When we had made the plans to come to Paris, we agreed that we wanted to visit the Louvre. We had decided that Friday would be the day and had purchased online tickets. Joe and Amy really wanted to see the Chartres Cathedral so they were up and out early. Our tickets for the Louvre were for 1pm so the six of us would leisurely make our way there. Since I didn’t get much sleep Wednesday night because of a certain Amy knocking on our door at 4:30am, I welcomed sleeping in. We had walked well over 15,000 steps the day before too.
This would be our last full day in Paris, Europe and on this trip. My mother and sister were flying out of Rome today and would be back in the states before any travel restrictions were in place. We had experienced some stress the day before regarding them. We got a message saying that their flight had been cancelled. They were to fly to Montreal and then LAX. Canada had suspended all flights from Italy and they had received no assistance from Cruisebuilders in making sure a new flight was booked. The time difference between Europe and Utah didn’t help, but the tour company should have been working overtime making sure everyone had flights home.
Late in the day on Thursday, they still hadn’t received new flight plans. Rhonda decided to take action and wrote a scathing email, using all CAPS. She was virtually screaming at them, and called them some very colorful words. Based on our previous experiences with the company over the months leading up to the trip, I didn’t expect much. I figured that if nothing had happened by Friday morning, I would start calling airlines. I already had a room in Rome for a Friday night, so if we couldn’t get them out until Sat, at least there was a room. Surprisingly, Rhonda got an email AND a phone call Thursday evening from Cruisebuilders. Apparently, talking like a Long Shoreman and threatening their children in an email helps. The idiot on the phone assured Rhonda that my mom and RoAnn had a flight and then proceeded to give the information for the cancelled flight. Rhonda lost it and the poor soul suffered more abuse. A few hours later we had confirmation that a new flight had been secured. They would fly through a Frankfurt to San Francisco to LAX. We weren’t going to be picky. Crisis averted thanks to my lovely wifey and her way with words.
It did feel good to be able to get seven hours of sleep. At home I am normally lucky to get five, though I typically don’t walk 8 miles a day. My body needed to rejuvenate. I was excited to walk across the street to my favorite bakery. They had wonderful croissants and quiches. After breakfast, the six of us made our way slowly back toward the Eiffel Tower. About halfway there, Rhonda decided that she needed to find a restroom. The next thirty minutes played out like a Keystone Cops silent movie.
Scattered throughout Paris are small public restrooms. The tiny buildings were about 6’ wide by 10’ long. In one of the rounded ends there was a door that slid open. A small panel sat next to the door with buttons and lights. The door was closed and a yellow “occupied” light was lit. After a few moments the door opened and man stepped out. He smiled and walked toward his car. Rhonda was squeezing her knees together at this point so she headed inside. I decided to follow her so we could kill two birds with one trip. We stepped inside and I hit the button to shut the door. Nothing. I stepped outside and the occupied light was still on, though clearly the room had been vacated. It must not be working. Stepping back in, I grabbed the pocket door and slid it closed as Rhonda was already in process of dropping her pants.
The moment she moved toward the throne with her pants at her calves, the door slid wide open. She screamed and ducked behind me for coverage, as I tried to broaden myself to provide a wider screen while she wrestled with her jeans. Laughter erupted from outside and once she had her pants back in place we stepped out. The man that had exited a few minutes earlier was sitting in his car watching this whole episode. He laughed as he walked back toward us to explain how to use this room of doom.
A few moments after a person exits the room, the door closes automatically and a cleaning cycle takes place. Once the room is clean, the door opens and a green light indicates it is ready. We had entered too hastily and interrupted the process. With our newfound knowledge, we waited for the green light to come on and began the ritual again without a hitch. Everyone followed the same process and when we were all emptied, we continued on our way.
I looked at the easiest way to get to the Louvre. It was a forty-five minute walk or a twenty minute bus ride. Bus ride it is. We find the bus stop and wait. We boarded and went to the back. Some things never change. It was to be 12 stops to our destination. We enjoyed the sights and bantered back and forth. We talked about everything that had happened to this point and how I had been pivotal in getting us here. I was feeling prideful and mentioned that I would never lead this group astray. We immediately realized that I had failed to get us off the bus. We had passed our stop by half a mile. What a leader..
They trusted me enough to lead the way back to the Louvre. Souvenir shops lined the boulevard on one side and the River Seine the other. We crossed the street to walk along the river. There was a five foot wall that protected a fifteen foot drop to another path along the river edge, which was closed. Along the wall, there were shallow metal boxes mounted with clam shell type doors that would swing up and open. Vendors sold paintings, photographs, clothing, and all manner of souvenirs. Apparently they open around noon, as many were closed and we saw numerous of them opening up as we walked down the street.
We entered the grounds through a passageway into a large courtyard, where there was construction fencing around a large platform that filled most of the area. Walking around to the right there a matching passageway into another open area. We didn’t know the difference, but the lack of people was astonishing. Walking through, we saw the familiar glass pyramid in the center of the plaza. The pyramid housed the entrance that dropped down a level. Inside was a huge open area with 4 separate entrances into different parts of the museum. Once inside we met up with Amy and Joe for a short time before, through a series of unfortunate events, we lost them again.
It is said that if you were to spend sixty seconds reading the description at each item in this place, it would take 72 eight hour days to see it all. The enormity is astonishing. There were a couple of must see items, so we mapped out a route to see those things. In the few hours we spent here, we literally scratched the surface. It was overload. Of course we had to see the Mona Lisa. The relatively small piece was mounted on a large dark blue wall, with ropes and attendants to keep people at bay. There was a switchback line full of people to stand front and center for pictures. I opted to stand to the side. It took about 7 years for Leonardo da Vinci to complete the painting and in reality it is believed that he never finished it. It was stolen once in 1911 and remained at large for two years until it was found and returned to the Louvre.
Another must see item was the Venus de Milo. Arguably, one of the most famous Greek sculptures, it dates to 100 BC. It boggles my mind that this was sculpted by hand out of a block of marble, over 2000 years ago. It was discovered in 1820 within ruins of the city of Milos. The missing right arm was originally a separate piece added and supported by a rod extending from the chest. Another interesting fact is that in 1939, in preparation for a a German invasion, the statue along with about 4000 other items were crated and moved secretly to Château de Chambers. Some items were moved more than once during the German occupation to protect them
By late afternoon, we were ready to hit the street and head back toward the Eiffel Tower. We missed the hourly light show the previous night, so tonight we would watch it from the Jardins du Trocadéro, which was directly across the river. After hitting a few souvenir shops once more time, we boarded a bus for the short ride. I made sure to pay attention this time, since my title of Ringleader was in peril from the earlier bus debacle. We watched the day turn into night from the vantage point across the street. Joe and Amy were on the way to meet us.
When we met the Haggards inside the Louvre, Joes phone was low in battery, so he plugged into my charger and left the phone in my backpack. At some point we became separated again and they thought that we might have gone outside. They went out, but when they tried to come back in, Joe realized the tickets were on his phone. Without the tickets, they weren’t allowed to come back inside. Joe pleaded and begged and finally got them to let him in. That he found us is a miracle, and I happened to be on the phone when he reached in an grabbed his phone and was generally unaware that he was there. He hurried back to Amy outside and we didn’t see them again until dusk at the tower. Amy was visibly upset when we met, thinking that we had just ditched them. After lots of apologies and hugs, all was forgiven. We spent the next 30 minutes taking short videos of us jumping into the air, in order to glean some cool looking still shots. Mine looked like an old fat man failing miserably to look like a young skinny man
After seeing the sparkle light show on the tower, it was time to find our last dinner in Europe. We made our way toward a Metro station, while I looked for a suitable place to eat. We settled on Le Petite Tour, a small upscale place a few blocks from the metro station. The restaurant was uncrowded, and they moved tables together for the eight of us. The menu was only in French, which we hadn’t experienced yet. Most places at least have descriptions in English. The waitress spoke very broken English which made the night both interesting and fun. In all, it was a very enjoyable meal to cap a whirlwind trip.
We made our way to the Metro station and proceeded to hold up a line of very patient young people as we fumbled our way through the automated ticket counter. It wasn’t pretty. We boarded a train and right before the doors closed, a man stepped inside with a violin in his hand, pulling a small cart with an amplifier mounted to it. Music began to fill the inside of the carriage. Amy grabbed Joe and they danced, twirling in front of all us. It was a shame that we were only on board for 2 stops, and tips were dropped in his container as we exited the train.
The station was literally in front of our hotel and we stepped into the small lobby. I talked with the attendant to confirm that we would need a shuttle to the airport in the morning. The small hotel didn’t have a vehicle, but used a company. I stressed that we were not just eight passengers, but that each person had a large suitcase and most had a small carry on. Then there was Joe and Amy. He assured me that we would have a vehicle that would fit everyone and everything.
Another long day with lots of walking was complete and tomorrow would be longer. It was time to get some rest.