Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Paris, Day 2: The Louvre and the Eiffel Tower.

We set an alarm last night and had serious intentions of making an early start this morning. Too bad the alarm was still on California time. D'oh.

We woke up to Josh's Aunt Jody and cousin, Kohl, calling us from the lobby -- they had arrived! After a quick 15 minutes, we were downstairs and ready to go. But...Jody and Kohl were exhausted from their trip, so they decided to take a nap. While they slept, we headed back to the Louvre...this time to go inside!


The line was ridiculous, stretching all around the courtyard, but we decided to brave it anyway.


Sadly, I did not take any pictures inside the actual museum. I thought no cameras were allowed, but it turns out no flash photography allowed -- boo. Inside, we saw all the major stuff: Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and Winged Victory. We spent some time in the scuplture wing and in the History of the Louvre exhibit.

I did take some photos of the lobby. I know it's controversial, but I adore the glass pyramid in the center of the Louvre. It is stunning.






This picture would have been so cool if orange blazer weren't in the way. I will have to crop her out when I get home.


After spending the better part of the day at the Louvre, we headed back to meet up with Aunt Jody and Kohl at the hotel. From there, we grabbed crêpes and headed for the Metro, which we took the the Eiffel Tower.


We waited in another long line, but we finally made it to the elevators. The first time I came to Paris, my sister and I thought it would be "fun" to climb the stairs. Luckily, everyone seemed to be on board with taking the elevator this time!

Jody, Josh, and Kohl at the top of the Eiffel Tower.


Some aerial shots of our view. It was rainy, but still a gorgeous sight!






Kohl took a few pictures of Josh and me at the top. Unfortunately, they were blurry, but here is the clearest one.


After the Eiffel Tower, we had a very late bite to eat (around 11pm) and some wine, and then headed back to our hotel. Tomorrow, we are headed to the Musée d'Orsay in the morning. In the evening, we are planning to head back to the Eiffel Tower for the countdown to 2010. Then, we will see where the night takes us.

As a side note, given this is my last post of 2009, I have to say that I am determined to make 2010 a great year. There were many things to be thankful for in 2009, but there were some bumpy spots. I have a good feeling about 2010.

With that, bonne nuit!

5 comments:

dapotato said...

happy new year! how fun! new year's countdown at the eiffel tower.

weezermonkey said...

I love I.M. Pei. No controversy here!

Winnie said...

I can't believe you had to wait in that long line to get in! That's insane. But yeah, I totally would have waited too :)

amber said...

I think the pyramid is awesome. And I love those pictures from the top of the Eiffel Tower - so pretty.

wan said...

i'm pretty ignorant when it comes to stuff like that, but i don't get the controversy. that pyramid is beautiful to me.

happy 2010 to you - let's hope it's a fantabulous year for all of us!