When we first woke up this morning, we were still a bit undecided about what we wanted to do. The great downpouring of rain outside, however, helped us narrow down our choices to Things That Can Be Done Indoors!

First, we took advantage of the breakfast buffet at the hotel for the first time. Fruit, cheese, scrambled eggs, baked beans, sausage, croissants, and pain au chocolat. Now that is a hearty and filling breakfast! And one that I could probably eat daily without ever getting sick of it. Well, the pain au chocolat, at least!

Then we decided to take the metro to the Louvre and walk to the Musee d'Orsay. On the way, we saw that the rain had let up. The clouds were bluish grey and quite poofy, and the air was crisp and invigorating. We looked out over the Jardins du Tuileries, at the pigeons pecking for food in the grass and the few people out walking. A tiny bird searched for food nearby and looked inquisitively at us, even coming pretty close. I put out my hand, but he didn't hop into it. I'm sure he knew! Poor bird. Too bad I didn't have anything for him.

Joe and I talked about it and decided that since the Louvre was right there, and since there were still a lot of things we missed inside, that we wanted to go again. I'm so glad we did! I love the feel of that place. And it's so incredibly beautiful. Every room is decorated for the time period of art inside it. Almost every ceiling has beautiful decorations and/or paintings on it as well. We saw things from the Middle Ages, Islamic art, and among my favorites, Greek and Egyptian art. I even got to see the Sitting Scribe that I'd read about, a sculpture that is four thousand years old, and was made with crystal eyes. We also saw the sculpture of Cupid and Psyche, which I love so much, as well as a slave sculpture by Michelangelo. I already said it, but I'll say it again; being around art that has so much history, so much beauty, so much creativity living within it, is humbling, awe-inspiring, and incredibly moving.

After we left the Louvre, we walked around, looking for lunch. We decided, what the hell, let's do McDonald's. I had a chicken sandwich "Indian style." It had some kind of interesting sauce on it, and it was pretty good. But nothing to get too excited about. Joe said his Big Mac tasted the same as usual. So, there you go.

We walked down the Rue de Rivoli and saw some interesting shops along the way, but none that had anything we wanted to buy. Then we headed back to the metro to relax at the hotel for a while. I'd begun to feel a little crappy, though at least the headcold feelings from yesterday were gone!

At the hotel, I took a little nap, which was incredibly satisfying and rejuvenating - exactly what I needed. I felt so much better when I woke up!

I had told Joe that the last thing I wanted to do before we left was see Paris at night. So he suggested that we go to the Arc de Triomph again, and .... climb to the top!!! I was so excited! And after my nap, I felt ready to conquer the world, so off we went!

Those 284 steps were a little tiring, but we did it! We made it to the top, and it was unreal. Completely gorgeous! And on top of the beauty of the city, there was the beauty of the full moon to enjoy too. I didn't even realize it was a full moon, so that was extra special!

It was so cold and windy up there that it was difficult to take pictures. The camera was hard to hold still! But we managed to get a few really cool ones, which made me very happy.

We watched the daylight fade as the City of Lights grew dark. The Eiffel Tower glowed brilliantly, standing watch over the city. We waited and waited with freezing fingers and eager anticipation and when the hour broke, the Eiffel Tower erupted in sparkling lights that glittered up, down, and around it in a truly magical display. It was spectacular and exciting and amazing, and standing up there, taking it all in, I just felt so in love with the tower, the city of Paris, with my vacation, with my wonderful husband for bringing me here as the best birthday present ever, and with life in general. It was a perfect way to end our vacation, which has been truly, truly wonderful, to say the very least.

Au revoir, Paris!

Here are a couple of movies we made in Windows Movie Maker...

Me, at the top of the Arc de Triomphe (1 MB)

The Eiffel Tower, all sparkly (2 MB)