Day Three: Much Walking!!

It was an eventful day on Monday! We got up and ate breakfast at the hotel, and then set off for our guided tour for the Louvre. Sounds simple enough, right? It is when you read the map correctly! I have voluntarily relenquished any map reading duties over to Kim. Not only did I read the map wrong, I read the address wrong so that when we did get to the right street, we walked many blocks in the wrong direction. So we have rescheduled the tour of the Louvre for Thursday. That was a big embarrassment, as I don't ever get turned around like that when there is a map involved! However, I am in a foreign country and was only operating on about 4 hours of sleep. (Jet lag is HELL!)

So we learned how the Metro system works here, and it is incredibly cool! Tough to figure out at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's easy! We took the Metro to Notre Dame and went through the cathedral, and it is beautiful beyond words. I got to light a candle at Notre Dame and say a prayer for Gran...Mom and Dad, be sure to let her know. It was a very moving experience, and one I will never forget. You can take pictures in there and most of them are good...some are quite dark, though. From there we took Les Car Rouges (the red bus) and saw the major highlights: Arc dr Triomphe, Champs Elysees, Eiffel Tower, and lots more. We're going back today to do that, and then take a cruise on the Seine River. We just bought a bottle of wine and are going to enjoy it under the Eiffel Tower. (That's where I'll be writing out all my postcards, too!) Lots more walking today, but I am enjoying it tremendously. We ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant last night and the food was great! The margaritas are different, but still very good. We were serenaded by the band, who told us we were very beautiful...they didn't say that to any of the other ladies! I got to speak a little Spanish to them...lots of fun! I am getting more comfortable using the French that I know, and people here are very very nice to us, regardless of what you hear people say about the French. They appreciate it when you greet them in French and they like to talk to you in English when they can. Many of them seem interested in the fact that we are from Texas, and one woman said it was her dream to visit our great state. We had crepes after dinner, and WOW! Very yummy! I had one with Nutella and whipped creme..my body went into sugar shock! I can't do that again, but it was so good! (Nutella is a chocolate hazelnut spread)

I finally slept a full night and I am feeling good today...minimal soreness in the legs, but the walking I was doing at home has helped. Kim is still limping a bit, but it's because of the scrape on her foot form the night before we left. Check out her blog for the story on that. I think that will do it for today. Have a wonderful day and I will blog again tonight about the events of today. I am taking lots of pictures and cannot wait to share them!

Love,
Jen