Two Nights and a Day in Paris: Part 2

After our stop at the Arche de Triumphe, we got back on the bus and headed for a day-time view of the Eiffel Tower, soaking up stories of Parisian history along the way.

The tower was just as impressive, but different, in fully daylight.  I'm glad we got to see it both ways.  Funny Guy was dubious about climbing the stairs so My Man took him to a cafe while Young Man, Darling Daughter, and I tackled the stairs.  The sun was shining and the views were amazing.

The climb went faster than I'd expected (mostly thanks to Young Man and Darling Daughter racing each other to the top with me trying to keep up) so we took out time at the top soaking in the views before taking the elevator down for another perspective and meeting back up with My Man and Funny Guy.  Next stop, The Louvre.

Most important, of course, was the opportunity for that classic shot of each of us touching the tip of the glass pyramid.  No matter how goofy other people look posing, we still each secretly wanted our own turn.

I wasn't expecting to get to see much during our brief visit to the Louvre (after all, according to Wikipedia, "the Musee du Louvre contains more than 380,000 objects and displays 35,000 works of art in eight curatorial departments with more than 652,000 sq ft dedicated to the permanent collection."  Just reading that made me tired! 

Still, we were excited to see the Mona Lisa and a few other pieces at least.  We joined the hundreds of other tourists thronging the mysterious smiling woman. 

It was definitely the most popular and crowded piece in the museum, although we also hit all the others in the "Top 5 famous pieces in the Louvre" including a sculpture by Michaelangelo.

Although I had made my peace with seeing only the highlights of the museum, My Man had other ideas and made a valiant effort to see everything, literally everything.  

Funny Guy was more interested in finding a place to sit than in critiquing the masterpieces on the walls and soon the boys found a bench and begged a rest.  Darling Daughter was intrigued by the museum's iPad guide, however, and wanted to find a specific vase.  My Man was up for the challenge.  It was in an obscure corner of the museum and it felt like we saw most of the Louvre along the way, but finally we found it.  Still there was so much more to see.  By then, the sun was setting and the view from the Louvre was almost as impressive as the collections inside.

By then, I was eyeing the boys' bench with envy, the jetlag catching up to me full force.  

Reluctantly, My Man admitted that although it might be possible for him, it wasn't physically possible for any of the rest of us to see the entire Louvre in just a few hours.  Besides, our river cruise was waiting.  Reluctantly, he gave in and we went out to eat some dinner we'd packed and wait for our bus.  It took its time coming, so we explored the area a bit, enjoying the gorgeous architecture and cuddling together for warmth.

The river cruise was the perfect finale for our trip.  We saw many of the highlights we had already seen before, but from a new perspective.

The lights and the river combined for a beautifully romantic good-bye to the beautiful city of Paris.  The next morning, after feasting on macaroons and fresh French cheese and eggs, we re-packed our bags and boarded one last plane, ready to explore our new home for at least the next two years.