End of Day 37 & Day 38

Hello from Paris! Here is a quick recap on the past two days:

Day 37 - Train, train and more train until we got to Paris. Mad dash to hotel and then out on the town! We walked to Notre Dam before splitting ways to eat dinner. A group of us went to the Latin corner across the street from Notre Dam to eat. IT WAS AMAZING! We got a three course meal for 16 Euro: french onion soup, steak and apple pie. Some people got escargot and creme brulee but I am not into snails and pudding with a crust. Then we headed back towards the hotel and stumbled across the National Academy of Music. You may not know this but, at night Paris is gorgeous. Almost all the old buildings are beautifully lit up including the Eiffel Tower. We haven't ventured to see it since it has been raining but we will soon! Here are some pictures from last night:

Notre Dam:

Just look at those doors....

My French onion soup:

National Academy of Music:

Up close:

Paris at night:

This morning we woke up for a bike tour of Paris. We headed to the Eiffel Tower to meet our tour guide. His name was Costigan, "Costi" for short. And I thought my nick name was bad... I honestly had no clue how large the Eiffel Tower actually is. I mean you hear how tall it is but actually standing under it is a whole different story! It is super hard to get a clean shot of the entire thing close enough to see the details but here are a few:

Once we met up with Costi, we headed to the Fat Tire Bike Tours shop to grab our bikes. Yes Dad, I got you a Fat Tire Bike Tours t-shirt and sticker. Happy early Father's Day! Every bike had a name and mine's was "scarface". I even have proof:

We got sweet red shredders (even though I hate the color red):

I will have to say that I may never ride another beach cruiser again. Once you go Specialized, you never go back. (Unless Lance Armstrong gives me a Trek... just saying...) This tour wasn't as long as some of the other tours we have done but we got to see some really great buildings and Costi was great at making it very entertaining for all of us. A pour family of four had to join us on the bike tour and I was certain they would regret it but we all made them feel like part of the group. Here are some of the sights from today's bike tour:

Costi and is very colorful hat:

Louis XIV's Military school that he built to appease the people who were mad because he was the 17th Century Hugh Hefner. Napoleon actually went to military school here:

Louis XIV was also the longest ruler of France (ruling from age 4 until his death at 76). He built this church during his tenure and had the dome lowered so you could see his calf muscles better. Apparently he was proud of them...

One of the statues on the Ponte Alexandre Bridge:

The gardens outside the Louvre where we had lunch:

The Louvre:

A miniature Arc du Triumph:

Last but not least, a group picture in front of the Eiffel Tower:

After the bike tour we headed to Centre Pompidou. Take a look at this building:

All of the building equipment is on the outside of this building. It is a very weird building and I can appreciate this on an architecture/construction level but I would never build this myself. I guess since it is a museum of modern art, they were looking for an edge? It was pretty cool to walk around inside. I have very little taste for modern art but I did come across one of my favorites: Kandinsky.

I came across a few metal sculptures I liked as well:

Today was super fun and I am excited about tomorrow even though I have no clue what we are doing. I have been just letting myself be surprised each morning pretty much and just reporting for duty when I am told. I am really ready to see the Louvre so maybe I will get lucky!

The food has been really good however, nothing beats Mrs. Seaman's crepes. I am not sure what she puts in her's but the ones over here are pretty bland. I won't be trying to venture into crepe land anymore while in Paris... My french is quite rusty after 6 years; and by rusty I mean non existent. Sorry Mrs. Seaman!

Only a few more days left until I come home! I am ready to see everyone! I hope you guys haven't changed too much on me since I left! No worries, I will be making the rounds to see everyone (you know who you are). Love you all!