Life of the Mayers: January 2018

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

France: Paris- Time for the Louvre!!!!

Of note, before delving into the Louvre, we also visited the Musee d'Orsay earlier in the trip, but they had a very strict 'NO CAMERA' policy, and plenty of people around enforcing it if you tried to ignore the rule. Honestly, we don't mind, as it does tend to make you (and the people around you) be more focused and aware. I just wanted to mention that it is also a fantastic museum in the city that is worth your time!

And now: The Louvre!
We were really lucky with the Louvre Abu Dhabi opening two weeks prior to this visit, and Adam got an 'Art Pass' membership at that time. This allows him and a guest (ME!!!) unlimited access to the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Louvre Paris. We walked right into the Louvre in Paris, without waiting, just by showing this card. It was awesome, bypassing all of the lines, and there were plenty of them. We were actually some of the very first people into the museum, and immediately went to the very end (where the Mona Lisa is) and then worked our way back towards the front. It was perfect, as it felt that we had the place to ourselves most of the time!

Mona Lisa

Venus de Milo

Athena

Monday, January 29, 2018

France: Paris- A Day of Random

This day, we woke up feeling like doing everything and nothing all at the same time.
Not feeling in the mood for a formal tour of something, we took to random walks throughout the day, intermixed with short naps and spurts of cozy reading.
A *PERFECT* day.

Hitting up a local street market for breakfast, as well as food for the day

Espresso is always the answer

Metro map

Exploring to see where we will randomly venture to

This is a metro stop in Paris. Granted, it is the metro stop for the Louvre.

The Parisian version of a metro stop!

Lunch as the apartment: Wine, cheese, fresh hot soup and bread!

And ending with another gorgeous night walk:

The Eiffel Tower illuminating in the distance

French onion soup

More incredible escargot

Eating them is a careful art to minimize splatter

Tomato and mozzarella

Love locks

France: Paris- Night Walks and Notre Dame

Paris is a lovely and walkable city, even when it is freezing.
I honestly didn't think that I would care for Paris that much.
I was wrong, so VERY, very wrong.
She is quiet, and elegant, and completely enrapturing.
One of my favorite parts of the trip was just walking around, my arm linked through Adam's, quietly enjoying each other's company, and taking in the sites. It was soul quenching.

Walking along the Seine

We were not planning on coming to Notre Dame at the time, we just happened upon it randomly and aimlessly walking, and it was stunning in the night lighting. We also happened upon a Mass, so we were able to enjoy the venue "in action". Can you imagine the Notre Dame being your routine church? It stuns my mind a bit to think about that.

Notre Dame