Les Musees

It's Thursday, and our trip to France is slowly coming to an end. I can't believe it's almost over....

Today was museum day. Limited time in France, gotta pack in the sights! So comfortable walking shoes in tow, we took the Metro over to the Musee Rodin. This time it was my responsibility to get us there, and I think I negotiated the confusing Metro maps pretty well. (Jill suggested it was time for me to become familiar with the subway system. "Next time you're in Paris I won't be with you, so you better know how to get around!" she said. Yet another reason I love Jill.) The museum was amazing. There are just no words for it. To think that after so many years of seeing my favorite Rodin sculptures in books I was now actually standing in front of them! Rodin has been my favorite artist for years, since the first time I laid eyes on The Kiss. Any man who can take a slab of marble and make this stunning image out of it has my undying admiration. The gardens were beautiful as well. I'm sure that if they were so gorgeous on a cold winter day they must be stunning in the spring.

With me on Metro duty again we headed over to the Louvre. To say that this building is colossal would be an understatement. Now I had been told it was huge, I had read this in books, heard it said in conversation. And yet nothing could have prepared me for the magnitude of the palace. Good Lord! I think I could have spend weeks and weeks roaming the halls of the Louvre and sitll not seen everything. We went in through the Denon wing and headed straight for the Mona Lisa. There was a huge crowd of people huddled around the small painting speaking rapidly and madly shooting off their flashes. As I tried to make my way in and sneak a photo before someone else elbowed me, it occurred to me that this was probably not what DaVinci had intended.

I tried to cover as much ground as possible. We saw the Venus de Milo, Winged Victory, the crown jewels of Sweden, Egyptian artifacts, and more. Were it not for the fact that my feet felt like they might actually amputate themselves if I took another step, I would have stayed until they physically dragged me out.

At night we had plans to meet up with some friends, so we headed back to Gentilly to get ready. Let me tell you, it's hard to look anything resembling sexy with 4 or 5 layers on. I settled for warmth over beauty. We met up with a friend name Sonia at Notre Dame, and reveled in the fact that it was snowing. (Okay, I reveled, they seemed unimpressed). It didn't snow hard, but it was a new experience for me and I loved every second of it.

We met up with some of her friends and went bar hopping with the locals. Turns out I really like French men......Vive la vie boheme!