you can never have too much time at the Louvre.

We started off the day with a lovely breakfast at our Hotel, consisting of a (real) French croissant and a delicious cup of hot chocolate. Then, we headed to the metro station to purchase our day pass for the public transportation that is ever so confusing in Paris. Of course we purchased the wrong ticket and ended up watching 5.70 euro go to waste. Oh well. Next stop: THE LOUVRE. Besides Sarah and I, the other girls only wanted to stay at the Louvre for a few minutes, mostly just to see the Mona Lisa. She and I refused to do that, so we proceeded to spend from 9am-3pm exploring the different sections of this extensive and extremely overwhelming museum. Call me a nerd, but I could have spent at least two full days there. In the  six hours we were inside, we saw maybe 1/10 of the Louvre's offerings. Is that not ridiculous? The Mona Lisa is extremely overrated. There, I said it. I was thoroughly disappointed at the number of people who only paid for entrance to the museum to see one miniscule painting. Some of my favorite sightings of the day include: "The Four Seasons", works by Raphael, "The Raft of the Medusa," The Code of Hammurabi, and "Liberty Leading the People." After a sad departure from the museum, we went to purchase some meringues at a local bakery and walked inside the Descartes University in the heart of Paris, before making our way back over to the square surrounding Notre Dame for a 3 1/2 hour free walking tour of the city of Paris. Those walking tours are so wonderful for people like me who eagerly desire to experience every aspect of a big city, but fail miserably without a decent guide. We learned some important historical facts about France and the city of Paris. The tour concluded around 8pm, and then Sarah and I headed straight to the Arc de Triomphe, honoring those who fought for France during the Napoleonic wars. The Arc also contains the tomb of the unknown soldier from World War I. We ended our night with a late dinner at a local cafe, where we both ordered authentic French onion soup (INCREDIBLE) and baguette. Then, we knocked out another one of my sites for my research paper: the Hotel Pont Royal, where Julia Child and her husband Paul lived for the first month upon arrival in Paris in November, 1948.

The next morning, while everyone else decided to take a day trip to Versailles, Sarah and I decided to be nerds again together. We started off by finding our way to the Bastille monument, then arrived at the Musee d'Orsay, and waited in line for a ticket for nearly an hour. This museum is a compilation of many different time periods, including impressionism, naturalism, and surrealism. We alloted ourselves only two hours, which was almost just enough for us to see the museum in its entirety. We got a quick lunch at a local crepe stand, and I ordered a chicken/cheese crepe, which I honestly enjoyed more than any of the previous chocolate crepes I had tried. Down the street, we arrived at another of my research paper sights: the E. Dehillerin, an extensive cooking store where Child's used to purchase her utensils and cookware during her time at The Le Cordon Bleu school. The store is certainly not your typical Williams-Sonoma. In fact, you can barely walk through the obnoxiously-narrow aisles because the shelves protrude with copper and metal cooking ware. I loved the experience though. The store has been around for over 120 years! After a short stop there, we arrived at the Opera House, where we paid 6 euro for a self-guided tour. I felt like I was inside the Phantom of the Opera...certainly puts the Vienna Opera House to shame.

Afterwards, we met back up with the group and headed straight to The Le Cordon Bleu, for a free tour of the cooking school. This was the highlight of my day. A precious Frenchwoman guided us through the demonstration rooms and kitchens the students use to prepare the course(s) of the day. This is the same school Child's attended, which initiated her desire and skill in cooking. Let's just say, this tour certainly sparked in me a renewed passion for cooking, which I plan to utilize over Christmas break, once back in America! Before departing, we all bought a generous amount of souvenirs for friends/family back home before heading to Moulin Rouge for our free 2 1/2 hour walking tour of the lovely district of Montmatre, a hill district in Paris, where artists such as Picasso and Van Gogh once lived. The tour was great; we saw the red light district of Paris, different artists houses, and Sacred Heart. I had been having a frustrating day and felt like my patience with people was running on E. While inside Sacred Heart, I chose to read I Corinthians 13, a passage I am extremely familar with, but instead of saying, "Love is patient, kind, etc.," I inserted the phrase, "Leah, you MUST be_____" which helped me so much. It was quite an experience, and I came out of the church feeling refreshed and completely joyful. We enjoyed our last authentic French meal inside Montmartre. I ordered my first helping of Beef Bourguignon, which was SO, SO delicious. One of Child's favorite dishes to prepare as well.

We headed to the train station after a satisfying last supper in Paris for our overnight train to Madrid! I apologize in advance for being so scatter-brained.