Breakfast began at 6:30 AM so we were practically the first ones there. We were so early that I managed to go for seconds.
We left for our morning excursion around 8 AM. Today, we had a local tour guide. We drove by several sights: the Orsay Museum (museum of famous Impressionists' masterpieces), the Louvre, palaces, and monuments while cruising along the Seine River again.
Unfortunately, we sat in front of an extremely talkative lady. I consider myself a relatively easy-going person, but this lady was getting on both Hubby and my nerves. Hubby was actually good about not making any snide remarks, but I heard him sigh really loud. When we got off the bus, I couldn't resist saying quietly to him, "How about a cup of shut the h--- up!" He busted up laughing since he's usually the one making those comments...not me... We were concerned because today is when we chose our "permanent" seats (as in whomever is sitting in front of us and behind us would stay the same except that our rows would rotate every day; we would move three rows up so that we all fairly got to move around the bus).Our first stop was to get a nice distant shot of the Eiffel Tower.
Next thing you know, we’re at the Eiffel Tower (after a 3 minutes bus ride).
We got there around 9:15 or so and it was already really crowded with loooooong lines. Since we ordered group tickets in advance, we didn't have to wait long. We just went through security and ascended to the second level by lift. I couldn't believe we were actually on the Eiffel Tower! We walked around a few circles, taking plenty of shots, and then ascended to the level directly above.
We also visited the souvenir shops inside. Hubby was so fascinated by the laser image thingy that he called me over. One other couple from our tour was there, and they thought Hubby was calling me over because the piece in the window display looked like me.
At first, I thought Hubby thought the same, too, because he was agreeing with them so I played along, "Yeah, it kind of does look like me." I mean, heck, he even took the picture above (I was in charge of photography for about 95% of the trip). After they walked away, he said what he really thought, "Do they really think all Asians look alike? That doesn't look like you!"
After about an hour, we had to leave. We ran into the nice couple from Arizona, Burt and Nancy, who also decided on descending via stairs. We climbed down together...and it took almost 15 minutes.
When we got outside, three gypsies approached us, asking if we speak English. We were instructed by our tour guide to say “no” and walk away (lest they pick-pocket us), but Hubby got all creative/silly and said in Chinese, “bu yao, tso kai.” (I don't want it, go away). They immediately left us alone.
(When we went to China in '07, I taught Hubby to say that so that the street vendors would leave him alone. Why he didn't just say something in Tagolog is beyond me. Oh yeah, it's because he swears he can speak Mandarin.)
After the Eiffel Tower, we passed by the Notre Dame Cathedral, saw a glimpse of the back of The Thinker (Hubby wouldn't let me take a pix b/c it would have just been The Thinker's back side including butt-crack), went by Napoleon’s Palace/Tomb, and arrived at the Louvre. I really wanted 20 post cards for one Euro from a street vendor, but Hubby wouldn’t let me haggle. Suddenly, I turned around, and he was trying to haggle for one euro! It was funny because 1) he was adamant about me not doing any transactions with the vendors; 2) he hates haggling; 3) I have never seen him bargain! That is love. Haha. Unfortunately, the guy said no but came back and Hubby tried again and then the guy left us alone.
Our first stop in the Louvre was the inverted pyramid, which was to be our universal meeting point.
We ate lunch in the food court area and then we used what was supposedly the most expensive bathroom in the world, Pointwc (it cost each person a euro). It was super fancy! I totally scored and got to use the handicapped bathroom. Ha!
Hubby didn't know whether to be impressed or embarrassed that I actually took pictures. (We later come to find out that for one euro, that was a really good deal. In Rome, we paid up to 1.50 Euros to use really raunchy public restrooms.)After lunch, we started our two-hour guided tour. We saw many sculptures including one of Michelangelo’s. After, we went to see prints and drawings mainly by Delacoux. The rooms were so hot and after climbing the stairs, I thought I was going to faint and drinking room temperature water didn't seem to help. Fortunately, the next room was the Mona Lisa exhibit! Just rounding the corner and seeing the mass crowd was overwhelming. I asked Burt to take a picture for me since Hubby wouldn’t let me push a little closer to the front. (Burt is really tall.)
We also saw 5 of Leonardo da Vinci’s paintings, which is apparently a vast collection since he destroyed many of his works as he let his perfectionism get the best of him. My last shots were of the Venus de Milo before my camera battery died (again).
Our last visit was down to the Medieval Louvre, the lower ground that was “recently” discovered. We were standing in what used to be the moat of the castle before it became a palace and then a museum. Our tour ended around 2 PM but others went to see the Napoleon exhibit. I was the only one that hung back and Hubby actually went ahead and said I could go hang out at Sephora, which I did to freshen up. ;) (Hubby typically does not let me out of his sight; we are usually holding hands or linking arms everywhere we go because he is constantly worried that something will happen to me.) I stopped by one of the museum gift shops but didn’t see much. I guess I’m really not much of a souvenir shopper. It’s nice to just have photos...or memories when my camera fails me.After the Louvre, we came back to the Pullman hotel and took a nap. Since we were on our own for dinner, we walked around the rear of the hotel and ended up in a piazza with several restaurants. We ate at an Italian restaurant, where we both had Margherita pizza (cheese only) and shared a coca-cola...since we didn't understand the French menu. (I wanted to order one with a topping and take my chances, but Hubby insisted on going with cheese only.) I almost finished all of mine. I probably could have if I wanted to, but Hubby had already finished his 15 minutes prior so I left about 1/6.
(From top left clockwise: my big pizza; our hotel in between 2 high rises; Arc de Defense; more high rises; a gigantic thumb; courtyard where we ate; McDonald's ad...with a couple kissing behind Darth Vader.)We walked around a little more and snapped more photos. I especially liked walking up to the foot of the Arc de Defense. For whatever unknown reason, I realized that I'm really fascinated by arches. I must get it from my Dad, who is really fascinated by bridges.
We really enjoyed our time in Paris. Hubby was hoping that we could go to the Orsay Museum, but it was closed. The only thing I didn't like is that I couldn’t connect to wifi. Hubby loved Paris also because of all the unique typography. He is right though; everywhere you turn, each store has its own style with corresponding typography. It must be a designer’s dream to come to Paris and be so inspired.
Below is Hubby's favorite picture that I took. I was doing some more drive-by shooting...of the Eiffel Tower. Do you see it?
Hey, that takes talent to get such precision!
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