Ok, I have never been so tired besides this trip. You would think that a bunch of girls would jump up in the morning in excitement for what is to come in the day. Wrong....we somehow manage to oversleep the wake up call and barely make it in time to meet the group downstairs. Even though we get a decent nights sleep here, I feel as if I could just stay in bed for days. Once we got our butts going, the plan for the day finally hit me. Three words: The Mona Lisa. I'll admit, I'm not a big fan of art or museums, but I was dying to see the Mona Lisa in person. Who wouldn't?! With the Louvre being the first stop for the day, Mona was getting closer and closer as time went on.We took the metro to the area of the Louvre and were basically told we could spend as little or as much time as we wanted there. The Louvre is HUGE! It is the largest museum in the world and is shaped in a "U". The size of it was so overwhelming and fascinating. Rafael told us that if you spent 1 minute in front of each painting, you would be there for 28 days straight (24/7). Wow!
Mollie, Alyssa and I started in one wing of the museum that contained sculptures. I couldn't believe how many sculptures there were and how in detail everything was. We made a plan that if one of us gets lost, we would meet in the main area in the middle. Getting lost in such a big place can be a huge deal. This is especially ture because we can't use our cell phones to help find one another. Let's just say for about 2 minutres I thought I was lost and decided to stick closer for the rest of our visit.
Even though this area of the museum was amazing, I still only had one thing on my mind. I was only worried about seeing Mona Lisa at this point. We stopped for a pop before continuing on in the museum. You really work up a thirst in this place :) Our next and final area to explore was the area that contained the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. My excitement was starting to get on my nerves. I couldn't even focus on other pieces of work because I wanted to keep moving.
Never in my life would I have imagined seeing the Mona Lisa in person. Honestly, I never thought I would care that much either. When we finally got to her, Mona was surrounded by a group of people and covered in glass. Security was high around her. The guide on our boat tour told us that a long time ago, a man that worked where the painting was fell in love with her. He took the painting home and rolled it up. The Mona Lisa sat under his bed for 3, yes 3 years!!
After snatching a few photos, we moved on to see the Venus de Milo before leaving the Louvre. On our way out, we spent time outside in the courtyard/s. I definitely enjoyed the outside of the museum much more. Everything was so beautiful. The architecture, landscaping and fountains made it one of the most beautiful places I had ever seen. We spent a lot of time walking around and taking pictures. LOVED IT!
The plan from here was to walk to the Moulin Rouge in an area known as Montmarte. We made it as far as the arch (with a shopping stop on the way) and Mollie, Alyssa and I decided that was enough walking. We hadn't eaten at all during the day and were getting a little concerned about getting something. The Metro was our choice, while the rest of the group kept walking. We knew we would arrive before them, so we stopped at a sandwhich/crepe shop and grabbed a bite to eat. I still can't get over how amazing the crepes were!
Montmarte, a very interesting place, is where the Moulin Rouge is located. The whole street is lined with adult stores, bars and adult entertainment. Because it is "outside of the city", they don't have the same rules as you would find in downtown Paris. It was all lit up because we got there after dark, and I can't say I've ever seen anything like it. I probably never will again. The group finally met up with us and we took a few photos outside of the Moulin Rouge. Everyone else was hungry, so we went and joined them at a local pub.
From there, the plan was to do a bit of shopping. We walked up these steep streets to where all of the best stores were. Once we made it to the top of the hill, disappointment sunk in. Everything was closing up and if we had made it maybe a half hour earlier, we would have been able to shop. I didn't let this get me down for too long. Another crepe was in order and we headed back to the Metro.
Once again, my bed was calling my name. I couldn't wait to get some sleep and to start our last day in Paris.
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