Monday and Tuesday

Our feet are really, really tired. That about sums it up. ;)

Yesterday, we took a walking tour of the Ile de la Cite, which
includes Notre Dame and St. Chapelle. After a great lunch (thanks to
Rachel Ray's recommendations), we took a bus from the Eiffel Tour to
the Pere-Lachaise Cemetary. We toured the cemetary and paid our
respects to Edith Piaf, Chopin, Oscar Wilde, Gertrude Stein, and of
course Jim Morrison.

We had to head back to the hotel early because we had tickets to the
Opera. We got all dressed up and surprise! There's a strike and the
opera is cancelled. As Nicholas said, "welcome to the French
economy." We got our tickets exchanged and decided to go back and
change. We had a wonderful mealat Le 27 Gourmands and went to a jazz
club on the left bank where we mainly watched some "frenzied" dancing
and even hit the floor a couple times ourselves.

What amazed me the most is that there were a good number of people out
at midnight on a MONDAY night! And it's not just partying because we
left the restaurant at 10:30 and it was crowded. I mean not to be
culturally insensitive but I really think maye they should go to bed
at a more reasonable hour.

Today, we woke up (begrudgingly) and went to the Musee d'Orsay and saw
A LOT of impressionistic paintings. I've been before but had forgotten
the true breadth of the collection.

After lunch, we did a quick tour through the Musee Rodin, but since
his statues were copied and are in every major city (including DC)
it's abit less exciting. After resting in the gardens, we decided to
tackle the Eiffel Tower in a serious way.

Ya'll we took the stairs.

Not all the way to the top, but 668 steps to the second level. It was
hardcore and so was the view.

Afterwards, we shopped along Rue Cler and picnicked in the Tower's shadow.

We then returned to the hotel for Opera part deux. And this time no
strike! It was really fantastic. The building alone is worth
admission.Just picture yourself in the middle of the Phantom of the
Opera and you get the picture. We actually saw a ballet, not opera,
and it was tres interessante. It included a topless ballerina, a
male/male duet, and a Thriller-esque finale. After a stop at a wine
bar, we are now gratefully horizontal.

Tomorrow its off to the Louvre!