Day 22 Falling for Paris
Bonjour, good day! Today we are going to see the infamous Louvre. I woke up, and the first thing I saw out our little window was the Eiffel Tower looking right back at me. Hello Eiffel Tower!
I slept like a rock last night! We got to sleep in today for the first time in nearly 21 days, or so it felt. Since I was up till midnight this was much appreciated. Even as I woke up I was still tired and wanting to sleep just a bit longer, but Mom moving around the room was enough to motivate me to get up and out of bed. Our first activity of the day with the group is a trip to Musée du Louvre where we will meet up with a guide to bring us to the main attractions. Next stop breakfast. Being on the fifth floor I have been relying on the tiny little elevator to take me up and down. Ain’t nobody got time for the stairs! Breakfast was the usual; bread, cheese, yogurt, a couple cereals. Mom fell in love with the hot chocolate and had 3 mugs! (She has missed having her hot cocoa this whole trip, so she was just making up for it!) The most memorable thing about the meal was the jams. In the states we have those little plastic cups with jams inside. At this place they had little jars with these exotic jam flavors. They were super cute! What a treat! After breakfast we had a little bit of time to get our items for the day and gather our Metro tickets before it was time to meet up with the group and go to the Louvre. Any extra moments we had while waiting to meet up with the group were spent sitting on the bed and looking out at the Eiffel Tower. Finally it was time to join the group and brave the crowds of the Metro once more. Nearly everyone was assembled downstairs when we showed up, however we were not late! With the exception of two people the rest of the group was going. We then headed out to walk to the nearest station. On the way to the Metro station we had to walk out from our street and cross a smaller road before crossing the larger road. As we were walking to the smaller of the two streets for one reason or another I missed the curb. Next thing I knew I was sprawled on the ground, hands up near my face. My first thought was about my camera, which I had been holding in front of me. It had bounced out of my hand and hit the street, the lens cap flying off. A chunk from the lens had chipped off and flew up into a group member's scarf. Thank goodness the lens glass was still intact. My second thought, as I felt someone righting my skirt to reserve my dignity, was why did I wear a dress today? My Mom and sister were soon by my side and helping me up. My third thought was that my left ankle really hurt, especially as I was helped back up to my feet. Everyone in our group was surrounding me and looking on in concern. Eager to get away from everyone's gaze I tried to shrug it off. It was then Mom mentioned that I was bleeding on my right elbow and right knee. She had some wet wipes that she could use to clean me up a bit. It stung, but I did not really notice. Everything seemed like it was coming from a distance. I was talking to everyone through a tunnel. I had to grab onto Emily to avoid falling over as I suddenly felt light headed and shocky. Mom also had some bandages with her, so she slapped one on my knee. She said that my elbow did not look like it would need one. With my head still foggy I lifted my camera to my face and tried to focus it and take a picture. It all seemed to work, thank goodness! Finally, despite the lightheadedness, I talked the group into continuing on. Emily and Mom stayed close to me as I limped along on my achy left ankle. The rest of the walk to the Metro felt like a walk of shame. My comrades asked how I was doing, for which I was grateful, but at the same time felt a bit like crying. Down in the underground of the Metro station I was given the royal treatment as everyone allowed me to take a seat while waiting, and again on the train. Slowly my shock wore off and I began to feel the burn in my knee and elbow as well as the gnawing ache of my left ankle. In retrospect it probably would have been better to go back to the room, but I was already on my way to the Louvre. |
Upon arrival I was able to get up and walk around. In fact it seemed like the more I walked the less it ached. Still, I took a seat as often as I could throughout the tour. By this time I was feeling more like I was in my own head. I felt less foggy. I still got a little misty eyed when someone asked how I was doing, but I was thankful too for the kindness shown. The Metro stop took us directly to the Louvre Gallery. We entered via the underground where we somehow were able to locate our local guide. She took us through the security line and into the museum. It took us a bit to get through security and meet up with our guide. We were also given maps of the museum layout, which made wonderful fans in the hallways decorated with fine works of art and crowded with many warm bodies. Very soon we found ourselves bombarded with thousands of pieces of artwork surrounding us on all sides. We were told that if you went into the Louvre and spent 4 seconds looking at every single piece you would be in the museum for a couple of months, at least. This was another place where we were handed the radios to listen to. This was great because it did allow us to spread out. Our guide took us around to the highlights. A trip to the Louvre would not be complete without seeing some of the most famous pieces, such as the Mona Lisa. She was much smaller than I had expected, however I still felt butterflies rise in my stomach as we walked into her room and saw her on the wall before us. The room was crowded, but all the same Lisa and I pushed our way to the front so we could get our pictures taken with the Mona Lisa. Also in the room with Mona Lisa, around the corner from her, was the first portrait ever done of someone's dog. I thought that was pretty awesome! We saw so many wonderful pieces. There was one painting that immediately reminded me of Les Miserables. The tour guide mentioned that this painting actually inspired Victor Hugo to write Les Miserables. One other memory I have of our day in the Louvre was when we were taking some stairs down to the next level of the museum. At this time we were walking toward the La Victorie de Samothrace (or The Winged Victory of Samothrace), a majestic vision of the god of Victory standing on the bow of a boat overlooking the sanctuary of the Great Gods at Samothrace. As we were walking down the stairs toward this lovely statue, one of the older gentlemen in the group, Tom, came up and offered me his hand to help me down the stairs. I will admittedly say that I felt a bit like a princess being guided down the stairs. I really appreciated the kind gesture. Like many of the places we have visited the Louvre also has breathtaking ceilings. They were so colorful in some rooms, with paintings just as incredible as some of those hanging upon the walls. One of the grand hallways we entered into contained some crowned jewels which were enough to make us all gaze on in awe. This same room housed many other finely decorated trophies, pitchers, and other "household" items that many of us could never imagine having, much less using. Another extraordinary piece that we had the pleasure to see was the The Venus de Milo. This was another spot where there was a large crowd of people in the room. Somehow the three of us were able to push our way to the front to get pics taken with her. There was another room that we entered into which had several statues within. A couple of which was the Centaure chevauche par l'Amore, and the Artemis a la biche.These were beautiful statues. One thing that we learned about these statues was that during their construction additional items needed to be added into the statues in order to keep the statues structurally sound. For example in the Centaure chevauche par l'Amore there is a solid, round pole supporting the centaur's belly. These items were added to the statue so that they would not break apart and fall down. Finally we walked through an underground area and past an Egyptian sphinx who was pretty cool! After this we were given the option to stay and linger around the Louvre, or we could head back to the hotel with Dimitri. Emily and Mom decided to stay. My ankle was still hurting so I decided to head back with Dimitri and a few others. We said our good-byes and split up. Before returning to the hotel Dimitri led us above ground so that we could see the front of the Louvre and the beautiful arch nearby. From this area we could also see the Eiffel Tower. It was a beautiful day out! We lingered for a little while, enjoying the heat of the sun and the beauty of the area before we returned down underground to the Metro. |
Dimitri had Lisa, one of our group mates, lead the way through the Metro system. I was thankful that it was not me, although I was paying attention for future usage.
Finally we arrived just a couple of blocks away from our hotel. I knew my way back so I branched away from the group. I went into the grocery store to get a couple of drinks. Following this I went down to the bakery down the busy business street to get something for lunch. I settled on a chicken, lettuce, and tomato sandwich on pita bread. I then brought these items back to the room just a block away. Once up in the room I gazed out at the Eiffel Tower while I ate my sandwich. Very delicious! After my lunch I grabbed a washcloth, soaked it in the coolest water I could, and wrapped that around my swollen ankle. It was about the best that I could do as far as a cool compress. After a few minutes I realized that a nap would be a good idea. |
Meanwhile, back at the Louvre, Emily and Mom were busy getting lost in the Egyptian exhibit, and feeling the ancient effects of the famine. They were really, really hungry and could not find a place to eat their lunch! None of the cafes in the Louvre allowed any form of picnicking, even if they purchased anything to drink. Mom got the idea of getting their hands stamped so that they could go out and sit by the fountain, but without presenting a ticket (we entered on a group ticket and did not get individual tickets) into the Louvre that was not an option. Finally they found cover in a small corner outside one of the bathrooms where they could play hamster and stuff their cheek pouches full of sandwich! A few minutes later, once they had returned to one of the gallery halls, they spotted a woman walking by snacking on a bag of chips! The nerve!
Eventually Mom decided that she wanted to walk to the Arc de Triomphe while Emily wanted to stay a little longer. They then decided to split up. Mom also intended to walk and see the Champs-Elysees. Despite her best efforts Mom never reached the Arc de Triomphe. She found the Champs-Elysees, however it was not nearly as grand as she had pictured. After half an hour, and still not being any closer to the Arc De Triomphe, she decided to locate the Eiffel Tower and head back to the hotel. She ended up finding herself lost and soon realized that she was walking in circles after she passed the same frozen yogurt shop for the third time. She did, however, become very well acquainted with the neighborhoods surrounding our hotel... Back to Emily! Emily's adventure through Paris also got her lost in the large city after she faced off with a pedlar as well as a very particular Italian woman (who just wanted one... or fifteen pictures taken of her in front of a fountain located in the Place de la Concorde). She then crossed the Seine at the Pont de la Concorde and headed toward Napoleon's Tomb. Emily got lost. She eventually found her way back to the hotel where she ran into Mom who was returning to the hotel to leave a message for her that we had gone to dinner with the group. |
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Meanwhile I (Lori) woke up a few hours later still drowsy. Neither Mom or Emily were back yet at this time. I got up to walk around the room. At that time the pain in my ankle was so significant that I seriously would have thought that I might have broken it. Youch! The ankle itself looked as if there was an egg underneath the skin. Ouch.... After that I tried to stay in bed until Mom came back, not too long before we were to meet the group for dinner.
Finally, Mom and I headed down stairs on our own to meet up with the group before going to dinner. While waiting Mom had gone to a nearby pharmacy. She had gotten what she thought was an ace bandage, however it was instead sticky tape wrap. Not quite what we wanted. We talked to Dimitri when we got downstairs and he said he would help Mom find what we needed. We still had to get to the restaurant though. I limped down the street, trying to follow along with the group as we headed to dinner. My ankle was really hurting after lying in bed for so long. Finally I reached the restaurant. Mom had stayed behind to leave a message for Emily who had not yet returned from the Lourve. Dimitri stayed outside to help mom find what we needed in the pharmacy next door (thankfully when mom did catch up with us Emily was with her!). I went inside to wait. Upon entering I was greeted by a waiter who walked right up to me. He stopped and I thought I was in the way. I side stepped to try and get out of his way, but he moved too. We both moved again before he held up his arms to block me and said, “Sorry, we’re full.” I opened my mouth to say my group was inside, but he dropped his arms and said, “I’m kidding.” Unfortunately at that time I was not much in the mood for that. Emily came in a couple minutes behind me and together we sat at one of the couple remaining tables. Emily showed me what she had gotten at the Lourve, including a mini poster of the painting which may have inspired Les Miserables. Another one of the waiters approached us at this time and leaned in to look at the poster too. He reached out and took it with both hands saying to Emily, “Oh, thank you, thank you very much! I love it!” He took it away to a nearby shelf and set it on the top shelf, then stepped back to admire it. He then took it down and brought it back to her. Mom then showed up with a little bootie brace for my ankle. Almost at the same time the second waiter asked us to place our orders. Quickly we looked through the menu to order. For the starter I ordered six escargots de Bourgogne (six snails from Burgundy), the main dish was Penne au pistou et saumon fume (penne pasta with pesto and smoked salmon), and finally Tarte Tatin (upside down apple pie) for dessert. Each part of this meal was delicious! The escargots were just as tasty as the ones we had a couple nights ago, the pasta was magnifique! The upside down apple pie was also very delicious. Once done with all of the food I sat back in my chair and contemplated my happy tummy. I was shocked when the second waiter brought me (and only me) a second dessert of ice cream, like what Mom and Emily had gotten. There was one scoop of vanilla ice cream, one scoop of chocolate, and a glass of whipped cream. I ate a few bites of each before passing it on to mom to finish. Meanwhile Mom and Emily joked that this second waiter was “into me”. For dinner Mom had the Goat cheese salad, the penne pasta with pesto and smoked salmon. Emily had the French Onion soup, then the duck confit with homemade french fries. Both of them selected ice cream for their desserts. |
After dinner we were going to walk to the grassy field in front of the Eiffel Tower to say our farewells. As we were leaving the two waiters were at the door seeing us out. The second waiter stood with his hand up. I did not know what he was doing, waving or wanting a high five, so I gave him a high five. The first waiter lifted his hand for a high five too, but afterward lifted both hands as if frightened or surrendering. He then reached forward, wrapped his arm tightly around mine and pulled me closer to him, saying, "She stays with me!" then he let me go. I followed the flow of our group outside feeling confused as I thought over what just happened. Mom was sticking close to me due to my ankle also just in case one of the waiters came looking for me.
Once we got to the fields looking up to the Eiffel Tower we stopped, finding a nice area on the grass where we could stand in a circle and talk. At this time we went around the circle and everyone said what was their favorite thing along the trip. We took this time to celebrate memories and remember everywhere we had been. After our discussion Dimitri passed around champagne and orange juice (for those of us who are not big drinkers). It was a jovial time as we took pictures with our group members and watched as the sun went down. We stuck around joking and laughing until the lights of the Eiffel Tower began to sparkle. It was an enchanting evening filled with laughter and cheer! Today is officially the final day of our Rick Steves Best of Europe Tour. It was bitter sweet. I looked around at the group wondering if I would ever see some of these people after tonight (or tomorrow at breakfast). I suppose only time will tell. But for now it is time to go to bed. Au revoir! |
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