Much better second half of the day (Paris)

After taking a mini-nap, I was somewhat refreshed and braced the rain as I trekked out to the Pantheon in the "Quartier Latin," south of the Seine, but not after first finally figuring out the metro and eating a pretty good crocque-monsieur!

Okay, so when people tell you Paris is all about the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, they are wrong. By far the best (and least crowded) attraction I saw today was the Pantheon. Dating from the 1700s, it was formerly a church and is now a huge memorial to the various people buried there - plus an awesome pendulum which dangles at least 150 feet from the ceiling and keeps track of time - perfectly (Michel Foucault's invention). But it was the crypt that was to die for (haha first pun of the blog!). Buried here are: Rousseau, Voltaire, Marie & Pierre Curie, Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, Emile Zola, Jean Monnet, and many others. Basically its now a home for famous dead people. But to be in the same room as these people's bodies was an incredible, indescribable experience. Two thumbs up.

On the other hand, the Eiffel Tower is over-hyped and packed - thus I didn't appreciate it too much.

A quick word on my French abilities, which are surprisingly not as bad as I would have thought. Yes, they help you out a bit when they recognize you are American, but I genuinely felt like I was not only dressing more French, but actually speaking the language a bit too. Highlight: describing to an Italian person directions to a place in French. Nice - I guess I don't look like a tourist?

Speaking of tourists, I'm still sick of them, and there are plenty in Paris.

Lastly, I had a lovely night meeting up with Melissa in the Bastille area for a dinner at a cafe and some after-dinner drinks at a bar later.

Today I covered: London to Paris at 5am, purchasing EURail tickets, speaking a lot of French, eating a crocque-monsieur, (legally) drinking wine, exploring Notre-Dame Cathedral, Saint-Chapelle Cathedral, the Conciergerie, the Palais de Justice, the Latin Quarter, parts of Montmartre, the Pantheon, and the Eiffel Tower.

To the Louvre and then meeting up with Alice tomorrow!

A demain,
Andrew

P.S. Paris is EXPENSIVE. Yuck.