Ooh La La! It's Paris (vol. 2)

Chris and Georgia

After taking in the panoramic views, we headed towards the riverbank to take a boat ride down the Seine. We stopped at a small bistro to pick up something to eat and I was sure glad that I had memorized some French, because no one working there "a parle l'anglais." You can get away with a lot by knowing numbers and french cooking terms. You just have to keep the Spanish from creeping into your head, which was hard. Its trois not tres, dummy. Lunch consisted of some ham and cheese sandwiches (sandwichs a jambon et gruyere) and pretty little macaroons and tarts.

I got tripped up when the person waiting on us wanted to know if I wanted the dessert boxed or bagged, but thankfully a woman in front of me took pity on me and translated.

See, the French aren't all rude.

Georgia passing under Le Ponte Alexandre III

We went under eleven bridges on the Seine and even learned that there are inhabited islands in the middle. After our boat ride, we spent some time at the Musee du Louvre

where we entered through the glass pyramid and rushed through to see the

Mona Lisa,


Venus de Milo

and the Winged Victory of Samothrace (you know, Nike).

The Louvre is massive and like the Smithsonian, would take you weeks to see everything. We did get to see a lot of Italianate paintings and were so surprised at how vivid the colors were for art that was so old.