What I did on my Winter Vacation: Day 13 - Good Weather & the Louvre

We woke up to blue skies and fluffy clouds. The change in the quality of light made Paris feel totally different. Not quite as mysterious, less moody.

The view from our balcony - looking down on street that ran past our breakfast window - was less grey.

Evan wanted to come out and see what was going on, balcony side.

After Breakfast #1, I documented the reception window while Evan ran upstairs to get some last minute things. Note one of the abundant rule lists displayed in the lobby - the long white sign posted to the left of the stairs.

And the spiral staircase (elevators are for chumps!) that we'd climb for five floors, at least three times a day. You can also see additional rule signs posted on and above the doors.

Breakfast #2 was another great spot on M'daya's list - Gérard Mulot - a bakery with too many gorgeous things to eat in one go.

So many pretty colors!

It was a dangerous place to be - see the look on Evan's face as he stood perilously close to a tower of pastel goodness and a giant fork.

I saw this lamb and rice combo sitting in the case and jumped on it.

Evan got a saaavoury quiche.

The weather was so nice, it felt wrong, almost. It was crisp and clear.

"Say 'Hi' to your mother for me, Lion."

I think this was when we finally found a Marionnaud that was open, and after a very confusing exchange with the saleslady, decided trying to be clever about getting the VAT back wasn't gonna happen. Oh my aching English.

And I'm pretty convinced this must've been the city in which we started adding on pounds. We stopped into a café (I had to take another pee break), and it didn't take much arm twisting to pick up a glossy peachy tart.

Evan got one of those pastel goodies.

Then it was time to get down to business - the Louvre wasn't gonna stay open all night! Don't get upset, Evan, we're almost there!

The sun was still shining down on the rooftops of the Louvre with all its might.

The entrance pyramid was as impressive as I'd hoped. We sat down with cups of coffee to figure out our plan of attack.

Deciding to catch the "hits" before closing time, we ran into the Denon wing.

So metal!

It really reminded me of the Getty.

And then we got to the room to see her.

Ms. Mona. Behind a crowd, three barriers, a security guard, and bulletproof glass from across the room! Harumph!

I found a painting I could relate to more. Look, we have matching hairstyles!

We went up to the top floor to try and cover as much ground as possible, and even ran down, through the pyramid, and across to another wing to see how high up we could get.

As we were chased out by security guards trying to close down the museum for the day, I caught the dramatic escalator with moving pictures. Please cock your heads to the right for proper viewing - sorry, I couldn't figure out how to rotate this thing!

We had to squeeze in at least one more monument that day - the Arc de Triomphe. After cautiously eyeing it from across the street, we dove under the roundabout and surfaced next to it. There was some kind of memorial being held that evening, near the eternal flame. There was a choir of children. It looked like a family was being honored - a small boy had a sword in his hands. The ceremony had been blockaded off, and onlookers crowded around the baracades to watch.

After nosing around for a bit, we walked down the Champs-Élysées to take in the sights. Lots of giant luxury stores, McDonald's, and tourist shop-malls selling t-shirts and crystal knick-knacks. It was pretty and touristy. The Waikiki of Paris! We half-jokingly nearly didn't give the Parisian McDonald's a miss. But there was a falafel place Kyle had recommended that sounded too good to pass up.

Back to the Marais! We made a bee-line to the green falafel joint. There were clippings and articles about this restaurant, in several different languages, posted in the windows and on the walls. And was it worth it to cross town for our 20th meal of the day?