Paris: Part 3

Da Vinci Code, anyone?

 The Louvre was one of my favorite stops on our Europe trip and it completely encompasses all the reasons Josh did not want to come. It is a huge museum that I could easily spend days in... and there's a shopping mall underneath it! I totally ate a brie-and -rocket panini (roquette, otherwise known as arugula - and now my favorite leafy green) for like $7 in their food court. The French food was by far my favorite on our trip!


 In the Louvre we saw everything from Venus de Milo...

...to this little cherub wrestling a goose. This reminds me so much of Spencer. My boys agreed, and they giggle everytime they look at it. We also (of course!) saw the Mona Lisa, but there was seriously such a huge crowd around it that it was impossible to get a good picture.

 My favorite part of the Louvre was Napoleon's Quarters. The Louvre is so much more than a museum; it was originally (in the 12th century) built as a fortress (and you can still see the remnants of that fortress, including the moat, underneath it - how cool is that?) and was also at times used as a private place of residence for many royal families, including Napoleon III. So - the Napoleon's Quarters displays are housed within the actually living quarters of Napoleon and everything has been restored to its original Victorian amazingness.

 A couple more views of the Louvre. I still can't believe I actually saw all this!

 My favorite night in Paris was spent at the Sacre Couer de Montmartre, which is a church in a, well - more colorful part of town. We saw the Sacre Couer from the Eiffel tower - it is set on a huge hill & just looks like a place you don't want to miss, even from far away. Laura used her super powers to navigate us there on the Metro. There were street performers, street artists, an open market, creepy guys trying to sell us stuff, and yummy crepes.

 Not to mention a great view of the Eiffel!

 Here is the outside of the Sacre Couer.

 And the view of the city.

 And here is me being an absolute dork at the Louvre. But look, no black sweater!