Paris part Deux

After the Arc de Triomphe we headed down the Champs-Elysees.  This is the main boulevard off of the Arc and I was really hoping for something a little different.  This street has also seen a lot of history, the beheading of Marie Antoinette to name just one.  Now good old Rick Steves’ said in his travel book that commercialism has totally ruined this area of Paris, and I would have to agree.  I was hoping for something a little more Parisian, instead we found a high-end mall peppered with a few little tourist pits.  We walked down a little ways and then I decided I didn’t want to spend my time in Paris at a mall, so off to the Louvre we went.  I did take a few pics just so that I could say that I have been there.

 

The Arc is the center of a wagon wheel type thoroughfare with twelve different streets that off-chute from the center.  This creates quite a traffic nightmare!  Really, anywhere in Paris is a traffic nightmare, with the roundabouts being the worst. It seems as if there are no traffic laws at all, with every man for himself being the law of the day.  Gratefully the French put an underground tunnel under the Arc de Triomphe so that pedestrians could get from place to place without having to die get maimed in the process of getting to their destination.  As for the traffic,  Mike would say that it was a little stressful, but deep inside I think he loved it!! 

One the way to the Louvre we found a cute little French cafe and grabbed a bite to eat before all of the masterpieces.  It’s so fun how they have the little crape stands right on the street, yummo!

Hannah once again had a Nutella crape, Haley tried one with applesauce and I had a crape with fromage (cheese.)  Mike and Emily aren’t down with the crape thing, so they shared a large hot dog on a yummy bagette with fromage.  

The Louvre was GIGANTIC and quite a site to behold, and that’s even before you get inside.  Now, I would love to say that I am an art aficionado and that I was in heaven whilst entering the art world’s Mecca, but I am not.  Mike and I were more excited to see the place because of reading the “Di Vinci Code.”   So, for all of you art lovers out there, I am sorry, this is total sacrilege.   We kind of powered through the place.  We did however, see the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo which was a must on our list.  Taking a seven and four year old to one of the largest museums is kind of dumb.  Emily kept asking where the paints and paper was, so that she could paint something too.   Haley did however enjoy it.  She is just old enough and has enough art classes in school to kind of understand the scope of things.  She has decided that she would like to have a piece of her work on display there someday.  You go girl!  Hey if Tony Dow can do it, so can you.

By the time we were done we were exhausted and ready for some dinner.  We decided to go back to a cute little bistro close to the Eiffel Tower called 38 Eiffel.  It was fun and very over priced but the experience was well worth it.