A 3-Hour Tour

I loved and hated today. Loved it because I saw so many fascinating things and did everything I could do to take it all in. Hated it because by the end of the day I was exhausted physically, mentally, and emotionally. In trying to see and do everything, I overwhelmed all my sensory functions. ADD me was on overload. And yet...I WAS still in Paris!

Today started with taking the bus into Paris instead of the metro. You miss so much traveling underground and we decided a bus would give us the more scenic route. The parents stepped off at Napoleon's Tomb and the French War Museum while Kathrine, Robin, and I headed to the Musée d'Orsay. My parents had already been to the Orsay and I knew my dad would enjoy a few more hours at the war museum.

The Orsay was incredible! All my favorite Impressionist painters have works housed in the Orsay. My parents have a few Monet and Renoir posters of paintings in their house. I finally got to see the originals! We spent a couple of hours in the museum and I really enjoyed it. I also saw two other paintings that touched me. The first is familiar to some of you. It is the apostles Peter and John running to the empty tomb. The other was titled "The Dream" and captured not just what I felt war was like for soldiers but had a sense of the physical and spiritual wars we fight today. This painting filled one wall and I just stared at it, captivated. I don't have any pictures from the museum because photography wasn't allowed. But of all the museums in Paris, this one had the most comprehensive collection of my favorite pieces.

Next we walked to the Hotel Invalides which housed Napoleon's Tomb and the French War Museum. We met up with my parents and gave ourselves two hours. Not even enough time! With so many things written in French it was hard to grasp everything that was being said. Only a few things were translated into English. However, I loved it! The French perspective of WWI and WWII was enlightening. Amazing how different countries have a different take. I've now been to war museums in the US, London, and Paris and have a better understanding of why each country was fighting.

After this, we walked to the Rodin Museum which, gratefully, was just across the street. We grabbed a bite to eat at the cafe before touring the grounds. To be honest, I was spent by this time. Sensory and learning overload. I enjoyed the house and the grounds but spent most of my time relaxing on the steps. As much as I enjoy art and culture, my brain was exhausted. It needed a break. You can see in the pictures that I'm not my chipper self.

We decided to end the day with the Paris Opera House. We made it there just a few minutes too late. They shut the doors right before we could get in. Oh well. Before heading back to the hotel, we girls decided we wanted to take a trip to a shopping center to buy some French treats. My parents went to the hotel and rested and the rest of us took a trip to the new business section of Paris. We bought a few things and I bought a hairdryer. I was so tired of going to Europe and trying to make the wattage and voltage conversion. It just wasn't working and the hairdryer in our hotel room was lame. It definitely was worth the purchase. I was able to straighten my hair so I didn't feel dorky and everyone else was able to borrow it too. Plus I plan on going back to Europe again which makes the purchase complete justified.

Our trip back was quite the adventure. For some reason our metro tickets weren't working and the credit card machine was down. It was rush hour. Lines were long. And we were tired. We finally were able to buy tickets and get back to the hotel. Kind of a pain and I was so tired by this time. We planned on eating at a place near the Arc de Triomphe and heading up to the top of the Arc after dinner, but once again things didn't go according to plan.

The place we ate at had amazing food. Absolutely delicious! But, the service was incredibly slow. More than French slow. Even the French patrons were annoyed. It was awful. And I got ornery. Very ornery. We finally got the check but by this time we had missed the last entry up the Arc. I was irritated and I just needed to blow off steam. Thankfully my parents recognized this. My mom went back to the hotel with Robin and Kathrine and my dad stayed with me. We walked around the Arc and took pictures while I ranted about my frustrations. It was actually very helpful. I really wasn't mad at anyone, but I was so worn out and I wasn't running (my stress relief) that everything finally exploded. My dad let me vent. Didn't try to fix anything. Just listened. After about 30 minutes or so I was ready to go back to the hotel. It really was a great day. I just needed some sleep.

Something to add here. The timing of my trip was very inconvenient with work. We were a week out from our company launch. I told my boss I would check my email every night to help alleviate any kinks in the programs I setup before leaving. The night before we had a bit of a catastrophe. I was able to help solve the problem, and then my boss told me to get off my email, stop worrying about work, and enjoy my trip. Another reason I enjoy my job.