DAY 7 (PARIS)

MORNING

This is our last official day of sightseeing in Paris and the plans are very grand indeed.  It is a "Free Day" where the groups go their separate ways, and then meet up later for a dinner feast.

Unfortunately when I get up and check my phone and camera battery charges something went wrong and both of them are not fully charged.  Oh well, let's see how many pictures I can get today.
We have our typical breakfast fare at 8:30 a.m. in the hotel and then will be heading to the Louvre and later in the day to the Musee-Orsay.
Being that it is a Sunday, we are hoping that the crowds will be less than usual at these places.

Guillaume comes to our breakfast table to go over the directions to the subway stops we will need to get to our sites and visit a little.  I tell him my story about yesterday's bandaid miscommunication fopaux at the Pompidou and he laughs.  

I also ask him where the nearest pharmacy is located near our destination and to write the word bandages in French so I will not have any further problems.  By the way the word is Pansements for any of you future travelers to France.
Subway riding is not for the faint of heart.  Mommas in France and England must have to train their babies well, because it is a dangerous way to travel for little ones and pets. One of the ladies from the California group was being crushed by the doors as she was entering the subway train.  It happened right in front of me. She must have just hesitated a little bit and with no warning the doors were closing.  Her super adrenaline powers kicked in and she pushed opened those doors, just in time before the train took off.  Too close of a call and very scary.

Adorable little girl riding with her Momma on the Subway

We finally arrive at the Louvre.  

It is another one of those places you have to see first hand to believe the grandness and scale.  Because of the age of this building most rooms do not have air conditioner and it becomes pretty warm inside the exhibit rooms.  Still it is well worth the discomfort seeing these amazing works of art.  

The Pyramid that leads into the Louvre

A really cool optical illusion, looks like people are walking on water but is a hidden walkway

Our Group
(Left to Right: Dr. Melissa Mednicov, Gabby, April, Laurie, Michael Henderson, Chris, Cairus, Briana, Trey)

Venus De Milo

Most popular attraction-Mona Lisa
We are fortunate to see it so close

John the Baptist
Head on a Platter

AFTERNOON

Our next stop is to get some lunch.  We find a little free standing vendor selling sandwiches, drinks and pastries.  Then we walk to a park with beautiful flowers, large shade trees perfectly shaped with chairs to sit underneath.  It was one of those moments that I will cherish from this trip.  All of us just sitting cooling off from the heat and enjoying each other's company and having a real French picnic.

We finish our delicious lunch and make the walk to the Orsay museum.  I wish now I would have listened to my husband and brought my sun hat and some sunscreen.  Fortunately one of our group members has an umbrella and I being the tallest hold it over him, my roommate and myself to shade us until we reach the ticket counter.  As we are waiting our professor tells us that this building was once a train station.


We get to the ticket window, and once again if you are over 27 years old in this country you are not eligible for any student discounts.  Glad it is not that way in the States.  Security checks are next and then finally we are inside the galleries.

There is so much to see and not sure where to start.  Went to the 5th floor first so I could see the extensive collections of Impressionistic art.  Sit for a moment and hear a familiar accent.  The couple next to me is from San Francisco.  We visit for a few minutes.  The man tells me his daughter went on an EF tour last year.  They too were impressed that there were so many works of art hung by one artist.  In the states most large museums only have a handful of works by one artist.

After I finish looking at the art, find a large area behind the face of the building's clock.  It reminds me of a miniature Big Ben type clock, but we are on the inside looking out.  Such a view.  

There is a huge stuffed brown leather Matisse shaped chair for the public to lounge on and rest.  I find a spot right next to a father and his 4 yr. old son, Michael.  The father is a Business professor in a Chicago university.  The little boy is very smart and inquisitive.  I attempt to sketch him, but he is a wiggle worm so I abandon the idea.  It is a nice short visit.

Time to move on if I am going to see more before our group reunites in the front of the building by the gift store.  I see paintings and sculptures on several different levels.  I regret not seeing the Van Gooh exhibit.  The line is so long, but I am told too late that it is deceiving, only takes 10 minutes to get into the exhibit.

I do get a chance to briefly shop in the gift area, buy a guide book and a few souvenirs.

EVENING

We make our way to the area where all of the groups will reunite for dinner.  There is a park with amusement rides, vendors, and food carts.  I sit on a bench with one student, while others do some shopping.  A French couple sits to my right.  Out of no where a Gypsy comes and tries to get money from us.  Guilliaume's good training of averting our eyes and ignoring soon gets rid of this man.

There are two ways to get to Montmartre, one of the tallest sites in France.  I choose not to walk the many steps, but take a short tram ride with two other ladies from the California group.  The tram is very, very jammed packed and with no A/C I am happy it is a very short ride maybe 5-7 minutes.


We arrive at a large outdoor restaurant called, La Cremaillere.  Our meal is served: appetizer-tuna on a shredded carrot salad, main dish-Beef bourguignon Recipe.  Dessert is a type of cake: tart raspberry and blueberry mousse with a very thin layer of cake.  Once again it is wonderful.

We get a short shopping break before touring, I choose to go around the block and watch the portrait artist work.  Fun to see all of the different ways they work.  Groups meet up again and our first stop is to see the famous Artist community (Monet's Bar hangout, Matisse, Degas, Renoir's apartments next to the community wash stations) and see Moulin Rouge's location in the Red district.  We also see a building used in the French movie Amelie.  I understand you can watch these two movies on Netflix, will have to do that.

NIGHT
The groups once again split up, those who want to go with our guide back to the hotel, and those who want to continue sight seeing.  I choose the hotel.  We ride one of the roughest subway lines in France, but it is the quickest way to get where we need to go.  The guys in the group are told to watch out for the women.  No problems arise, although the subway smells of urine and some of the patrons smell like they have not bathed or used deodorant.  Our final stop is at the very end of the line, so we have about 20 stops in between.

We finally arrive at the hotel around 10:30 pm. As we get to the hotel, we see lightening in the area where the other groups are touring.  Our guide tells us in France seeing lightening is rare.  

I get to the room and soak in the tub, pack my suitcases, and elevate my feet.  My roommate doesn't get in until 1 am.  We have an early call, leaving for the Paris De Gaulle Airport connecting flight to Heathrow in London.

ARTIST WEBSITE