This week, the treat was chouquettes, which are like these yummy little puff pastry type things. The excursion was to the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Elysees. I had never been to the top of the Arc, so I was definitely excited for that.
Of course, though, we took the metro there, and then discovered that the Arc was closed. We walked around it for a little while, and then they decided to open it! So we got to go up after all. It was a rough, windy staircase, but the views were certainly worth it. It was chilly and extremely windy, but again, still worth it.
Gina is in an art history class here, as are many others, and they all had to meet with their professor at the Louvre for class today. Katie and I were with Gina, so we decided to tag along. We had also all signed up for an excursion that night where the same professor would be giving us a cool nighttime tour of the Louvre, so we figured we would just hang around the area until then.
On the way to the Louvre, we got pretzel sandwiches at the the little Christmas market that's currently on the promenade part of the Champs-Elysees (where I took that picture with Santa on Monday). Then, we made our way through the Jardin des Tuileries to the Louvre.
Saw lots of heavily-armed police and soldiers all day. It's actually pretty comforting!
So basically, Katie and I attended a class we're not in because we're just that nerdy. It was cool, though! Bernie, the professor, is hilarious, and definitely knows his art. The class went from 3-5:30 (rough, but worth it), and then Bernie asked if we needed restaurant recommendations. And I'm so happy we said yes!
He told us to go to the Little Tokyo area (which is a five-minute walk from the museum) to get some noodles. The three of us went to one little restaurant and got edamame and soba noodles. It was sooooo good! Katie and I got soba with fried tofu, and Gina got soba with an egg. All for a very reasonable price! I definitely want to visit Little Tokyo again.
We went back to the Louvre where we had to go through security for our second time that day, just because we wanted to go in to use the bathroom and get Starbucks (we were supposed to meet for the "night at the museum" tour outside at 8:00). So we enter the museum, then "exit" into the mall area to find a bathroom, discover that the only bathroom in that area costs ONE EURO FIFTY to use (absurd), go back through security, and then use one of the nasty bathrooms inside the museum itself. THEN, we exited into the mall and went to Starbucks. The prices were better at this one than at the one we went to on Friday, and I got hot chocolate again. The wind was brutal outside all day! The noodles helped, but I still needed a hot drink.
We went outside to find the group, and then went through security for the fourth and final time that day. The tour was really cool! Bernie showed us and taught us about the architecture of the Louvre, and then also showed us the Venus de Milo, the Winged Victory, and the Mona Lisa. I'd seen them all before, but it was obviously super cool to see them again. It was also nice to have a guide this time.
Katie, Gina, and I walked home, and then the two of them immediately had to meet with La Shay to work on a project for their theology class. I just took a shower and went to bed.
I got to spend a lot of time outside and at touristy locations today, and I definitely remained very alert the whole time. However, it seems like (crazy as it sounds) there's no safer time to be in Paris. Everything is so highly secured. I plan on continuing being careful in what I do and where I go, but I am determined to enjoy my time here in this wonderful city.
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