Paris

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Paris is a gorgeous city! After roughly two and a half days in the city we have seen almost everything we had hoped to, but have come to terms with the fact that we will not see everything due to the size of the city alone.

Our hostel is located in the heart of the Latin Quarter, which is known for its many cafés and bustling night life. We are just a short walk from the Seine and spent a few hours the first night we were here exploring the area and even got a good glimpse of Notre Dame in the afternoon light - the sun doesn't se until after 9:30 pm! We eventually made our way to a café where we sipped some wine and enjoyed watching all the Parisians (and quite a few tourists) pass by. All the cafés in the city even arrange the chairs facing the street for optimal people watching.

Yesterday we were your standard tourists. We did a free walking tour of the city in the morning, which allowed us to see many of the major landmarks of the city, including the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and many more that I can't spell. Then later that night we took a bike tour with Fat Tire Bike Tours (VERY highly recommended if you're ever in Paris) on which we rode around the city on California Beach Cruisers for 4 hours and then spent the last hour on a boat ride down the Seine where they provided us with free wine to sip under the sparkling Eiffel Tower.

Today we were a bit tired after yesterday's many excursions, but still found time to make it to the Louvre to see Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and Napolean's apartments, to the Pompidou Centre, the museum of modern art (where we even had our picture taken with a life-sized red rhino), and then finally to the Musée Picasso before heading back tot he hostel to regroup.

Tonight's agenda: Dinner at a vegetarian café and a visit to Sacré Coeur.
Tomorrow: Musée d'Orsay, Musée Rodin, and Versailles
Wednesday: On to Barcelona!

I'm hoping to get some pictures up when we return to Cardiff, especially since I've already taken tons, but we'll have to see if I can get my USB adapter to work. Au revoir!

~Corynne