Paris.

Well, I'm officially in love with the "City of Love." The tempo/rhythm of this city is so calm and relaxing. What a nice getaway after a month of intense training is a hustle and bustle city. Love Moscow, but this is a nice change.

Well, yesterday we all woke up, made some breakfast, chatted, told stories, and figured out what we would do for the day. The decision was to go to the Musee de Louvre. We also decided to walk there because it only looked like it was a mile down, which is nothing compared to all the walking we did in Moscow. Plus, we wanted to see a little more of Paris on the way. So, we walked. It was strange because I felt like I knew where I was going, where I was heading, and the streets are strange and curve all different ways. Somehow I became the leader, which is fine. It's just weird how natural I feel here; I feel so comfortable.

On the way, we saw everything you'd expect to see in Paris, the apartments with the balconies and flowers, the little restaurants, bakeries, small streets, one way streets, beautiful churches. We stopped into some of the little shops. Then it began to rain. Pretty hard. The funny thing about it is that it didn't really even phase us. We had umbrellas. At one point, Sarah and I were waiting on a corner by a canal we had to cross, for everyone else, and I look across the canal and go "Hey, Sarah, look to your right. There's Notre Dame." And there it was. Out of nowhere, we just happened to run into it. It's so cool how that can happen and how we just ran into one of the famous churches. It's so magnificent and such a sight to see. So beautiful and so gigantic.

We continued on and on the way we saw the intersection that Princess Diana had her car accident at...well, not the tunnel, but above the tunnel. That was surreal.

We went further and finally arrive at the gigantic Louvre. We walked through to the other side and there were the pyramids everyone knows about. It was so weird to actually see them in real life because you hear about them so often and see pictures and here I am standing right in front of them. We entered the museum and began our 8 hour adventure around this large and enticing museum. Here's a small rundown of the things I saw: The Mona Lisa (which is a lot smaller than I thought it'd be), Venus de Milo, Victorie de Samthonique (might have that last part wrong), paintings of Michaelangelo, Donatello, mummies, the coffin thing that mummies get placed into, Egyptian/Greek/Roman artifacts, Greek Vases, Roman Vases, Napoleon's Apartments, Greek/Italian sculptures, paintings from all over Europe. The list is extensive. So much to take in in such a small amount of time. After 6pm, it's free, so we're going to try to come back a couple times after 6 when we're not doing something else, just to check out some more. Beth said she saw Commedia masks, which I would LOVE to see.

On our way back to the apartment, we crossed the canal with people just having picnics - wine, beer, noodles, baguettes - I'm totally doing this before I leave. We went down a side street instead of the main street on the way home and passed some break dancers, little bars and clubs, restuarants. The city was so alive and so lit up and it was so late. We stopped at Shakespeare and Company, a bookstore that Hemingway and others used to come to to chill at. A tiny quaint bookstore loaded with old, old books. It was pretty neat to see. I looked straight ahead while Sarah and I were waiting outside for Beth and Cathy to finish shopping and again, there was Notre Dame - all lit up. What a sight to see at night as well. (P.S. I forgot to mention, you can pretty much see the Eiffel Tower from everywhere as long as there's some open space - from the Lovre windows, the bridges, etc.) We continued walking and stopped at this wine store. The guy began talking to Beth and I outside because we weren't getting anything and he was telling us we need to stay up and out all night one night in Paris when the moon is out. Then at 5am when the cafes open, grab a coffee and watch the sunrise. That is how you truly experience Paris. So, one night, we're definitely going to do that. I'm pretty excited.

We got home and were all exhausted. I made some dinner (GNOCCI!), we each had a glass of wine, and then off to bed we went. First day around Paris was a success and an amazing time.

Today, we're going to get ready and head off to the Catacombs and then over to visit the Eiffel Tower to see it while it's daylight, eat some dinner, then see wait to see it all lit up, as well. Another long, but cool day.

Have a good day!