Finally exploring in Paris

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We wake up early in order to start our full day of seeing the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. We decided to go to the Louvre first because it was only a 15 minute walk from our hotel. Since we began early we were able to see Paris before all the shops open. It was very peaceful and quiet while we walked down the street we hoped was going the right way. We past shops of all kinds, cafes, and the occasional prostitute on the side of the road. It was a very interesting walk to say the least.

We arrived at the Louvre which is located on the right bank of the Seine River and one the the world's largest museums. The Louvre grew from a palace in the 12th century into a huge art museum. The art collections consist of everything possible but probably the most famous was the Mona Lisa. It was crazy to see so much of the art I have studied in my art history course. I was able to look at much of the art and still remember the significance behind each piece. We had the chance to also see the statue, Venus de Milo carved back in 150 B.C. The Louvre was amazing to see the art from so many periods in this palace. The palace itself was a beautiful artwork. Every ceiling was ornately painted with the marble floor.

As we left the Louvre we began to walk through the Jardin des Tuileries. This is a garden or better known as a park that is a treasure to Paris. It is filled with fountains and beautiful statues. As we began our walk to find the Eiffel Tower that we can only see in the distance, the rain begins. The simple sprinkles that were expected was an understatement. It began to pour diagonally into our face. After becoming completely drenched because our umbrella was not doing anything for us we walked down the street right next to the Eiffel Tower. We took another side street and we literally were right next to a side entrance to the Eiffel Tower.

The Eiffel Tower was amazing to finally see. We sat at a cafe eating a chocolate croissant and a coke starring at it. Our cafe was right on the corner and we could see majority of the Tower. It finally stopped raining and we were stunned looking directly up to it. As time went by we headed to take a million pictures and begin our journey to the top. We took one elevator to the middle level where we were instructed to get off and head towards the middle. Here we took another glass elevator that took us straight up to the point. As we are ascending the rain hits again and strong winds. We swear we could feel a little shake while we were at the top but the view was amazing! We could see all of Paris and stayed at the top for an hour. The moment was perfect and we never wanted to get down. We had to head back to our hotel to begin planning our next days trip to Versailles.

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