Spring Break, Part 2

Paris was fabulous. I wanted to stay there forever. The sun was shining, the flowers were blooming... I liked it more than I thought I would. I figured it was overblown and that I would feel like a touristy cliche the entire time. But I didn't. There's something great about the city...

We climbed the Eiffel Tower (the line is shorter for the stairs than the lift. Who would have thought?). We went to the Louvre and I saw the (really-not-that-big) Mona Lisa, some great sculptures, and the floor plan that made me realize how big it really is. WE went into Notre Dame and the Arc de Triomphe, walked up Champs-Elysées, saw Monet after Monet at the Orsay, saw the majesty and absurd riches of Versaille and wandered in the gardens, saw Marie Antoinette's hamlet with old-school farm buildings, went to a show at the Moulin Rouge and poked our heads in to gaze up at the rotunda of the Sacre Cour. In addition to all these "touristy" things, we wandered through parks, had drinks on corner cafes, marveled at flowery trees, bought art on MonteMart,walked along the Seine and soaked up the beautiful spring sunshine!

We saw a French clock in Cairo, and then we saw the Egyptian obelisk that was the return gift in Paris. It was crazy to realize that we had been on two continents in the same day!

The only bummer was at Versaille. I was so excited to see the hall of mirrors there, and have been ever since I first heard about it years ago. But. Half if it was under construction and totally blocked off. Guess I'll have to go back! Which would be great, becuase there's plenty of garden left to explore... it's absurdly huge - there's a huge canal down the middle, some fake Roman ruins, and two "summer houses" the king could escape to... seriously people. too much.

Pictures going up eventually!