We started today off by heading to Montmartre and Sacre Coeur.Yesterday our tour guide told us that historians consider 19th century Montmartre to be one of the coolest, most exciting places to have lived in history. Today it is basically crawling with tourists like us, but it is still very pretty.I would have loved to have spent some more time there— there were quite a few really cute looking cafes off the main drag—but we really wanted to go shopping, and since we were planning on going to Versailles on Saturday and we knew the stores would be closed on Sunday, we really only had time to spend a few hours in Montmartre. I did buy a few gifts for friends here =] I wish I could have bought a painting for me, too, but I don't have much wall space left at my room at home (or 404 for that matter), and besides, I reallllly don't know how I'm going to get all of my stuff home as it is!

From Montmartre we headed to the Arc de Triomphe to take a few photos before beginning our shopping spree on Avenue des Champs-Elysées. I was in search of Guerlain. I knew it wouldn't be cheap, but there were a couple things on my "to splurge on in Paris" list, and lipstick from Guerlain was one of them =] Unfortunately after walking into the store, I realized I had no idea how to go about selecting a lipstick. I totally should have read up on the best shade for your skin tone or something before going there.... Luckily one of the ladies saw me struggling and came over to give me a couple of suggestions. The one I ended up going with was pretty natural looking and I think it is quite pretty =]

It was really hot out and none of the stores have air conditioning, so we decided we needed to go back to the hostel to freshen up a bit before attempting the Louvre. I was tired out from what seemed like already a full day (I think the heat was getting to me) and was all set to say "forget the Louvre" because I didn't feel like waiting hours and hours in line, but I'm so glad I didn't. We took the Metro to Palais Royal Musée du Louvre, which is where our tour guide told us the shortest line would be, and literally walked right into the museum. We didn't have to wait a minute, let alone two hours! We found the Mona Lisa with ease (there are signs guiding you to the Mona Lisa, The Winged Victory of Samothrace, etc.); yes, she is quite small, especially in comparison to The Wedding Feast of Cana, which is on the wall opposite of her. But at the same time, I'm really glad I got to see her for myself. And for free and I didn't even have to wait in line! We were quite proud of ourselves ;]

The Louvre is GINORMOUS. You could spend a month in Paris and never leave the Louvre, I swear. Unfortunately you have to pay for WiFi at the Hostel, which I didn't really feel like doing, so I wasn't able to research other pieces that I would find interesting, but in addition to the Mona Lisa we also saw The consecration of the Emperor Napoleon I, Aphrodite, and Captive (The Dying Slave) in addition to the 8987987098 paintings and sculptures we saw walking to each work. I'm not joking, you could get seriously lost in the Louvre. We certainly got turned around on more than one occasion...

After the Louvre we decided to head to the Latin Quarter for dinner. My Aunt had lived in Paris for a year (reason for trip to Paris #1) and had recommended that we check out the Latin Quarter in the evening for Kir Royales, which are a type of drink. So that is just what we did! I had a Salmon toast with crème fraîche and it was so yummy! And the drinks were really good, too =] Once again, completely content. We walked along the Seine a bit so that I could get a few pictures of Notre Dame lit up at night, and then we headed back to our hostel. We have another big day planned for tomorrow: Versailles! When I was little, I apparently did pirouettes in the Hall of Mirrors. I wonder if I can get away with doing them again tomorrow ;]