Volume 16 - Day 195/171, 2024 - Saturday

Well, today was another busy day for an old guy like me. I am, however, holding up pretty well. We had breakfast at the hotel, and then we met our tour guide, Christopher, and we toured the city in a 1977 (I think) Citroen 2CV. We got quite a few looks from passersby because of the car. The tour was great, and I learned even mlre about Paris and France that I am quite certain I will bore you with for months to come. Here is a brief recap: We say buildings that were damaged in World War 2 that are still being used today, we saw the place where the Statue of Liberty was cast (the building is long gone), saw a statue of Joan of Arc, we saw a building that once house the Texas Embassy when Texas was still a Republic, Moulin Rouge, MontMarte, the Arc du Triumph (there are three of them), and then I went off on my own to the Louvre. Mygoal was to see theMona Lisa, and I thought that I might fail. I saw lots of stuff, took lots pf oictures, and liked to have never found the Mona Lisa. I was told 'Go up these stairs, turn right every time, never turn left.' Everyone I asked had a different route, but I finally made it, and I have visual proof, as you can see in the photo accompanying this entry. I got back to the hotel, and then I met up with Lynda and Michael at the Cafe du Trocadero, which has a lovely rooftop seating area, except when it rains. It also has a lovely view of the Eiffel Tour, except when the construct a fur story temporary building across the street, just for VIPs to view the Eiffel Tour and the Olympic events. So...we struck out on two occasions, but we had a lovely dinner. We did get to see the Tower sparkle, but could not get any decent photos because of the barricades. Whatever. Tomorrow we take the TGV to Avignon. Early. Very early.