Museum Day

It is tough being a tourist.  The gang is trying to take in as much as they can of Paris and, since there is so much to take in, it is sometimes necessary to stack things on top of each other without time for a nap between.  We did a lot of stuff today. 

We met today at 12:45 at the base of the Eiffel Tower.  We had a reservation at the Jules Verne restaurant.  We rode the private elevator up to the second stage and were seated at the window.  The meal was great, with a whole bunch of surprise courses (pre-appetizer appetizers, second and third desserts, going-away treats, etc).  We left totally stuffed (and totally broke; 150€ for a meal) (… per person!).  It was our big splurge to try out a restaurant which earned a Michelin star.  (Brian's analysis: totally not worth that kind of money.)

After the restaurant, we took in the views from the tower, then rode the private elevator back down. 

We walked along the Right Bank all the way to the Louvre in an attempt to burn a few calories.  It’s a pretty hopeless situation.

We have “Museum Passes” which give unlimited access to most of the museums in Paris, so we popped into Le Orangerie to see Monet’s massive Waterlilly paintings. 

From there we went to the Louvre.  Immediately after saying "hi" to Mona, we split up to pursue our own museum interests. 

I spent my time looking for and at "casual" paintings that show people on the streets of their towns and in their homes.  I find it fascinating looking at how people lived in, say, 1550.  All the portraits, battle scenes and religious paintings don’t do much for me.  I also looked out of pretty much every window in the museum.  Diane says she visited (sneaked into!) a major photography exhibition which she really enjoyed.