paris Catacombs. Beneath the city are limestone quarries where in the 1700's they removed all the remains from all Paris' cemeteries and placed them in the catacombs. There is estimated to be the remains of about 6 million people. It takes about 1km of trudging through tunnels before getting to the remains. But eventually, I see dead people. It is an amazing thing to see these bones piled on top of each other in tunnel after tunnel. To think that these were all living breathing humans. By the end we were glad to be out and heading back into the land of the living. We wanted to do something a bit more upbeat now after that macabre experience so we found a supermarket, grabbed some food & headed for a picnic. We boarded a packed metro but found a spot near the centre pole. At the next stop quite a few people got off & two rough looking guys got on. One came and sort of wedged his way in between Jac & I making sure his arm was just below mine. It seemed odd and I had a fair idea what they were doing as it was a weird way of doing it, something just seemed wrong. Sure enough I was just quick enough to notice his mates hand going in my pocket for my iPhone. Thankfully I was quick enough. I told Jac just as they moved onto a woman behind me. One guy had his hand in her purse but Jac managed to tap her hand and she realized what was going on. It's the first time we have been targeted & something I'm always careful of, but they can be so quick. Anyway no harm & lesson learned so will make sure it's all tucked away in my backpack. Wasn't sure wether to make a fuss but prob not worth getting stabbed in Paris, still too much to see. After that experience we exited the metro & found a perfect spot on the banks of the Seine, with Notre Dame towering over us on the other bank. One of the more amazing places we have ever had a picnic. Then it was on a train to see more views over Paris at Montparnasse Tower from the 56th floor. We're tired and we've been up nearly every large tower in Paris so we didn't stay long. We headed back home for an earlyish night before heading to Versailles tomorrow. Once again another amazing day in beautiful Paris.
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