Paris, I louvre you.

Boy, I was so worried I wouldn't be able to come up with a relevant Paris pun, but I did!

When we arrived in Paris a soft rain was falling, just as Audrey Hepburn said it should.

Yesterday, Erica and I went to Sacre Coeur and then had caramel crepes with caramel ice-cream on top while we sat in a cafe that had a beautiful view of it. I will never go to that cafe again as it was very touristy and overpriced. I mean, all places in Paris are touristy and overpriced, but my hot chocolate was watery and disappointing. The crepes were good, though. We then went to the Champs-Elysee. When we ascended the metro stairs to the famous street, the Arc de Triomphe hit us in the face. It's so amazing--pictures never do it justice! It's beautiful and much more impressive than I had imagined it would be. That was the first of many "WOW" moments throughout the day.

We walked along the Champs-Elysee for a bit and then took the metro (which is SO easy to use) to the Louvre. My heart was thumping madly as each time I turned around I saw something famous. Antonio Canova's Eros & Psyche, Winged Victory (I nearly cried). . . once I just happened to turn my head and there was the Mona Lisa, and when a few minutes later I found myself facing The Coronation of Empress Josephine (which is huge), I said to the Louvre, "Okay, now you're just bragging." No one place should be allowed to hold that many treasures!

After the Louvre we saw Notre Dame. Third Notre Dame I've seen in France, but of course this was the Notre Dame, where the pope was not too long ago (SO jealous of Erin for getting to see him on a megatron screen!). Erica and I then went to the train station to pick up Kylie, then rested in our hostel for awhile, then met Erin for dinner in Montmartre. The waiter didn't speak French or English. It was a strange restaurant, but it was pretty good. I tried escargot for the first and definitely NOT the last time-- anything covered in that much garlic, butter, and basil is going to be delicious. They weren't served in the shells, which was disappointing, but they were served in a cute little skillet.

We were going to see the catacombs after dinner, but we couldn't find them! Ah well, perhaps today.