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Sunday
Its a misty morning, almost muggy.
We woke up before dawn (still fighting jetlag) and found the quintessential neighborhood bakery...Boulanger Eric Kayser. With the changing times and sky high rent, Paris neighborhood bakeries are disappearing. It saddens me that even here, some institutions no longer have a place. We sat at one of the sidewalk tables, watching people go about their morning business while we enjoyed our pain aux raisin and croissant amandes.
We're getting the hang of the Paris metro and they're on time every time! We took the train to the Louvre. The line had weaved its way through the outdoor corridors and was more than 2 hours long! Found out that it was a free day. This is where investing in a Paris museum pass saved us. We had our own priority gate and it took us less than a minute to walk through! Thank goodness.
This place can bring a person to tears. Each room is more stunning than the last...and just as warm and stuffy from all the bodies in it. I was surprised that they had such a large collection from the Sumer civilization. It boggles my mind the wealth of creativity and sophistication each civilization had after them. I wonder what will be our legacy?Such continual great work housed in one place that it can be overwhelming and tiring.
Im sorry to say this but I think that the Mona Lisa is overhyped. The amount of people I had to get past and see it was ridiculous. Maybe I would have had a different experience if I quietly came upon it and looked at it from different angles.
We decided we were done and found a cafe to serve us overpriced cappuccino and inexpensive beer. Upon leaving and almost entering the metro, I saw a huge towering building at the end of the street and said "oooh! What is that?!"
This place definitely piqued my interest.
This IS the Royal Opera house. The ceiling is painted by Chagall! They have a living history museum of their costumes, some made by famous designers like Yves St. Laurent and Jean Paul Gaultier. We watched a street violinist (sigh) from the terrace and just took it in.
We chose to eat at a cafe that was a block away from us at the Place de la Sorbonne, a little square right in front of the main entrance. Jamie had something that he wasn't happy with, therefore, I don't remember. But I had the steak & frites with bernaise sauce with a glass of wine. Oh my goodness. I was a happy camper!
We're actually quite close to Notre Dame. So after dinner, we took a walk towards the church and walked along the Seine. It was a full moon with Notre Dame as its luminous centerpiece. Another moment that could bring a person to tears. We laughed and joked along the river of urine. Really...the Seine reeks of urine. The secret is to breathe through your nose and not your mouth. We saw Paris' young people drinking, laughing, and playing music along its dark, dimly lit walkways. However, we were safe and didn't ever feel that illicit things would come our way. This is what a city looks like when its people take ownership of it.
We didn't want it to end just yet so Jamie found a boat on a bar and we went aboard. We had late night drinks and watched the last of the Seine river cruises pass by.
On our way back to the hotel, we had walked thru the touristy part of the Latin Quarter and couldn't resist the lure of a falafel and nutella crepe. Damn!
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