I've been looking forward to today for a loooong time because it's the day I got to see one my best friends on the planet again. We haven't seen each other since my last trip to France five years ago, and I was really excited that he was going through all the trouble of visiting us in Paris from where he lives near Avignon. We had planned on meeting at our first tourist stop of the day (Notre Dame; gotta beat those lines) but we discovered that his hotel was only a few mintues away from our apartment. Early this morning he was at our front door, and I felt like I was back at the Guinness Storehouse again :)

Having finally figured out how to work around the closed metro line, we took it (in a roundabout way) to Notre Dame and got there exactly when it opened. NO LINE! We walked right into the place. If Tim hadn't been there I probably would've taken a look around, but Tim and I have both seen it before and had a lot to catch up on. So while the family took the tour, he and I sat down in a corner and talked. We weren't there long, though. Outside of the stained glass nobody was all that impressed with Notre Dame, even more so after we visited St.Chappelle down the street. That place was incredible. I don't know why I'd never been there, but any first-time visitors to Paris need to make sure they don't pass it up. The glass inside is absolutely incredible, and the vast majority of it is original to the building. How does stained glass survive over 800 years? Beyond just the glass, St.Chappelle is full of color. Notre Dame is pretty bland inside, but here every wall was vibrant and interesting. Even the floors and ceilings had colored patterns. I honestly think it was the most beautiful thing I've seen in Paris, and I would very happily see it again.

From St.Chappelle we walked along the Seine towards the Louvre. It was the first day of Paris Plage, a summer event where the banks of the river are transformed into a sand-covered beach, complete with umbrellas and lounge chairs. It's a really great idea, and it was a perfect day for it. Still nothing like the real thing, though. It kind of made me appreciate that I got to grow up near some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Then again, it's hard to pity a kid that gets to grow up in Paris...

After a less-than-stellar cafe lunch near the Louvre, we headed into the main plaza with the giant glass pyramid everyone has seen in the movies. There was a massive line of hundreds of people, but this time the Paris Museum Pass saved us. There was a special line that basically allowed us to walk straight in. That pass paid for itself right then and there! I defnitely recommend it. Plus, when you know you can enter a museum as many times as you want there is less pressure to see it all in one visit because you know you can just come back another day.

In a museum as large as the Louvre there is absolutely no point in try to see it all, so we decided to split up and each person could visit the areas that sounded the most interesting to them. Tim and I stuck together though, and after ten minutes of talking we realized that we weren't actually looking at anything. We just meandered through the halls, passing everything we were there to see. Having both been there before and being way more interested in catching up than painting hunting, we left. We had four hours before we were supposed to meet everyone back inside the Louvre, and we used every bit of it sipping a beer on a cafe terrace, shooting the breeze. I really don't know what I expected, but after not seeing someone for five years I figured things would've changed. Nope. It was just like always, and we had a really good time. He has to go back home tomorrow night, so it's a super short trip. But I'll take two days over nothing every time! We made it back to the Louvre to meet everyone in the lobby, and I was glad to hear how much everyone enjoyed it. Mom and Dad especially liked seeing Napoleon's apartment, which is decked out to the 9's. Brittany had a mixed experience because she got pretty lost and found everything a little too overwhelming. She loved much of what she saw, but I don't think she's in a rush to see it again.

Our next stop was Les Invalides, which now houses Napoleon's tomb. I had never been here before either, and it was beautiful inside and out. The architecture was stunning and the bright gold dome glowed in the sun. I really don't know all that much about Napoleon, but he has one heck of a tomb. There was more to see, but it was getting late and we had food on our minds. On our way out an older American lady looked at the security guard and gruffly said "Metro?". The security guard smiled and said "Bonjour!". The old lady just stared at her as if she was a moron and asked again, "Metro?". "Bonjour!" repeated the security guard. It went back and forth three or four more times before we walked out of earshot. All the security guard wanted was a simple hello before being rudely asked for help, and the dumb American just couldn't figure that out. But the French are the jerks? Sheesh, no wonder people think we're stupid.

Tim headed back to his hotel to shower and change while the rest of us walked to a great local market on Rue Cler. Everything was there, and it had a very authentic atmosphere. The idea was to get everything we needed for a picnic, which could have been easily done at the grocery store. But why buy everything there when you can really enjoy the experience and buy cheese from the cheese shop, wine from the wine shop, bread from the bakery, etc? Of course, that meant I'd be going out on a limb with the language, but that was kind of the point. Everyone was very nice and patient, and it went pretty smoothly until it came to the butcher. I really don't have a reference point for converting kilos to pounds, and I certainly had no idea what they were asking me when it came to thin slice? thick slice? whole? But they were exceedingly friendly and we muddled through it just fine. I really don't get why so many people think the French (or at least Parisians) are rude, I haven't had anything but great experiences so far. My head was ready to explode at the end of it all, but we had bags full of everything we could ever want on a picnic. Tim met us at our apartment and we walked the ten short minutes to the Eiffel Tower.

Hundreds of people were already there munching on bread and sipping wine. It was a very lively atmosphere, and it seemed like the majority of the people were French. We spent hours there watching the sun set, counting down to the first five minutes of each hour when the Tower's lights would sparkle and dance. Apparently we weren't the only ones because every time it started there was loud cheering and applause followed by "ahhhhhhhhhh" when it stopped. We didn't leave until well after 11PM, and it still hadn't gone completely dark. The days last forever this time of year, which is pretty great for sight-seeing but not so great when you want to see the Eiffel Tower light up in the dead of night. Tim took the metro home and will meet us early tomorrow morning for another 20 mile hike through the city. The restaruant's here are fantastic, but I think tonight's dinner might go down as the best meal of the trip.