I'm having a hard time starting this journal entry and James has the misfortune of sitting next to me while I complain about my inability to come up with anything interesting to say. He just said, “When has that ever stopped you?”.
He’s hilarious.
It appears that Friday and Saturday got away from me so let me bring you up to speed. We've essentially eaten our way through Paris. Thursday night's meal was just one of the food sins I have committed in our past few days in Paris.
Friday morning we got up, tried to work off some of the vacation weight at the hotel gym and then made our way to The Louvre. All I can say is WOW!!! The place is unbelievable. It is a museum that was initially a medieval fortress and then became a palace. It took us all day to get through the vast amount of art, statues and artifacts that are in there (over 30,000 pieces). Just the front of the Lurve is 700 meters long. It looks out on to the Rue de Rivoli on one side and the Seine river on the other. There are three wings of the building and four levels. We saw Egyptian Antiques, Roman and Greek sculptures, Hammurabi's Code, The Mona Lisa of course, and had lunch in the Lurve cafeteria that rivaled a four star restaurant in the states.
Honestly, we have not had a bad meal yet. After walking every bit of five miles inside The Lurve, we started walking to the hotel. After much complaining and crying on my part, we stopped off at a little cafe and had coffee and a chocolate crêpe. Everything has paled in comparison to how good this dessert tasted.
After our energy was restored we walked the rest of the way back to the hotel. Dinner Friday night was at Mesturet and was divine.. James had steak and I had ham and cheese pasta. Before you judge, my meal was amazing!!! When I took my first bite, I felt tears come to my eyes as I shoveled more into my mouth while asking, "Oh my word...what is in this stuff?"
Please note that I did not get a picture of James because that would have required me to quit eating. Another note: Europeans don't start dinner until at least 9:00, but they will start drinking at 10am. Well...when in Rome!! Needless to say, we are going to have a big adjustment when we come home.
Saturday morning we ate breakfast in the hotel and decided to tackle Notre Dame and the Museum of Natural History. Also on James' agenda was "to figure out the subway system." Apparently I went a little overboard in Friday's exhaustion filled meltdown. After one ride in the wrong direction and three subway tickets later (you do know there is only two of us?), James had it figured out. Pictures of us in the subway:
We made it to La Cathédral Notre Dame and it is breath taking. Construction on the cathedral began in 1163 and was complete in 1330. The first foundation stone was laid by Pope Alexander III. It has a very gothic style of architecture. The cathedral was almost completely destroyed in the 17th century. The choir was renovated by Louis XIV in the 18th century, but it wasn't until the 19th century, and the publication of Victor Hugo's novel Notre Dame de Paris, that the city decided to push forward for a full restoration. We took a ton of pictures and everything was amazing until I saw a row of machines that will flatten out your penny and stamp a picture of the cathedral on the back for 2€. After that, all I could think was "three ring circus." Why Notre Dame would you cheapen yourself like that? You are so beautiful and French and then you do this?? (I have a whole alter boy comment ready, but I'd like a birthday gift from my mother so I'll refrain.)
After Notre Dame, we walked to the Museum of Natural History next and toured the dinosaur exhibit. This museum opened in 1898 and there were over a thousand skeletons on display. James was in heaven.
For dinner Saturday night we went on a night cruise on the Seine River. We saw the lights of The Eiffel Tower, Les Invalides, Notre Dame, the Statue of Liberty and The Louvre. The view from the boat was spectacular. Dinner was fantastic too. I wish I could give more specific details, but I’ll tell you what I know. I got a roast and James got veal. My roast was basted in olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper, then cooked. Our veggies consisted of tomatoes and artichoke hearts with some sort of cream in it and something else and it was delicious. And we had little cheese bread squares that were trés bonne! Dessert was an amazing Crème Brûlée. (The above descriptions are not exact recipes given the vague and probably inaccurate list of ingredients).
I'm going to have to go for a LONG jog in the morning to pay the bread and cream piper by around 9:00 a.m. Or maybe 10:00. I'm on vacation!
Much Love,
The Butterball's
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