Today was finally the day we visited the Louvre. We had planned it originally because it was supposed to rain but instead it was a good day to go because it was so hot - 30 degrees! We joined a fantastic guided tour in English that took us through the labyrinth that is the Louvre to all the famous works. We saw the walls of the original Louvre fortress, the Venus the Milo, Napoleon's ancient Greek statues room, the Mona Lisa, the giant David painting of Napoleon's coronation, the French liberty painting and more! It was all so well explained and we also learnt about the Louvre's function as a palace before it was a museum. It was fascinating and a much better way to see and learn. Another great feature about the Louvre is that it is constantly evolving: there were many things we saw that were not here when Dad last visited and they are still creating new exhibits such as the current construction of an Islamic gallery.

In the late afternoon we took the metro over to Montmartre and climbed (we just seem to love climbing) in the heat up to Sacre Coeur. At least it felt like climbing! By chance there was a service on inside and we were lucky enough to sit though much of it and understand many of the prayers and hymns. We found some wonderful shops as we wandered the streets, trying to move away from the very touristy parts. And we couldn't visit without one quick look at the outside of the Moulin Rouge. It's a very different part of Paris, much more bohemian and student dominated compared to the two areas in which we have stayed.