Bonjour A Paris!

So, another day in Gay Paris! We are having an amazing time. We think we could live in this city. Today we went to the Louvre. It is like the Grand Canyon - you either have to give it a cursory glance or stay 2 weeks. We chose to spend the morning (we also only gave the Grand Canyon it's minimum of 20 minutes last time we were there - right Trav?!). However, in our morning, we saw the biggies - Mona Lisa, Venus di Milo and
Winged Victory. We also spend some time with many Greek marble statues and with many of the European masters. Also some time with the Ancient Egyptians. I must say that the Winged Victory was my favorite. Others would of course have theirs. To think about the magnitude of when these works of art were created is amazing. Some of them are thousands of years old. They are missing some important body parts, but all in all, not bad for their age!! The crowds around the major pieces were crazy, but as we dove a bit deeper, we were mostly alone. Guess the "Lace Maker" just isn't that big of a draw!! Still wonderous!

Apres ca, we went and bought some little paninis (they are everywhere here and much more apetizing than a Parisean hot dog!) and stood alongside the Seine for our lunch. There isn't a bad meal in Paris! After lunch we tackled Notre Dame. Here again - the enormity is astounding. And again, to think of how they built such a cathedral in the 1200's is mind-boggling. It is truly difficult to imagine how they did that! Flying buttresses, gargoyles, stained glass and all! Wow! What an amazing place. Of course, John felt compelled to whistle the Notre Dame Fight Song - sorry Buckeyes, but somehow it just seemed right at that moment!!

Then, much to Annie's dismay, we hit one more museum (you have to see at least 4 for the museum pass to pay for itself - so 3 today and one tomorrow seems right!!). We went to the Cluny Museum of Midieval Art. The reason I requested that we see that is because they have some tapestries hanging there that were mentioned in our tour of Stirling Castle in Scotland. There are only 2 known sets of tapestries that are about unicorns, one hangs in New York and is being copied for the renovation of Stirling Castle, the other is in the Cluny here in Paris. They are from midieval times and have always remained together as a set of 6 tapestries since then. They were pretty amazing for any time period, but to consider the technology of the time, I just wonder how on earth did they do that?

Ok, then for the best part of the day - we went back to Rue Cler and got some wine, cheese, meats, the best strawberries ever, peaches and bread and went and had a picnic on the lawn of the Eiffel Tower. So, it is a really popular thing to do. There were so many people there - what a fun party it was. We had to run back to Rue Cler twice for another bottle of wine and some pastries for dessert. We sat in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower eating the best meal we could ask for, then as daylight turned to dusk and later dark, the lights came on and what a show! They were so beautiful just as they were, but then the started blinking and dancing. We played and had so much fun we may do it again tomorrow! We met a cute young couple there - he is French-Canadian and she is from New York. They were fun to talk to. Then we went our seperate ways and I came home to blog while the others are sleeping.

It was a wonderful day, full of excitement and amazement. We keep pinching ourselves and each other saying "we are in Paris, can you believe it?" It is a wonderful place. So, more for tomorrow. Peace. Melissa