deux jours à Paris

bonjour!

now for deux jours a Paris (day two in Paris - hope you're impressed with the French I picked up while in Paris, because that's about the extent of it) We spent the majority of our second day in Paris at the Musse de Louvre.  The Louvre is Europe's oldest, biggest, greatest and second most crowed museum, after the Vatican. Housed in a U-shaped 16th century palace, accented by 20rh century glass pyramids, the Louvre is Paris' top museum and key landmark to the city.

Before embarking on an extensive art collection mobbed by other tourist and intellectuals we needed some breakfast. Friends of ours said we could not leave France without trying a Madame Croque - simply put, it is a hot ham and cheese sandwich (similiar to a grilled ham and cheese) served with a fried egg on top! Who would've thought such a simple dish could have such a fancy, border line pretentious name?  We enjoyed our madame croquet at a cafe right outside the Louvre.

madame croque

Ironically the Louvre is home to one of the largest collections of Italian art.  The Italian collection includes the one of the most famous paintings in the world, the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci. The Mona Lisa may be a disappointment to many for it is smaller than expected, dark and engulfed in a large room behind glass. We conquered the Napoleon Apartments, filled with incredible lavish furniture and jewels. 

Christine & Mona Lisa

After a few hours in the Louvre we started getting tired and hungry - the result?  Taking some goofy pictures with all the statues!

my favorite of the day

After the Louvre we walked through the Royal Courtyard and across the river leaving  the Eiffel Tower in the distance and and a great opportunity for some illusion pictures..

The day ended with some packing and Rachel wishing us goodbye as we boarded the metro for a ride to the airport before heading to Prague!