Decided to walk to the best Metro line to get us direct to the Louvre, so we grabbed breakfast at a cafe on the way. Well, I had breakfast (a croissant and a cafe au lait). Manaen ordered an early lunch, although it was about 11:30 when we got there. We thought it was some type of beef dip, because it read boeuf au jus. Took what seemed like a LONG time to come out... my coffee and croissant were long gone by the time Manaen's order arrived. We guessed afterwards that maybe they hadn't fully prepped for lunch yet and were scrambling to get it together. Or maybe they were just out in the back, having a smoke. That's more likely. hehe =)

What arrived was an amazingly tender stewed beef on pasta with carrots and the au jus was the pasta sauce. So yummy, he was kind enough to share. Manaen said it was worth the wait.

Off then to the Louvre. We ended up buying tickets at a convenience store right after getting off the Metro at Place du Palais Royal - Musee de Louvre. The station was basically IN the museum, right under the Arc du Carousel. Nice! Avoided any line ups and popped up right under the pyramides.

The Louve was a zoo rather than a museum. Decided to check off the main pieces we wanted to see and scan the rest on the way, only stopping when something caught our eye. Venus de Milo, Mona Lisa etc. Really liked seeing Napoleon the IIIs apartments - this is where he actually lived inside the Louvre. Very gawdy and over the top. Impressive though. Also checked out the Ancient Egypt section - it was interesting to see hieroglyphics (spl) on massive section of stone.

After the Louvre, we walked up rue de Rivoli and ducked into Angelina for tea and their famous chocolat chaud (which is like liquid chocolate, barely any milk!). Manaen ordered a chocolate tart and experienced chocolate overload!! I ate 4 mini macaroons that were delicious.

Then we followed a "Paris Walk" all the way up to Palais Garnier, the old opera house. Walked through Place Vendome, where all the high end jewelry stores have congregated. We admired the gorgeous pieces in the window displays.

Came home to change and refresh before heading out to the jewish sector of the Marais for the falafels I heard so much about on Trip Advisor. Unfortunately, the restaurant was shut! Security screen rolled down and everything. I don't know if they have closed permanently or if they were just on holiday. So we grabbed falafel to go from a window around the corner. We still don't know exactly what a falafel is, even after eating it!! I thought it would have some sort of meat, but instead we received pitas with eggplant, cabbage, cucumber, what they called tzitziki and three little deep fried, veggie fritter like things?

Decided to walk to down to the seine and enjoy the evening. It was getting late and a little cold, but we stopped at a high end restaurant for dessert and wine. (which was all we were willing to pay for there!!) Sat on the patio near an outdoor heater and wound down after a busy day.

After finishing we found the nearest metro station and made our way back to the apartment.

After sleepless nights, Manaen decided he would sleep on the couch cushions on the floor, so at least we wouldn't wake each other up. I felt so bad, but he wanted to do it, so I found a sheet and nice pillows to make it as comfy as possible. We also picked up some earplugs from the nearest pharmacy ( & Manaen learned something - they're called bouchon d'oreile) so we did have a much better sleep last night. When Manaen wasshaving this morning I tried out his make shift bed, and I don't feel bad for him anymore - it was much softer than the mattress and I fell into a deep sleep for an hour while he was getting ready!!

Missing home a bit but at the same time settling into a new city.

Love,

Kate & Manaen