Day 2 in Paris

Wow, what a difference a day makes. Today was much more relaxed, with only plans to see the Louvre in the morning and meet up with Alice (friend from Georgetown) in the afternoon to do...whatever (I know! No plans? GASP!).

I did not, however, want to get up this morning after a nice sleep. I skipped the free breakfast to sleep in a bit longer and made it to the Louvre groggy and hungry. I eventually found an amazing tartellete to eat - first truly great French food so far.

Anyway, the Louvre is obviously world-famous for the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, and Venus de Milo. The last two were cool, but crowded. The first was obviously swamped with people and honestly so much smaller than expected. And with all the people, it was hard to get anything out of it, let alone get a picture. The rest of the museum is huge and overwhelming, and I probably didn't get nearly as much out of it as I could have. First, for a non-art history studier, every Italian painting looks the same after awhile. And all the statues? Same. Plus, they had a significant Egyptian, Greek, and Roman antiquity collection, but not as impressive as the British Museum's in London (seen just two days prior). Overall, it was a nice visit - but I didn't do a guided tour or anything and I was jet-lagged again, so it wasn't the most educational or enjoyable experience.

After the Louvre, I exhaustedly scrambled around the Jardin de Tuileries before meeting up with Alice at Arc de Triomphe...barely. The plan was to meet under the Arc, but it was closed due to a French military thing. So I spent 20 minutes wandering around the surrounding streets and thank God I finally ran into her (after unsuccessfully trying to use a pay phone).

I met two of Alice's friends as we wandering the famed (and not-that-great) Champs-Elysees before eventually going to La Defense, the business district of Paris and very modern-looking. There lies the Grand Arche de la Defense, a massive modern interpretation of the Arc de Triomphe. Very cool area - we even went to a French shopping mall, where I went to the equivalent of Wal-Mart for some shampoo/soap (I lost mine in London :( ).

Finally, Alice and I went up to Montmartre, a district near my hostel that is famous as a hotspot for artists, like Picasso, who used to hang out here. Now it is kind of touristy, but quaint - and the Basilique de Sacre Coeur (beautiful cathedral atop a hill) provides an amazing view of the city. Great place - but also jammed with drunk people who throw their beer bottles down the hill and people who try to sell wristbands to you by forcibly putting them on your wrists before you have a chance to say no (I escaped them). We also had some yummy kirs here.

On the whole, a more enjoyable day than yesterday, even though I saw less stuff. I am sooo ready to settle down, however, and have a train from Gare d'Austerlitz (across town - Metroing with my stuff will be interesting...) to Tours tomorrow!