On Wednesday morning, our suburban chain hotel served us day old baguette and croissants. Mon Dieu! By the time we made our long journey into the city, we only had two hours to tour the Louvre. Most of the groups made their way first to see the Mona Lisa. It's worth the effort, but more to see the massive crowd than to actually see the painting. The rest of the museum is more manageable, and I saw quite a few amazing pieces in the short time wandering around. We went next to the Latin Quarter and everyone was on their own for lunch. Afterwards, we toured Notre Dame and its beautiful stained glass windows, exterior carvings and gargoyles. Our next stop was back to the Eiffel Tower, this time we took the elevator to the second level and got some great views of Paris. Our final activity for the day and with the school group was an evening boat ride down the Seine.
The next morning, the school group got on a bus and headed to the airport. Mara and I went into Paris and found our next hotel, back in the Latin Quarter. After a trip to the laundromat, we visited the Institute du Monde Arab. Its exterior is made up of adjustable metal disks that can be opened or closed depending on how bright the sun is and how much light they want to let in. We walked along the Seine back to our hotel and then met up with our friend Shelly. On our way to dinner, we stopped in at Notre Dame. It was evening, so it was dark in side, making it a very different experience than during the day. For dinner, we found a lovely little restaurant and had a traditional Parisian 3 course meal. Tres bien.
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