Europe 2019: Paris, France- Day 10

Hello again everybody! We are coming up on our last few days in the beautiful city of Paris and I am so sad to be leaving but can not wait to come back one day! Our last and final location on our grand European tour also happens to be a bucket list location so I am very excited to go there but I am definitely going to miss Paris! It is now my new favorite travel destination! Yesterday, we explored a couple museums, read below to find out more!

Wednesday, July 31st, 2019

We started this morning by having to wake up early because we were going to the one of the most famous museums in the world, the Louvre, to see one of the most famous paintings in the world, the Mona Lisa (Leonardo Da Vinci) and access in with the museum pass is only really guaranteed in the morning. It can so crowded at times that even if you already have tickets or the pass, you still will not get in so your best bet for access is when they first open, at 9 am. We took the metro to the Louvre and waited about 10-15 mins or more to get into the building.

Once inside, we immediately followed the crowd and signs to the Mona Lisa. We were allowed access for less than 20 seconds, just long enough to take one photo and leave. The Mona Lisa was actually relocated to a different room as the normal room she is in was being renovated. After we took our photos, we decided to look around the museum for bit, following the “popular paintings” guide on our map. The Palais du Louvre, connected to the Louvre, is so large that I really was not kidding when I said that it will take a week to go through. We went through exhibit by exhibit and floor by floor to get to each of the art pieces we were most interested in seeing. We also took a break and stopped at the cafe to eat a breakfast of croissants, chocolate croissants and lemonade. Not only did we see the Mona Lisa, we also saw the Venus de Milo, and other various works from Egypt, Italy, and Greece.

After the Louvre, we found out there was a famous macaron place, Laduree in the mall surrounding the museum. Laduree is known for be macaron specialists and I had yet to have a macaron while in Paris so we went and found the pop-up shop and I picked out on for me to try. I got mint and my brother decided upon chocolate. The macarons were amazing and probably the best I have ever had! The sandwich cookie was perfectly flaky and collapsed as you touched it and the mint flavor was subtle but definitely evident as you tasted it.

We then went back to the metro to take it to the Rodin Museum and the Army Museum (which are across the street from each other). We went to the Rodin Museum to see the Thinker and The Gate’s of Hell (Auguste Rodin), which was in Dante’s Inferno, and to the Army Museum to see Napolean’s tomb.

At the Rodin Museum, they had two versions of the Thinker, one very large version outside, and a smaller one inside. The museum was a lot smaller by comparison to the Louvre and had a garden area with other sculptures inside and around it. The interior of the museum had tens of other sculptures, each crafted with great precision.

At the Army Museum, we entered the dome, where in the center of it is Napoleon’s grand and gilded tomb. His tomb is massive, especially when you remember that he was a very short man. Other tombs were in the museum as well, but we were not familiar with any of the other names. The area surronding the tomb is adorned with grandiose sculptures carved into the marble circle directly under the dome. We did not look at the extensive rest of the museum as it was big so we stopped by the museum cafe to grab our lunch. I had a crepe with nutella and my dad and brother had another baguette sandwich. I thought the crepe was yummy but felt it could have used something more, like fruit, for example.

After lunch, we then took the metro station back to our hotel and rested up as we all had very sore and achy feet and were supposed to climb the 284 steps of the Arc de Triomphe later that night (this ends up being postponed until the next night). My parents and brother rested for about 45 minutes before they decided to walk down the Champs-Elysees, a street famous for shopping, while I decided to stay in our hotel because I was not up for walking about 2 miles down the entire street.

When my family got back, it ended up being pretty late so we decided to stay in this area by our hotel for dinner. We ate a Chez Gabrielle, a fine dining restaurant, and I had a Cod fillet with mashed potatoes and cheese sauce. It was delicious, but not enough for a satisfying and fulfilling meal so we went to the McDonald’s by our hotel and got a M&M McFlurry for our dessert. After we had gotten our dessert, it was already 10:15pm which meant it was too late to go up to the Arc (last admission being 45 minutes before closing) tonight. We just turned in for the night instead.

Thanks everybody for reading! I am so tired today and have an INCREDIBLY early morning tomorrow so I am sorry if this seems rushed, I was falling asleep while typing it so new photos will be added in the evening tomorrow (afternoon for US friends). Stay tuned for tomorrow’s church themed post!