A Weekend in Paris-Day 2

Bonjour tout le monde!

Today we had reservations at the Louvre for 11:30. Because yesterday was such a long day, we struggled to get up and going. We grabbed some pastries from a bakery near our apartment before walking over to the Louvre. The line to get in was crazy long, and tickets were sold out for the day. Luckily we had already bought tickets, and the line moved quickly. It was just Talia, Andrea, Brett, Will, and I for now because the other two went to Versailles. We decided to split up when we got inside, and Andrea, Talia and I went off to explore together. We learned about the longgggg history of the Louvre, saw a bunch of Egyptian artifacts, and a crazy amount of statues. Around 2 we started to get really hungry, so we ate at the restaurant in the Louvre. It was the most expensive meal I think I have had yet, but worth it. Brett caught up with us for lunch and we enjoyed our sandwiches and salads.

going clockwise starting at the top left: a stature garden, winged victory (my favorite statue), two painted ceilings, venus de milo, and my overpriced lunch

After lunch, we looked at some Napoleon-era styled rooms, tons of beautiful paintings, and the Mona Lisa. The room for the Mona Lisa is insane- a crazy long line to get to the front, or you can walk up the sides but you're not supposed to take pictures. There are people pushing and shoving and security guards yelling at people. I understand the historical significance, but in a bold opinion, I still think its a little over-hyped.

clockwise from the top left: a Napoleon styled apartment (I think that's the correct era but not positive), a huge painting that was beautiful, me outside the Louvre, and the Mona Lisa

After we felt fulfilled with the amount of art and statues we had seen, we headed down to the stores that are attached to the Louvre. I bought several presents that I'm super excited about.

Will left the Louvre before us to go explore some more, and Parker and Sam had come back from Versailles. The remaining four of us made our way back to our apartment. Talia and Andrea met Parker in a store to grab some cheese and crackers for a picnic. Brett and I headed back to the apartment. He hadn't been feeling well most of the day and I wanted to put my packages away.

Everyone came home and right before we were going to go out, it started to rain. We all just lounged around for a little instead. I fell asleep on the couch while reading my book. The sound of rain in the background was all it took. They woke me up when they were ready to eat and we sat around the dining room table eating cheese and bread. It was nice to sit around a real dining room table, since usually we're in a dining hall or a dorm room. We enjoyed our dinner, and then decided to head out for drinking. Everything in our neighborhood was too expensive for us, so we took the metro to another section of the city. We stopped at a jazz bar and had their special, and then found ourselves in a beach themed bar. We decided to go home around midnight because we were all so tired.

À plus tard,

Maggie

(Written for June 5)