Museums and More

One of the things that intrigued me during my research of things to do in Paris was the Passage Jouffroy, a covered shopping mall. Many of these passages were created 200 years ago to help the shoppers of the day avoid mud and rain. Because it wasn't on our "top ten" list, we didn't explore these passages when the stores were open, but we did walk through them one morning, and decided we'd love to come back and spend more time there some day.

Thursday morning's museum was the Musee de l'Orangerie, which was originally designed as a showcase for Monet's Water Lilies paintings.

However, there were other paintings as well.

After going through the displays at the museum, we left to meet Brad's family. We showed Brooke our view of the Eiffel Tower and then left to catch a bus.

Our first stop was the Arc de Triomphe.

After we arrived we discovered that strollers aren't allowed to go up to the top; it was a bit disappointing to not be together at the top. We also learned that if you want to take a picture of the Eiffel Tower you should go in the afternoon so the sun doesn't interfere. At least, it was sunny and not rainy!

The detail on the arch was amazing. 

Robyn had a grand time exploring the tunnel under the monument.

Afterwards we strolled along the Champs Elysees, which included the must-do tourist stop at Lauderee for some macarons. We tried chocolate, salted caramel, raspberry, vanilla pecan, pistachio and rose petal, cutting them into teeny tiny pieces so everyone could try each flavor. Salted caramel and raspberry were the favorites.

We made it to the end!

We walked through the Jardins des Tuileries and actually found some green grass. When we walked through it that morning (on the way to the museum) I was surprised at how brown it was, and that most of the walkways were dirt. It's still a beautiful park, though, just different.

At the far end of the park we stopped to take some pictures of the Louvre, or the Ecole du Louvre.

Then we crossed the Seine River using the Pont Royal bridge, on our way to the next museum.

This time it was the Musee d'Orsay. 

They did a great job of turning an old train station into an art museum.

It's possible to have an overload of art, but I'm still glad we went.

Once again we stayed pretty much until closing, and then we walked over the famous "love lock" bridge, Pont des Arts, although it was too dark to really see anything.

After dinner we helped Brad's family check into their hotel. Don't you just love their cute little elevator?