Tour day 3 started in the lobby at 8:45 am. We walked to the metro and traveled together to Montmartre. We rode the funicular up the hill and visited Sacre Coeur. We met our local guide and went on a fabulous walking tour. After the tour we had lunch on our own. I did some exploring in the afternoon and fit in a nap. We met as a group in the evening for a delicious dinner and then took a Seine cruise.
Tour Day 4 started with a group metro trip to the Marais. Marie introduced us to the gentrified swamp. We stood in Place Bastille and imagined what the old prison would have looked like. We enjoyed Place des Vosges and the Louis the XIII style architecture. We gawked at Victor Hugo's house. We watched water pour out of lions' mouths. We visited Hotel de Sully and we saw the Jewish Quarter. Every step was a feast for the eyes. Marie provide a delicious snack at a local restaurant and then came the Louvre. We had a 2 hour guided tour and then we had free time.
I normally like to spend 3 hours or less in a museum at one stretch. But I stayed in the Louvre for about 6 hours. There was a massive crowd around the Mona Lisa, but I had a room filled with Dutch paintings all to myself. I was so exhausted after this that I picked up a sandwich near the hotel and picnicked in my room before falling asleep.
WHAT DID I EAT?
Scavenger Hunt
These two days left very little alone time. I thoroughly enjoyed the company of my tour mates. It is fun to get to know everyone and share the joys of travel.
Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.
