Napoleon, The Thinker, and Tired Feet

We started the day with hot chocolate and croissants at the bistro near the hotel. Then, we rode a Paris city bus to Les Invalides where we saw Napoleon's tomb. In touring the artistic friezes in the crypte around his tomb, the girls learned a better appreciation of Napoleon's place in history.

Then we took a short walk over to the Musee Rodin where we walked in the gardens and saw some famous works on display: The Thinker and The Gates of Hell. Then we toured the inside of the musuem, which is located in the pre-Revolution manor called Hotel Biron. We saw more version of the The Thinker and the rough drafts made in preparing for The Gates of Hell, as well as other great work by Rodin such as The Kiss and The Man with the Broken Nose. We all greatly appreciated Rodin's work as well as the sculptures by his sometime lover, Camille Claudel.

Then we traveled to Montmartre and Sacre Coeur. On our way up the hill, we did some extensive tourist shopping (get ready for the trinkets!) and stopped for a pizza/pasta lunch. We toured the interior of the church and took pictures from the outside, then the girls walked the winding 294 fat-burning steps up to the very top of the dome of the church. Once they reached the top, they were treated to a fabulous view of the city of Paris. While they were doing this, Madame waited in a nearby cafe, sipping Earl Grey tea. Then we spent more time buying random trinkets of Paris and Melissa got her portrait drawn by a street artist. Jessie chose to sit out the shopping portion of the program and she sat with Madame at the cafe and read from Madame's new edition of Petit Nicolas voyage.

We were all exhausted and burdened with purchases, so we headed back to our hotel for a brief rest. Then, we returned to the Left Bank neighborhood called Saint Michel for a traditional French dinner. Jessie ate raclette, while the rest of the group tried a variety of gourmet dishes. Madame argued with the waiter and won (because she was right and he was rude). :-)

After dinner, we went on a walking tour that led us back to Notre Dame, which was illuminated as it always is after dark. Then, we walked around behind Notre Dame to appreciate the Gothic architecture, gargoyles, and the gardens. In crossing back over the Seine to the Left Bank, we stumbled upon an Italian movie set and we got to watch what appeared to be an seriously cheesy heist scene as it was filmed. Finally, we took the metro home and tomorrow will be our final day of touring. We have many ideas, but we know for sure we will go to the Louvre.