As we did each day, we started off buying a baguette at the boulangerie down the street from our hotel. Seriously, if I could just eat these all day every day, I'd be so happy. Best €0.85 ever spent.

Obviously, today was Louvre day! The weather could not have been more perfect so we sat outside for a while, ate our baguette, admired the architecture of the palace and people watched.

Then we decided to take a walk in the Louvre gardens before we went inside because it was obvious the day was going to turn hot and we wanted to walk while it was nice. There is an amazingly large amount of space that the gardens occupy considering it's in the middle of Paris. The city is so dense it was fun to wander around and forget where you were.

After going inside the museum, this was the first thing we saw. My favorite sculpture of all time!! The Winged Victory of Samothrace. I totally forgot that it was at the Louvre, dumb I know, but I squealed like a girl when I saw it. Gina laughed at me because I got so giddy, but seriously... look at it! It's amazing how much movement the artist has created in the stone!! (I realize you can't tell from that picture, but oh well.) It's EPIC!

We then did the highlights tour and saw all the really famous pieces like the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. The crowds were crazy, and actually I found it to be really funny. I mean, look at the above photo. The Mona Lisa is that tiiiiiny little square in the middle. It seems kind of ridiculous, but I suppose it is one of the most significant pieces of art so it's ok.


The Louvre is too big. Way too big. We decided that after the highlight tour we'd explore just one section of the museum so as not to make ourselves insane. We chose the Egyptian wing because, like my father, I have a pretty large interest. Not to mention, the Louvre has one of, if not THE, most impressive collections of Egyptian artifacts outside of Egypt. They had an endless supply of sarcophagi, sphinxes, and as you can see above, I even found Ramses II!

After the Louvre, we ventured over to Notre Dame. Again, the architecture is mind blowing! Seriously there is so much tiny, intricate detail on this church I can't even handle it. It was really fun though. There were all kinds of people milling about outside. I watched a guy feed some finches by hand while the whole flock swarmed his arm, a couple of kids chase pigeons, and a guy dressed as a clown harass old ladies. It was awesome!

But the best part was definitely going up to the top of the cathedral! We hung out with the gargoyles! It was a great view of the city, maybe even better than the one from the Eiffel Tower, and we even got to see the giant bell! Woo!

After a brief stop-over at our hotel to change, we headed over to Montmarte and Sacre Coeur. This was hands down my favorite part of the trip. This particular area of Paris is fabulous, the church is gorgeous, and while we were there, two different groups of musicians were performing on the steps while people sold beer on the street! I want to live there.

It was also really a beautiful view. We were there at dusk so we got to watch the sun set on the city.

Not to mention, the setting sun lit up the white travertine (which exudes calcite, bleaching the stone with each rainfall so that it doesn't require cleaning of the city's pollutants!) making the church just glow.

The streets were just lined with merchants and vendors and everything was abuzz. The atmosphere was just so fun and upbeat I remember it made me feel really alive.

Finally, we went out for our first, and sadly only, real French dinner. My plate is the one on the bottom of the picture. Inspired by Pixar, I ordered Ratatouille which was absolutely delicious! The ham and goat cheese roll ups however, were not my fave. Oh my god I would totally eat that again! Gina had steak and potatoes haha.

Later days, bon apetit!