The Louvre must've had 50,000 people in it on the morning we arrived. It is huge, but overwhelming. So, Juston and I headed out to see a few of the high points- Monna Lisa was the first on the list. Now, let me say this. I think she is ordinary, and she was without a doubt the smallest piece in the gallery. But there were multiple guards, and she was behind what was surely triple pained plate glass. And there must've been 250 people snapping photos of her like she was Britney Spears and they were the paparazzo. It was kindof humorous. I am glad I saw her, but I think for the most part, everyone treats her like a rockstar because popular culture tells us she is. I can easily think of a great deal of paintings which left a larger impression on me.
Speaking of larger impressions, we visited Napoleon's Apartments, within the Louvre, next. They were so opulent. It was truly a sight to see. Everything was covered in gold. Just off the grand salon, there was a formal dining room...for 55. It was amazing, and I took lots of pictures & videos to get a good memory. I was glad we got to do this, as we will not have time to get out to Versailles on this trip, and I hear they are similar.
After these highlights, we ran down to the Musee Louvre post office, where we thought our package of Ichocolates would be. Let me say this, Juston might be geekier than ever before after this. There is a chocolatier in Paris that makes boxes of chocolates made to look like an iphone with apps as each piece. They do not ship to the US, so Juston arranged them to deliver us a box. But, we found out they cannot deliver to a residence, so us staying in an apartment rather than a hotel was a challenge.
So, after quite a bit of broken English back & forth with the Musee poste, we concluded 1) We stressed out the french worker quite a bit and 2) we were at the totally wrong poste! So, we headed out, in the pouring rain with no umbrellas, for the correct poste. After getting there, we talked to French person #2 who did not speak English at all, and she said the package was not there, despite it being about an hour after it was guaranteed to arrive. We found out later that the people in that poste are generally known for not really looking for packages, as they really don't seem to care if you get your fancy chocolates or not.
So, after walking about 1/2 mile in the pouring rain, we went back to the Louvre to meet with the family as planned, for 2pm. Well, as soon as we met them, they all went in separate directions again. So, Juston and I began to shop all the stores that lined the Louvre.
We got several souvenirs. I got dad a Paris Apron, for his cooking adventures. I also bought 10 scarves, because the scarves in Paris are beautiful and not very expensive. I am looking forward to sharing a couple of those with our loved ones. Juston, continuing his iphone / geek theme, got a t Shirt that says paris, but the front is shaped like an iphone, and each "app" is a different landmark. We also got this beautiful fluer de lis plaque, for 13 EU, which was the deal of the day.
After our drenching rain experiences, and the shopping, we stopped in a cafe. Well, after deciding that we needed a cheese plate, 2 bottles of wine, and a croque monsieur (hot ham & cheese), we felt a bit better. So, we headed back out in the rain, to conquer the Poste once again. By this point it was about 5pm, so we were actually dealing with a woman who spoke no more English than the first, but she actually looked and found, the package this time! It was a triumph after a lot of bs from the morning!!
So, heading back with our gifts & i chocolates, we ended up in a bakery, where we finally found baguettes and chocolate croissants to take home. Unfortunately, it rained so much on us on the way to the Metro, that I seriously doubt if our baked goods would've lasted. So, of course, we were forced to eat them. :)
Thursday night brought a meeting of Jackie, who is a girl that Juston went to Tulane with in 2001. She studied Fashion Design in Singapore, and now lives in Paris with her boyfriend, who is Parisian. This was a fun interaction, because she is basically a local, and knew some French. So, she met us at our apartment, and then took us to a lovely, relatively expensive, French restaurant. I had lobster macaroni, Juston had Sea Bass. The food was very good, and I think the experience was such that no real tourist would receive such a welcome at a truly French restaurant.
After dinner, Jackie helped us navigate the 4-5 metro changes & stops, and got us to Club Rex. Club Rex is famous in the electronic music scene, and has been the location for many of Juston's favorite DJ's over the years. So, after one more drink & a goodbye to Jackie, Juston and I went to the club for some dancing. Juston enjoyed that so much, and I am glad I went with him. It was tiring, but I know he just loved it.
All in all, our Thursday reminded me of why we travel independent of the group most of the time, as it is hard to navigate touring with a group, especially a group that prefers to operate independent of the rest. It also taught me that rain and cold weather in Paris may sound romantic, but it makes things very hard to navigate. A third thing Thursday taught me is that 2 bottles of wine fixes anything. And the poste worker has restored my faith in the system in France, because I was not leaving France without those damned chocolates. :)
Finally, good friends (or acquaintances) and good wine are good to have, no matter what part of the world you are in!
Here are about 300 pictures from Wednesday in Paris. We took about 200 more at the top of the Eiffel Tower, and will post those separately.
Hoping to get the Wednesday evening & Thursday pics posted tonight, but now its time to get out & enjoy our last day in Paris.
Au Revoir!
Ashley
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