Paris, we hardly knew ye

At 10:30am, we met Elise at Opera, from which we took the Metro to Père Lachaise cemetery. The cemetery contains the graves of such famous people as Oscar Wilde and Molière, none of which Matt and I found. Instead, we wandered the upper side of the hill, strolling through graves of ballerinas, aristocrats, Chinese-French, Auschwitz prisoners, leaders of the French Communist Party, commanders of Napoleon's Legion of Honor, and famous anthropologists with very blank tombstones. It was a beautiful day, with not too much sun and not too much wind.

From there, we went back to Opera, where we had some crêpes and a drink before heading out separately. Sable and Ross went to see the highly recommended Latin Quarter (even if they didn't know what the Sarbonne was!!!) while Matt, Elise, and I went to les Galeries Lafayette for some uber shopping. We wandered the mall, marvelling at the brands (and corresponding prices) before settling on buying things as less expensive places like H&M and Mango. Everybody found something, including Elise who was looking for a functional but stylish purse! After shopping, it was time for the Louvre.

Outside the Louvre, people were washing their tired feet in the fountains, which I am sure is not allowed but most tourists don't care. Inside the Louvre, Matt and I saw the whole Denon and Sully wings, rushing through the exhibits, since we only had two hours. Benoit met us at 8pm, before we made a mad dash for the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and Etruscan exhibit. Oh the Etruscans! How I wish I could have been a part of your civilization! We met everyone at the inverted triangle (somehow of Dan Brown fame in North America) and wandered the gift shop. Benoit helped me buy international stamps and we were off to the Latin Quarter for dinner.

At Chez Clement, I ordered the set menu of tarte de Provence, a harmony of berry sorbets served in shot glasses and finished with a Pocky stick, and some carbonated water. Elise and Benoit had to leave early to catch their train to Plaisirs (which they did not end up catching!) and we stuck around to finish our meal then get lost on our way back to the hostel. At the end of the day, I was glad to not have to carry my terrible Metro card around and I was glad to be leaving France for another country. The first two days did not solve my dilemma because I was feeling quite satisfied with the city, feeling as though I had covered most of the major sights to see and did not have to return after this trip. At reception, the man called us a taxi only after we agreed to say Charles de Gaulle in a proper French accent. Go figure.

At 5:15 a.m., we left promptly for the airport. Sable was off to Helsinki, Matt and I were off to Barcelona, and Ross was taking the train to Toulouse. In the airport, we could not find the easyjet terminal, since a little sign told us they were changing gates. When we reached the terminal, I had forgotten to check my sunscreen and a sour faced, thin lady wagged her index finger at me while pursing her lips. Then she tossed the sunscreen back into my bin while putting her hands into prayer position and asking me to spread my arms. She then passed her hands through my cleavage! I guess French women hide things there more than other women ... at the X-ray, the man picked up my sunscreen from the bin and made THE SAME FACE WITH THE SAME WAGGING FINGER to scold me for it. I told them, in a not so calm voice, to throw it out for God's sakes. A little bit of fruit and waiting and we were gone from Paris for a little over a week.