A Rainy Day in Paris

Yesterday Jessica and I left the apartment and immediately went on a search for lunch. The weather is absolutely DISGUSTING in Paris, so when we finally found a place to eat it was hard to motivate ourselves to leave and step out into the cold, rainy weather. When we finally left the restaurant we realized how unprepared we were for the weather, so we immediately went back to the apartment to change into coats, scarves, and closed-toe shoes.

After we were warm and dry, we headed towards the Metro station and made our way to the Louvre. It was so gross outside that we figured it would be nice to spend a day in a museum, but unfortunately every other tourist had the same idea because the museum was PACKED. We spent three hours looking around and only covered about 1/3 of one wing of the museum... the thing is massive! It wasn't as exciting the second time around, but even so it was amazing to be able to see the Mona Lisa and Venus di Milo in person, along with hundreds and hundreds of other paintings and sculptures.

We planned to stay and look around the Louvre for longer, but the museum kicked us out around 6 PM so we decided to walk around the Jardins des Tuileries, which are just outside of the Louvre. The gardens were beautiful, even in the rain, so we walked up to the Place de la Concorde to get a better view of the Arc di Triomphe, the Champs-Elysses, and the Eiffel Tower. We didn't stay for too long because it got too cold and wet, so we got back on the Metro and headed to the Bastille stop, which is the closest to Rachel and Xavier's apartment.

It was about 7 at this point so Jessica and I decided to stop in a supermarket on the way and grab stuff to make sandwiches for dinner. Fresh food here is so cheap compared to everything else, so it was great to be able to get a baguette, fresh brie and mozzarella, salami, red wine, and vegetables for a salad for only 8 euro. The meal was great and as we were eating Xavier came home and offered to take us out for a drink since Rachel was in Spain for the night on a business trip. We only had to walk outside the apartment building and down the street to find a huge road full of bars. Surprisingly, all of the bars were packed, even on a Monday night, so we settled on a small Cuban bar and had drinks there. We didn't stay out too late because we were so exhausted from a long day, but it was great to talk to Xavier and find out more about him. He even treated us to drinks, which was very nice considering how much he's already done by letting us stay at his house!

We got a really good night of sleep last night, but woke up again this morning to more rain and cold weather. We just ate breakfast, showered, and we have plans to go visit Notre Dame and Ile Saint Louis for the day, but the bad weather is sure to change our plans a bit, unfortunately. Paris is as beautiful as I remember, but I wish we were here to see even one day of good weather! The forecast says the weather is going to be cold and rainy until Friday, which is the day we get back to Atlanta... :(