Here Comes the Sun!

So after the last post, and the last couple of grey, cloudy days, we were surprised with a bright, blue sunny day yesterday, and decided to take advantage of every minute of it. So we called up some friends and decided to meet up at the large Ferris wheel at the end of the Tuileries gardens. After discovering it was 10€ per person to ride, we decided a free day of meandering around the park would be a better idea.

Seagulls flying around one of the major fountains of the Tuileries.

One of the many statues in the gardens. Unlike Versailles, these ones aren't
covered for protection in the winter

The eastern end of the garden has another large fountain, and several small, hedged walkways. Here the statues turn from stone to metal and depict mostly female figures. It's also where several street vendors gather, trying to snag business from the thousands of tourists flowing in-between the Palais Royal and the gardens.

Chelsea, leaning against a statue at the eastern end of the garden.

Just across the roundabout, at the eastern end of the park, stands the Palais Royal, and inside, the Musée du Louvre. The Louvre palace is magnificent and huge, with grand halls stretching from the central building, as if hugging the millions of tourists that visit each year.

Approaching the Louvre from the Tuileries.

Just along the courtyard, there was a French couple doing what all
French couples in this city do. And some wonder why it's called
the City of Love...

In the middle of the courtyard stand the 5 pyramids that make up the famous Pyramide du Louvre. The five pyramids are: the Grand Pyramid, the Inverted Pyramid, the Base Pyramid, and the two Minor Pyramids. Just along the outside of the courtyard are several stone lights, which are a favorite place for tourists to get in a photo with the Grand Pyramid.

Petry on a stone light, taking the quintessential tourist photo with the pyramid.

Laura, in the courtyard, waiting for her turn on the stone light.

We didn't go in to the museum, because not everyone in our group had their student IDs, so we continued to meander around the area before stumbling on the curious courtyard of the Comédie Française. Filled with rows of striped columns, all at different heights, it's a more secret destination, mostly only visited by the French, and has a lot of fun photo opportunities. We got Petry up onto one of the tallest columns (almost twice her height) for some good pictures.

Petry, doing her best "planking" impression on top of the pillar.

Petry, finally settled on top of the column.

We wandered around a bit more, but finally our stomachs got the best of us, so we headed down to one of our favorite places in the center of Paris: Breakfast in America. This place has to get a post all its own, that's how fantastic it is. Seriously. After eating way too much food, and enjoying the company of friends, we all said our good byes and descended into the Metro on our way home.

I'm putting the finishing touches on my first post of the series: What I've Realized, which will be about some of the cultural differences I've noticed, and how I think I can use them to better myself when I get home. Look for the post to be going up at some point later this evening. Until then, we've got another sunny day to enjoy...