Paris: Day 2

We had no more luck waking up than the day before. But Paris was calling us, so we ate a quick breakfast in the room and headed out for the day.

As we were heading to the Metro, we saw a Farmer's Market and took a little detour. The market was incredible. Fresh fruits and vegetables, delicious cheese, hot and flaky pastries, flowers everywhere. I could have done without all the dead rabbits, however! We bought orange blossom bread, fresh cheese, and olives, and, with our picnic in hand, abandoned the metro and walked to the Eiffel Tower.

We ate our lunch on a picnic bench on the green field in front of the Eiffel Tower, watching children play and dogs run and tourists stage cheesy pictures in front of the famous landmark. Not that we didn't join them.






We convinced a young British couple to take a few pictures of both of us, and in return got to hear the story of how he just proposed to her on the top of the Eiffel Tower!

We took the Metro to Notre Dame, where we sat inside, marveling at the architecture and the stained class windows.




I had some fun with Charlemagne ...



... and the Notre Dame pigeons.



From Notre-Dame we walked the (much longer than we thought) distance to the Musee D'Orsay. I know the Louvre is Paris' beloved museum, but I loved the Musee D'Orsay. Built in a restored train station, it's so much more intimate than the Louvre. Plus ... I feel even more in love with Impressionism than before. I couldn't believe how powerful it was to see, in person, Monet's painting of Giverny (so different than the poster than hangs above my bed at home in Florida) and Degas' dancers and Renoir's Bal du moulin de la Galette.

Following the flawless instructions of "the Bible" (aka the Dummies Guide to Paris) we went in search of the vegetarian restaurant Grenier de Notre-Dame. We had pumpkin soup, vegetarian lasagna, and tiramisu (all with a side of flirtation from our 40-year-old Tunisian waiter Amar who asked if I would stay in Paris please.)

We decided against a night time cruise of the Seine (I got my dislike of boats from my mother) and wandered a bit downtown before returning home for some homemade vin chaud (hot wine) and making plans for tomorrow.