We split up for a day, since Rich & Laura had already seen the Louvre before and had a few things they wanted to go see elsewhere. So Ryan and I packed a lunch and started off bright and early, just me and my best friend with all of Paris at our fingertips. Ahh, the romance. [:
^^ Metro buddies. This thing is THE BEST. You can go literally anywhere you want in Paris so easily! So convenient. I loved the metro, even if it smelled like pee.
First was the enormously grand Louvre! Wow. In my research I read that if you spent 30 seconds at every piece of art and artifacts in the Louvre, you'd be there for OVER THREE MONTHS.
Not only is it chock-full of incredible artifacts from human history, but the museum itself IS STUNNING. The detail everywhere had me looking upwards as often as possible!
It was really neat to see in person so many of the paintings and sculptures that I had pretty much ate, slept, and breathed during my high school AP European History class years ago. Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People, Coustou's beautiful sculptures, Vermeer's The Lacemaker, The Raft of the Medusa, the enormous Consecration of Napoleon I, and of course, the ever-so-lovely Mona Lisa.
She continues to make people go cray cray with the selfies.
Probably one of my top three favorite things that we saw here was the Winged Victory of Samothrace. She is so beautiful to me! So much power, action, life, and detail in a motionless statue. And we have no idea who to give the credit to. So mysterious and romantic. [:
^^ Winged Victory selfie.
^^ I asked Ryan if I could be buried in a gold casket, too. He said no.
^^ Nakey alert. Sorry. Venus de Milo is just so pretty.
Definitely ready for some food after all that. After some gift shop browsing, we decided to pick a general direction, follow it, and see what we could find in regards to restaurants.
We picked this one. And it was perfect.
French bread and French onion soup in France. [:
The most delicious steak and a little cup of gravy that I could have just drank on one shot. So good. And Ryan had a salad with some of the best parmesan cheese and croutons I've ever had.
I LOVE EATING IN PARIS. I don't know how anyone could choose to eat inside rather than outside. We chose outside every time. It's so romantic talking, eating delicious food, and watching the Parisian world go by in the warm evening air with your love right next to you. Oh take me back...
After dinner, we walked.
The above two pictures were in the most perfect little courtyard surrounded by tall buildings on all sides. I sat and watched people playing lawn games and relaxing at restaurants while Ryan searched for a bathroom! Haha. A funny memory. Though the bathroom struggle is very, very real in this city!
Passing the Church of Saint Germain. So beautiful!
Since we were in the area, we walked to Saint-Chappelle and a couple other places that we were planning on seeing the next day. Then, we sat down on those lovely paths along the Seine in the beautiful evening light and dangled our feet over the water for a minute, just taking it all in and listening to people chat around us.
It was so great.
It was a pretty warm evening, and at just about the same time we looked at each other and said "Hey, I want ice cream. You want ice cream?" So we headed into the Saint-Michel area and found some ice cream.
Found some on this adorably tiny little street!
We leaned against a big tree and ate with this cute little brasserie as our view. I loved this building! So cute and skinny. Wish I could live with that lovely tall window above the restaurant as my view every day.
Sitting here eating our ice cream, a girl about our age came up to us with a subway map and began to speak French to us, asking for directions! Maybe she was just in a rush and was looking for anyone to help her, but WE stick to the story that we just looked so at ease in the city that she thought we were simply regular Parisian lovers having an evening ice cream cone. [: We were very flattered. Luckily a nearby Frenchman was able to help her out. Merci, random French girl!
Back on the metro and back home. This was a perfect day with my husband and the city of love!
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