Les Tuileries

Today we woke up early to grab some croissants and head down to Notre Dame in time for a choir mass and to explore the cathedral and poke around the tourist shops. Truly, that place is both beautiful and inspiring, and makes me just a little sad that the US doesn't have such rich history. 

Then we headed over to check out the Conciergerie, the prison where Marie Antoinette and Robespierre were held before their executions. We saw the Palais de Justice and La Chappelle, and looked around both of Paris's little islands on the middle of the Seine River. Then we walked along the river and eventually came to the Louvre. We spent hours and hours there, walking each enormous wing, and still missed giant parts of the museum. The place is like a small city, it is so huge! We did, however, manage to see some awesome things like the Venus de Milo, the Winged Victory, the Hammurabi Code, and of course the Mona Lisa, among other things. Incredible! 

Then we walked along the Tuileries, the large garden that stretches from the Louvre to the Place de la Concorde, which is better known to us Americans as Place de la Revolution (where the infamous guillotine once stood and where the streets ran red with blood). In the place where the guillotine was before, there is now a huge obelisk that was a gift from Egypt to the King of France. We were so tired after this that we skipped the Champs Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe (don't worry, we will do it tomorrow!). We came back, stopped at a butcher's shop on the street and got a delicious dinner and some piping hot baguettes and some pastries of course, and headed to some steps to eat. We eventually crashed for an hour in our room in bed, then went out for more pastries and drinks. Now I am thoroughly exhausted and awaiting another busy day tomorrow, woooo!