Paris, Day 8

Today was a great day! We didn’t have much on our list to do, so we decided to sleep in and head out later today (we needed it!)

We hopped the Metro, and headed to Hotel les Invalides; which was built to be a hospital/home for disabled war veterans in the 17-1800’s; but now also houses a war museum and Napoleon’s tomb. The war museum was very interesting, as it ranged from the 1600’s to WWII. If you ever go there, make sure you find the scale models—they are on the opposite side of the courtyard from the WWI & WWII museums—as they are fascinating! Basically, they are huge scale models of most of the towns and forts in France. When I say huge, I mean they are as big as say 15’ x 15’; but the actual buildings are as small as a Monopoly building—in intricate detail of the landscape and surrounding area. They even included burnt down houses and barns! The WWI & WWII museums are worth perusing as most have English translations as well, and they have a shrine of sorts built downstairs for Charles de Gaulle (but you’d have to speak/read French to understand any of his museum).

I give Napoleon’s tomb its own section, simply because the thing is huge! His actual tomb measures (in meters, you do the math—Google will help you): 8 x 4 x 5; huge, especially considering he was such a short guy…. ;-) They have a free audio guide in English there as well, so stop by.

I forgot to mention one thing, we ate at this little restaurant for lunch before going into les Invalides; and wow was it delightful! We both had a “thin steak”, which was basically stir fried meat with this amazing sauce and peppers, along with mashed potatoes; bon appetite!

After les Invalides, we headed over to walk through St. Germaine and the Latin Quarter. Unfortunately, we got caught in a bit of a shower (without the umbrella, only day I didn’t carry it rains, go figure! ;-)), but we found refuge with some other people in a doorway until it passed. St Germaine was pleasant, but sadly most of the little shops were closed since it was Sunday; so we quickly walked on to the lively Latin Quarter.

The Latin Quarter, where all the fun happens! The Latin Quarter is home to mostly students, and a lot of Americans (as well as others, including Greeks and Italians); and was bustling with activity when we got there. Great place to souvenir shop, or just take in all the activity and performers like: dancers, flaming baton twirlers, musicians, etc. Great food as well, along with some crowded little tiny streets!

Finally, we started getting a bit silly so we decided to head back to the hotel to get some sleep!