We found our hostel easily Tuesday. It was OK and not sketchy but a bit run down. It was on rue de la Fontaine aux Rois near Republique and not that near the main center but it was fun to see a less touristy area of Paris. It felt like a very lived in area where we were. The room was a bit hot and stuffy. Breakfast of a roll, croissant, OJ and hot chocolate was provided. The key was this strange plastic thing with holes in it that you insert into the slot.
We went to the Louvre. We were there at 8:20 and there was already a line. It was a bit cold and windy. I remembered so much of the stuff we had seen especially the long hall with the Italian artists. Mona Lisa was completely packed with people in front of it as was the Venus the Milo. So crowded. I love the pic of the man in red with the warty nose, the one of Mary, John the Baptist, and Jesus, the one of the french revolution, the sinking raft one, etc etc. We loved what we saw but got really exhausted and overwhelmed by all the people and all the art to take in. It sounds snobbish but after the Offitzi and the Vienna art museum the Louvre's art was less impressive. It's still an amazing place though. We walked through the Jardins des Tuileries. It was really bright out and very windy. Hard to see because of all the white in the paths. We walked up the Champs Elysees. We went into Sephora and tried smelling all the different perfumes. It was fun and Elizabeth ended up getting one. We got the Arc de Triomphe and then turned around and headed over to the Eiffel Tower. The lines were long so we didn't go up but it was a pretty impressive and large and fun to see.
We went into a cafe on the Champs Elysees and played cards for a little bit. Then were were both really tired so we went to a relatively early dinner. I had pasta with salmon and cream sauce. It was pretty good. We went back to the hostel on the Metro and relaxed.