On Friday, we went up through a seemingly endless spiral staircase to the top of the Arch de Triumph and found a gorgeous view of Paris. Then we went to the Louvre and a friendly, English-speaking gay couple showed us where to go to find tickets and the museum. The Frenchman thought I looked a bit like Cameron Diaz, but it must just be because I am blonde. I think another girl in our group looks more like Diaz than I do.
Anyway, we went through some of the Louvre, looking at the grand halls, antique glassware, some statues, and paintings. We found the Mona Lisa and the portrait was a decent size, contrary to rumors I heard about it being disappointingly small. It was by itself on a large wall, though, and protected by about 4 inches of glass. We only stayed at the Louvre for about an hour because the halls of masterpieces began to feel repetitive. I wish I had known about Napoleon’s apartment being on one wing of the Louvre so I could have seen the lavish way that royalty and leaders lived. I didn’t find out about that until later.
I’d like to mention that I wanted to join the other group with the professors for Friday’s tours, since I was worried that my group would spend the day looking in expensive shops again, but some miscommunication caused that to fall through. Much to our surprise, we ran into that group several times on Friday. Apparently we saved 4 Eu on tickets to enter the Louvre museum buy purchasing them at the door, but maybe the other group got access to something else. We met up with them at the Mona Lisa and they lingered a lot longer in the Louvre than we did, but I wanted to see more sights.
After the Louvre, we went to the Notre Dame, which was a free self-guided tour. As we looped around towards the front of the cathedral after looking at some exhibits in the back, we heard an Acapella choir beginning their concert. I was able to capture some of it on video, but my hands were not very steady. It gave us a chance to really appreciate the Notre Dame as a very old cathedral.
We bought barrettes even though the French don’t wear them anymore and then we had time to go back to the hotel to freshen up before heading out again. We took the metro to the Eiffel Tower and weaved through peddlers and magicians who would lure in tourists to be pick-pocketed. We met up with Fat Tire Bike Tours at the South leg of the Eiffel Tower to go on our night bike tour. For 28 Eu, they took us on 4 hour tour that included a stop at an ice cream shop and an hour boat ride with free wine. Fat Tire Bike Tours is a company started by people at Texas A&M and they have tours in several cities across Europe as well as in Texas. Our tour guide, Max, was a French university student who spoke English like a Brit and could even do an American accent. He showed us all of the major sites and had us ride the bikes in circles around the fountains in the Louvre until we were dizzy. He described the purpose of the mini-Arch de Triumph: Napoleon promised his troops that if they won a certain battle they would walk under an Arch. It was taking so long to build the large Arch de Triumph that he had a smaller one built quickly, and in my opinion more beautifully with pink marble columns, so he could keep his promise. We went over one of several lock bridges, where lovers place locks to show their eternal love, and found a Clemson lock. A boat passed under with a woman in fur singing opera to a couple who were either just engaged or on their honeymoon. We boarded a massive boat and sat on the top deck to enjoy the views of Paris at night. Even though it was cold, we made friends with some Delta flight attendants on their layover and some guys from Texas A&M. We got some good shots of Eiffel Tower from the water and on the way back to the bike shop.
From the bike shop, we walked to a restaurant and had crepes with the Texas A&M guys. They said that both of their dads are in oil and so the single ladies were really upset when they realized they didn’t get the guys’ numbers or even share last names to find them on Facebook. Still craving food, they went across the street to McDonalds, which was utterly crowded, and a few minutes later the other group came in too. I wasn’t hungry but I was ready to call it a night. It was around midnight. So I went back to the hotel with the professors and one other guy.
Anyway, we went through some of the Louvre, looking at the grand halls, antique glassware, some statues, and paintings. We found the Mona Lisa and the portrait was a decent size, contrary to rumors I heard about it being disappointingly small. It was by itself on a large wall, though, and protected by about 4 inches of glass. We only stayed at the Louvre for about an hour because the halls of masterpieces began to feel repetitive. I wish I had known about Napoleon’s apartment being on one wing of the Louvre so I could have seen the lavish way that royalty and leaders lived. I didn’t find out about that until later.
I’d like to mention that I wanted to join the other group with the professors for Friday’s tours, since I was worried that my group would spend the day looking in expensive shops again, but some miscommunication caused that to fall through. Much to our surprise, we ran into that group several times on Friday. Apparently we saved 4 Eu on tickets to enter the Louvre museum buy purchasing them at the door, but maybe the other group got access to something else. We met up with them at the Mona Lisa and they lingered a lot longer in the Louvre than we did, but I wanted to see more sights.
After the Louvre, we went to the Notre Dame, which was a free self-guided tour. As we looped around towards the front of the cathedral after looking at some exhibits in the back, we heard an Acapella choir beginning their concert. I was able to capture some of it on video, but my hands were not very steady. It gave us a chance to really appreciate the Notre Dame as a very old cathedral.
We bought barrettes even though the French don’t wear them anymore and then we had time to go back to the hotel to freshen up before heading out again. We took the metro to the Eiffel Tower and weaved through peddlers and magicians who would lure in tourists to be pick-pocketed. We met up with Fat Tire Bike Tours at the South leg of the Eiffel Tower to go on our night bike tour. For 28 Eu, they took us on 4 hour tour that included a stop at an ice cream shop and an hour boat ride with free wine. Fat Tire Bike Tours is a company started by people at Texas A&M and they have tours in several cities across Europe as well as in Texas. Our tour guide, Max, was a French university student who spoke English like a Brit and could even do an American accent. He showed us all of the major sites and had us ride the bikes in circles around the fountains in the Louvre until we were dizzy. He described the purpose of the mini-Arch de Triumph: Napoleon promised his troops that if they won a certain battle they would walk under an Arch. It was taking so long to build the large Arch de Triumph that he had a smaller one built quickly, and in my opinion more beautifully with pink marble columns, so he could keep his promise. We went over one of several lock bridges, where lovers place locks to show their eternal love, and found a Clemson lock. A boat passed under with a woman in fur singing opera to a couple who were either just engaged or on their honeymoon. We boarded a massive boat and sat on the top deck to enjoy the views of Paris at night. Even though it was cold, we made friends with some Delta flight attendants on their layover and some guys from Texas A&M. We got some good shots of Eiffel Tower from the water and on the way back to the bike shop.
From the bike shop, we walked to a restaurant and had crepes with the Texas A&M guys. They said that both of their dads are in oil and so the single ladies were really upset when they realized they didn’t get the guys’ numbers or even share last names to find them on Facebook. Still craving food, they went across the street to McDonalds, which was utterly crowded, and a few minutes later the other group came in too. I wasn’t hungry but I was ready to call it a night. It was around midnight. So I went back to the hotel with the professors and one other guy.
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