Louvre and Arc de Triomphe

For our last day in Paris we did Rick Steves audio historic Paris walking tour. It took us back to Notre Dame and throughout many parts of Paris that we wouldn’t have seen otherwise. At Notre Dame we didn’t go in (as we already had) and instead used our museum passes to hike to the top. There were some pretty cool views of Paris but unfortunately it was really packed and crowded so it wasn’t as enjoyable as it could have been. Along the tour we walked through the Latin District which had many restaurants for good prices – so we took a mental note to go there in the evening. Near the end of the walk we came to Saint Chapelle’s cathedral.

We didn’t know too much about it coming in – but it was pretty amazing. It is a really small cathedral compared to all the others we have been too but what it is famous for are its stain glass windows. Three of the four walls that make up the cathedral are almost entirely stain glass. So as you walk in, pretty much all you see is stain glass walls that are a couple stories high – pretty memorable.

Also, we learned on our audio tour how the windows were made and what many of them meant. It is amazing to think about the fact that something so technical and time consuming was built without the technology we have now.
We had some yogurt and granola for lunch then walked along the river to the Louvre. Much like Versailles, we didn’t know how big it really was. It was huge! We were a little overloaded on museums so we did it fairly fast – which ended up being perfect for us. We followed the tour and saw the main paintings, with the climax being the Mona Lisa. While it was fairly small, a little darker than we imagined, and very packed and crowded, it still was pretty cool seeing it. Not sure why exactly – the painting itself is nothing amazing or pleasing to the eye – but there is something memorable about seeing the most famous painting ever. (Couldn’t believe some of the numbers behind its worth and how much is spent maintaining it.)
The dinner that we got back in the Latin district was pretty good. It was a place where you pay for either a 10 or 16 euro meal. It came with a soup or salad, a main course, and a dessert. Em really wanted to get French Onion soup while we were in Paris and I really wanted to get Crème Brulee and this restaurant had both! Both our entrée’s were nothing special but the French Onion soup with bread and melted cheese was a hit as was the Crème Brulee – so good.
For our last site we took the metro to the Arc de Triomphe. Our museum pass covered a pass up to the top so we made the hike and it was worth it. It was the best view had thus far in Paris – better than the Notre Dame and the Sacre-Coeur. It is located on a huge roundabout (with cars racing around it – probably 6 or 7 lanes wide yet without lanes? It seemed dangerous) with 6 or 7 streets coming off it. It felt like we were in the center of town. All of the streets connecting to the roundabout were well maintained and lined with trees. The main street was Champs-Elysees. It is really famous and takes you across town to the Louvre. When we got down from the Arc we walked along it for a bit and eventually made our way home for bed.
Overall, we probably could have used more time in Paris. It is a huge city and there was more we wanted to experience. That being said – we were fine moving on as we did see the main sights and had a great time.