Today my feet are officially mad at me! Started out a bit early today (caught the 8:15am train) with the Arc de Triomphe with the sun coming up the views were spectacular! I kind of remember Mr. Steves talking about roughly 400 steps to get to the top of the Arc, once again he’s full of it… The windy staircase is more like 1800 steps up and down. Anyway the sky was clear the view of the Eiffel tower was a bit hazy but you could still see everything. Traffic in the roundabout was as crazy as ever, didn’t see any accidents but it was amazing to watch the mass chaos and how effortlessly the Parisians navigated in and out of the circle.

A fairly quick stroll down Champs-Elysees to bypass the high end shopping (not very impressed), a quick stop at Chez McDon! where we only took pictures,  we ended up near the embassy district where I was yelled at by a tiny policeman for taking a picture of the US Embassy… The British were much more accomidating to my photo taking and I couldn’t locate the Canadian Embassy… they were probabbly directing the daily maintenance of the snow making machines (sorry, inside joke with my Quebec brethren.

After a quick cup of cafe and croisant we tackled the Louve. This is where your Museum Pass pays off, there is a seperate entrance and security check point for pass holders. This place is just as crazy as the roundabout Arc de Triomphe… Tons of people, lots & lots of stairs and a 30ft barrier to the Mona Lisa. The building itself is just as amazing as the art on the walls. You could easily spend an entire week at the Louve exploring exhibits and the grounds. The best part about the Louve for me was the Egyptian exhibit, they have a bunch of carcoghagus’ and an actual Mummy. The bandages were way more intricate than I was expecting and SO much better than the King Tut show I saw in Chicago.

Out of all the Museums Museo D’Orsay is the one I enjoyed the best. Once again the building iteself is quite impressive and then there is the art.  I had a conversation with other Americans who had been to the Orsay before and they commented that they much prefer it over the Louve (the complete opposite of my European Co-Workers) and that most Americans seem to appreciate the impressionsists work a bit better than the classical renniasaince… I found this in my case to be very true.

I was having dinner with my wife this night and told her, to date there are 3 things I will never forget from this trip:

1. Realizing you’re in Paris while strolling through the Latin Quarter taking in the ‘essence’ of Paris
2. Van Goh’s Self Portrait
3. This Apricot Tart Fine we were enjoying from one of the Versailles patisserie’s

As ALL of the pastries I enjoyed (Including the 4 I ate during the flight home) were delicious… stairing at Van Goh’s Portrait from only 6 inches away was literally a once in a lifetime exprience.  I Love this work!  The outlines he uses, the curved brush strokes, the BLUES… I Love the Blues!  I will stop confessing my love hence forth and finish describing my day.

Once we finished covering every corner of the Orsay and taking in the Renior’s & Monet’s we deciced to grab more Cafe’ some food and Biere!  There was so much walking today that the best idea we had was to return to Versailles have dinner and get some rest.

Thoughts

1. Do What Ever you have to do and go to Paris! There is honestly no place on earth like it.
2. Map out your tour of the Louve BEFORE you get there.  There is way too much to see/do and not enough time to get most of your list done.
3. Don’t listen to Mr. Steves… if possible make the 2 museums a one day trip.  Have lunch between visiting the Louve & Orsay and if possible go check out the Military Museum.
4. Avoid eating Lunch in the Museum district or any ‘Touristy’ spots… it is very pricey.  Try to bring a picinic lunch or use the day to eat at the myriad of street vendors.