Our second day in Paris took us to the amazing Louvre, home of the Mona Lisa. Along with the Eiffel Tower, this is another must see in Paris. With over 35,000 pieces of art you can't help but be impressed. The Louvre has so much to see that they basically have 3 museums roofed under their structure each section featuring a famous French artist. We spent about 6 hours looking at everything from the Mona Lisa, to an unwrapped mummy to Greek statues but honestly you could have spent days in the place. Everywhere you look something captures your imagination. Walking through the place makes you realize how talented mankind is. If aliens were to come and destroy the Earth (sorry I am working on a lot of alien movies right now)all you would have to do is show them Louvre to show what an impressive species, humans are. The hub and I had a ton of fun taking pictures with his nice camera. If you are interested they are up on Facebook.
After the long day at the Museum we headed out to find a Christmas shop I had wanted to visit but it turned out to be a kids toy store. Bummer. The store put us very close to Norte Dame which is a famous Catholic Church. Luckily we made it inside before it was about to close. It was amazingly beautiful like everything else in Paris. There was a mass going on but the church still welcomed people to roam around. The church was so big I don't think they mind all the people as their mass was sectioned off. I lit a candle for my grandpa's memory. It was nice to hear the singing in Latin and to see such a big place of worship. Those Europeans sure know how to build the big churches as compared to those in the States.
After taking in all the pretty architecture of Norte Dame we walked about the Latin Quarter and decided we wanted to eat at a nice place. So we picked a bistro from the guidebook. The bistro was empty except for two tables of customers. The first thing the hostess asked us was "Do you have reservations?" Um no. The hostess hesitated and went in the back. The hub didn't see what the problem was since it was empty but I suggested that perhaps the French ate late. The hostess came back and seated us at a table right by the front door in the corner. I am pretty sure she wanted to hide us. Our hostess was the first person we encountered that only spoke French. We tried English on her but only got gestures. When we opened up the menu and everything was in French we thought we might get into trouble.
I tried my hardest to find the poulet (Chicken) or poisson (Fish) but didn't see those words anywhere on the menu. After reading the guidebook a bit more we found out that the bistro was known for its brains. Great! Nothing like the word brains to make for a pleasant look at the menu! This other lady came to help us order but really she wasn't a lot more help except that she spoke a tiny bit of English. We tried to stay away from anything that sounded like brains in French. We pointed to things on the menu and then she pointed to a body part on her. She touched her side and the hub said "Oh, ribs! I'll take that!" but somehow I got the feeling it wasn't ribs she was pointing to. We had no idea what we ordered. Our appetizer came. It was meaty looking but it also looked like it could be the brains that the bistro was famous for. Whatever she brought tasted alright. Frankly, I would rather not have it confirmed as brians if I was to continue enjoying myself. One thing I knew what I was drinking was Champaign. I had the best glass of Champaign I have ever had. I would have asked what it was but again the French thing. We also had a good bottle of sparkling water. Normally I hate that stuff but this was the best bottle I ever had. So I stole the bottle cap and will see if I can find it here in the States. After the appetizer we got our first course. The hub ended up with a salad (lucky) and I picked fish, apparently, it was on the menu. We somehow communicated the hub must not get any kind of fish. After his salad his maindish "the ribs" NOT arrived. Turns out he ordereded a beef stomach thing on noodles and then for desert he got pineapple ice cream which he was very pleased about. In all honesty his beef stomac thing was very good. I got some raw sashimi like fish for my first course but instead of the meat being small bites I got an entire fish! So I was kind full after the brains and first course. For my meal, I got more fish and some lentils. I didn't like the lentils but the fish was good although I probably wouldn't have had two rounds of fish if I knew what I was ordering. For desert I got a banana that was baked and had some liquor on it. It was very tasty. Our dinner cost about 100 Euros. It was our one treat. We had a prix fix menu so at least we knew we weren't going to get into trouble with the bill. The food yes, the bill no. We had to look around to see if you tip because the guide books say various things. We ended up tipping because that seemed like the right thing to do and then the lady smiled really big at us as we left so it must have been good. I had the the feeling the lady was very amused by us the whole time. I never felt so out of place in my whole life. It was like I was going to eat with the Queen of England or something. Don't get me wrong I had a fun experience but I swear I must have been breaking all kinds of French etiquette. At the end of the day, I was glad she let us in even if it was for her and the entire kitchen to laugh at. A few other people came after us and she must have told them they didn't have any tables available as they left and never came back. I guess the kitchen only had time for us baffoons. hehehe
After the long day at the Museum we headed out to find a Christmas shop I had wanted to visit but it turned out to be a kids toy store. Bummer. The store put us very close to Norte Dame which is a famous Catholic Church. Luckily we made it inside before it was about to close. It was amazingly beautiful like everything else in Paris. There was a mass going on but the church still welcomed people to roam around. The church was so big I don't think they mind all the people as their mass was sectioned off. I lit a candle for my grandpa's memory. It was nice to hear the singing in Latin and to see such a big place of worship. Those Europeans sure know how to build the big churches as compared to those in the States.
After taking in all the pretty architecture of Norte Dame we walked about the Latin Quarter and decided we wanted to eat at a nice place. So we picked a bistro from the guidebook. The bistro was empty except for two tables of customers. The first thing the hostess asked us was "Do you have reservations?" Um no. The hostess hesitated and went in the back. The hub didn't see what the problem was since it was empty but I suggested that perhaps the French ate late. The hostess came back and seated us at a table right by the front door in the corner. I am pretty sure she wanted to hide us. Our hostess was the first person we encountered that only spoke French. We tried English on her but only got gestures. When we opened up the menu and everything was in French we thought we might get into trouble.
I tried my hardest to find the poulet (Chicken) or poisson (Fish) but didn't see those words anywhere on the menu. After reading the guidebook a bit more we found out that the bistro was known for its brains. Great! Nothing like the word brains to make for a pleasant look at the menu! This other lady came to help us order but really she wasn't a lot more help except that she spoke a tiny bit of English. We tried to stay away from anything that sounded like brains in French. We pointed to things on the menu and then she pointed to a body part on her. She touched her side and the hub said "Oh, ribs! I'll take that!" but somehow I got the feeling it wasn't ribs she was pointing to. We had no idea what we ordered. Our appetizer came. It was meaty looking but it also looked like it could be the brains that the bistro was famous for. Whatever she brought tasted alright. Frankly, I would rather not have it confirmed as brians if I was to continue enjoying myself. One thing I knew what I was drinking was Champaign. I had the best glass of Champaign I have ever had. I would have asked what it was but again the French thing. We also had a good bottle of sparkling water. Normally I hate that stuff but this was the best bottle I ever had. So I stole the bottle cap and will see if I can find it here in the States. After the appetizer we got our first course. The hub ended up with a salad (lucky) and I picked fish, apparently, it was on the menu. We somehow communicated the hub must not get any kind of fish. After his salad his maindish "the ribs" NOT arrived. Turns out he ordereded a beef stomach thing on noodles and then for desert he got pineapple ice cream which he was very pleased about. In all honesty his beef stomac thing was very good. I got some raw sashimi like fish for my first course but instead of the meat being small bites I got an entire fish! So I was kind full after the brains and first course. For my meal, I got more fish and some lentils. I didn't like the lentils but the fish was good although I probably wouldn't have had two rounds of fish if I knew what I was ordering. For desert I got a banana that was baked and had some liquor on it. It was very tasty. Our dinner cost about 100 Euros. It was our one treat. We had a prix fix menu so at least we knew we weren't going to get into trouble with the bill. The food yes, the bill no. We had to look around to see if you tip because the guide books say various things. We ended up tipping because that seemed like the right thing to do and then the lady smiled really big at us as we left so it must have been good. I had the the feeling the lady was very amused by us the whole time. I never felt so out of place in my whole life. It was like I was going to eat with the Queen of England or something. Don't get me wrong I had a fun experience but I swear I must have been breaking all kinds of French etiquette. At the end of the day, I was glad she let us in even if it was for her and the entire kitchen to laugh at. A few other people came after us and she must have told them they didn't have any tables available as they left and never came back. I guess the kitchen only had time for us baffoons. hehehe
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Brian