Another day, another adventure! First up was breakfast at the hotel and then we headed to the metro to go to the Louvre. Due to the Olympics and heavy security, you had to purchase tickets in advance. We did! Our tickets were for 11AM. and they advised that you arrive 30 minutes before your ticket time. We arrive and the line looked like something at Disney World. We made it through two lines to then wait in another line and go through metal detectors inside the museum. But it was all worth it once we got inside.
(Side story: I wore sandals and the first two lines were in gravel. My feet and shoes were coated in dust. SO here I am in the museum bathroom with my feet in the sink washing them. If you know me REALLY WELL, you know I CANNOT have dirty feet!! The other women in the bathroom were laughing and J was probably outside the bathroom wondering why it was taking me so long. LOL)
Are there any Harriet the Spy fans here? My bathroom experience was straight out of the movie.
Now, with clean feet, I could focus on the beauty of the art inside the Louvre!
Let’s take a moment to appreciate the Mona Lisa!
The Louvre is a maze! Unbeknownst to us, we started at the least busy end of the museum. Sometimes we were the only ones in a massive room of art. So magical! After a few hours of appreciating the art, we decided we needed to see the Mona Lisa and grab some lunch. I asked one of the docents: where is the Mona Lisa? Her response: she’s dead! I looked at Jermaine. She smiled and then gave us directions. Well. I should rephrase that: she gave J directions! There were so many twists and turns, I thought we were going to live in the museum forever. We finally found her and then headed to a cafe for lunch.
The opera singers on the streets and in the metro were amazing!
Of course, I had to get street art. I picked out a painting of two cats under an umbrella. On our first day and on our last day, it rained. Also, the vendor only took euros, so we had to go to an exchange booth.
Molly! The perfect name for a cafe.
Does the building on the right look familiar? Think: Emily in Paris. That is where Emily works- Savoir.
Palais Royal!
If you know me well, you know that I LOVE purses. It has been my thing since I was little. So of course, I had to get a purse from a French designer- Paris specifically. & I brought home my Mom one as well.
Rue Saint-Honore, which is near the Louvre, is known for luxury and high-end shopping.
Of course, we had to bring back Ellie and Ollie a souvenir. The store, Two Tails, was down the street from our hotel. We bought them a mouse and some chicken treats.
Back to the Italian restaurant for dinner! This plate of pasta was 10 euros. At all of the other Italian restaurants we looked at, the same plate was 20+ euros.
At dusk (which isn’t until 10PM in Paris), the Eiffel Tower starts to sparkle for 5 minutes at the beginning of every hour. I wanted to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle right at 10PM. We made it!
After we took in the beauty of the Eiffel Tower, we went to a cute cafe for some dessert. I got tiramisu and J got sorbet. The portions in Paris were perfect. Just enough to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Side note: J likes coffee and we quickly learned that a large coffee in France is a small in the US.
Now, it was time to head back to the hotel, shower, and get some rest. (However, it was so hard to fall asleep at night because we were still on US time!! But we had great conversations, and we listened to the hustle and bustle of the street below us/& the sirens. Paris never sleeps.)
Au revoir,
Molly
Molly Lamar 