We are becoming Parisians!

Even though we have just been back for 4 days, we have done a lot of things. After arriving on Tuesday morning, we had a day of adjusting. We unpacked and napped and about 4 in the afternoon, I walked about a block to the salon Jon and I had spotted before we went to Seattle. I went in and had a pedicure! It was not much more than I paid in Poulsbo and had roughly the same things included ( feet soaked, nails manicured, scrub, moisturizer and polish) but it was done on the lower floor of the salon - not very glamorous! I did try to read the August edition of Elle in French! On Wednesday we slept late - jet lag caught up with us - and about 1 we headed out to Rue Cler, a wonderful village-like pedestrian only street with lots of shops. We are getting pretty good at taking the Metro to wherever we want to go and so we transferred a couple of times and got there. We enjoyed looking around and I took some photos of the flower stalls etc. Then we walked over to the Eiffel Tower. What an incredible structure! Currently it has been painted brown and looks wonderful! We just enjoyed the scene there for a while. The weather was gorgeous and we decided that it was the perfect time to take a Batobus (hop on, hop off boat) that goes from the Eiffel Tower down the Seine and back. So we did! We left the dock at about 6 and were back at about 7. A lovely day! On Thursday we got going a bit earlier and headed for the Louvre. We planned to visit 3 museums on each of two consecutive days with a museum pass. The Louvre is very imposing - one would need a week to see it all and that is if you had a guide to help you. So we settled for the Mona Lisa (doesn't everyone?) and then the Napoleon III rooms. We decided that since we would be in Italy, we could pass on the work of the Italians - same with the Greeks and Spaniards. Then we walked through the Tuilleries to Musee L'Orangerie, a smaller Impressionist museum. It's best known feature is Monet's original Water Lilies paintings. We saw those but also many other Impressionist works. Lastly we headed to Musee D'Orsay, the best known of the Impressionist museums. We went straight to the 5th floor where the bulk of our favorite painters' works are housed. We spent a couple of hours there, including some time in the gift shop. Then we straggled home - we were foot sore and ready to sit for a while! We ended up with a good dinner out at a close by restaurant and then headed for bed. Today was the second day of the museum pass - "use it or lose it" applies here. So we walked to the Picasso Museum which is about 1/4 miles from our apartment, only to find it closed until 2012 for renovation! After a few choice words, we found the nearby Metro and went to the Musee Armee, or Invalides Hotel. This is the national military training center for French cadets and houses the world's largest military museum. It is phenomenal! Most of you know that military stuff is not my favorite subject but we only saw half of the displays in 3 hours! Suits of armor dating back to the 1100s, weapons of all kinds, a fascinating exhibit on the two World Wars - extremely well done and beginning in 1871! - and finally Napoleon Bonaparte's tomb. Just a half block away is the Rodin Museum. We thoroughly, but relatively quickly, enjoyed that including the beautiful gardens. Then we walked back to Rue Cler, just a few blocks, to do some shopping this time. We were sitting at an outdoor table at a cafe Rick Steves recommends and Jon spotted Ted Cozine, a friend from Grace Church, walking by! We knew the Cozines were in Paris and had emailed with them about getting together so this was a great way to plan! They joined us and we're planning to get together next Tuesday. They showed us their darling apartment just above Rue Cler - a great location - and then we were off to the Metro again. Tomorrow we're planning to get an early start and finally get to Versailles! More later!