Paris - Days Four and Five
Day Four - was another day of museums. We started out back at the Louvre. We'd already seen the Mona Lisa and the Italian wing so we started out in the Middle Eastern and Egyptian wings before lunch. After four hours of wandering through the castle (and one worrisome 30 minutes where we got separated) we headed out to the Tulieries for a yummy lunch bought from a cart and eaten picnic style in the gardens. We did some geocaching too. The Roommate even ducked behind some official looking tape cordoning off one corner of the Louvre courtyard to grab one.
Then it was down to the other end of the gardens for a quick visit in L'Orangerie to see Money's Water Lilies. We got soaked in a sudden downpour looking for another cache. Then got a coffee, did a little shopping, and headed back to the Louvre so the Roommate could check out the Flemish wing while I sat and read. We finished the night out by taking the metro up to the Arc d'Triomphe where we climbed the steps to the top. I'm not sure cramming all that in one day was really wise. We were both pretty tired at the end of the day but we definitely got our money's worth out of our museum passes.
Hammurabi's Code
Aphrodite. It was surrounded by a horde of tourists.
Outside the Louvre
Monet's Water Lilies - displayed in two rooms especially designed for them.
View from the Arc d'Triomphe
Day Five - we got up early; no mean feat for the Roommate to take the train out to Versailles. We got there fairly early but still waited 45 minutes to get in. Once in there we experienced a crush rivaled only by the Taxi Line of Doom in Beijing. After escaping the palace we wandered through the gardens. It was the weekend for the Musical Fountains so even though our museum passes were supposed to get us in for free we had to pay the 8 euros for the "pleasure" of them turning the fountains on full and playing classical music over the loudspeaker. Neither of us thought it was worth the money, but the gardens were still beautiful and we did some more geocaching. We even met a French cacher from Paris!
Then it was back to Paris where we had dinner, bought some souvenirs, and then headed to the Pompideu. The museum had great views of the city, just as good as Notre Dame and the Arc d'Triomphe.
In the Hall of Mirrors
Gardens of Versailles
A sculpture on the roof of the Pompideu with Sacre Coeur in the background.
Next up: Monet's gardens, Chartres, and a bike tour through Paris.
Then it was down to the other end of the gardens for a quick visit in L'Orangerie to see Money's Water Lilies. We got soaked in a sudden downpour looking for another cache. Then got a coffee, did a little shopping, and headed back to the Louvre so the Roommate could check out the Flemish wing while I sat and read. We finished the night out by taking the metro up to the Arc d'Triomphe where we climbed the steps to the top. I'm not sure cramming all that in one day was really wise. We were both pretty tired at the end of the day but we definitely got our money's worth out of our museum passes.
Hammurabi's Code
Aphrodite. It was surrounded by a horde of tourists.
Outside the Louvre
Monet's Water Lilies - displayed in two rooms especially designed for them.
View from the Arc d'Triomphe
Day Five - we got up early; no mean feat for the Roommate to take the train out to Versailles. We got there fairly early but still waited 45 minutes to get in. Once in there we experienced a crush rivaled only by the Taxi Line of Doom in Beijing. After escaping the palace we wandered through the gardens. It was the weekend for the Musical Fountains so even though our museum passes were supposed to get us in for free we had to pay the 8 euros for the "pleasure" of them turning the fountains on full and playing classical music over the loudspeaker. Neither of us thought it was worth the money, but the gardens were still beautiful and we did some more geocaching. We even met a French cacher from Paris!
Then it was back to Paris where we had dinner, bought some souvenirs, and then headed to the Pompideu. The museum had great views of the city, just as good as Notre Dame and the Arc d'Triomphe.
In the Hall of Mirrors
Gardens of Versailles
A sculpture on the roof of the Pompideu with Sacre Coeur in the background.
Next up: Monet's gardens, Chartres, and a bike tour through Paris.