"You won't find nightlife in a book, Dave" or Paris Journal Day 2
Today we began to walk Paris. After breakfast at a bakery called Paul, which turned out to be a chain, we bought dix billets pour la Metro and traveled to the Louvre. We invested lots of euros in a 4-day museum pass. Lacking much direction in the Louvre, we opted to follow the "Top 10" from one of our guidebooks. We got 9 out of 10- Venus de Milo, Mona Lisa, the glass pyramid, the horses of Marley, Winged Victory of Samonthrace, Michelangelo's Slaves, the Medieval moats, The Lacemaker, Cupid and Psyche, and added a few along the way including Napoleon's apartments and the Dutch painters including Rembrandt. The cour de Marley was light and we spent quite a bit of time there soaking it in. The Louvre may be huge, but our abbreviated tour powered us through in about 2 hours. We ate lunch at a food court- I opted for jambon et fromage; tomorrow we're going to try to go to the supermarche.

After lunch, we walked through the gardens and strolled the Champs-Elysees. Lauren had us on a scavenger hunt, so we filled a lot of time searching for items- some easy like a beret or bridges and some much more difficult or specific like a well-dressed French child or the cast of the Statue of Liberty. We have all week to complete 75%, but the days will go fast. We climbed the Arc de Triomphe stairs and gawked at the wonderful unending views of Paris. The traffic in the circle was as captivating as the sights. Next we headed to the Eiffel Tower with a few stops along the way, like for our first crepes- delicious. The tower lit up and sparkled as we stood beneath it and snapped picture after picture. We walked more and finally found a place for dinner. It was just ok, we may have received what we paid for... We walked past Les Invalides and then to the Metro home. In bed by 10:30 and off to do it again tomorrow.

Oh yes, today I used more of my French, however little it may be and felt the awkwardness of my attempts. Never much of a speaker, I'm truly out of it now, but picking up a few words here and there.