Day #8: Encore Paris!

Today was an extra special day in Paris, as we explored some of the city's most famous sites by foot.  I couldn't help myself from interrupting various conversations to point out the local Philadelphia connection, seeing as Philadelphia's Parkway was modeled after this particular area of Paris!  Our path was as follows:

Le Louvre --> Jardin des Tuileries --> Place de la Concorde (Obélisque) --> Champs-Elysées --> L'arc de Triomphe

In Philadelphia terms:

Fairmount Park --> Museum of Art --> Benjamin Franklin Parkway --> Logan Square --> Cathedral Basilica of Peter and Paul --> City Hall

Who knew Philly could be so chic???

Our first stop was the iconic Louvre museum.  My favorite statistic of all time is as follows: if you examined each work of art in the museum for 1 minute, you would be there for 64 days!  Incroyable! While the students and their correspondants opted to fight the crowds to see the infamous Mona Lisa (La Joconde), the rich Renaissance collection, and "les momies," Mme Cooper and I opted to visit a wing that we had never seen before: L'Appartement de Napoléon III.  As you can see, it was incredibly ornate, and we could picture ourselves becoming quite comfortable there...luckily there are enough chairs to invite you all to dinner in our humble abode!

After a picnic lunch in the gardens, we ventured towards the Champs-Elysées to see the magnificent boulevards that Baron Haussmann so perfectly engineered; his work changed the entire Parisian landscape.  The students got a kick out of the Abercrombie & Fitch store, which resembles more of a Presidential palace than an American based clothing boutique (I'll let you Google it!)  On the way, we stumbled upon a flower company giving out free roses at Place de la Concorde (a promotion for Father's Day--lucky us!) which it why our students look extra lovely in some of the photos.

We finished the day in front of L'Arc de Triomphe, a monument that honors soldiers who fought in the French Revolution and Napoleonic wars.  It is well-known for housing the tomb of the unknown soldier (depicted below).

 

 

Lastly, I'll leave you with a bit of culture.  Rafael Nadal won the French Open at Roland Garros just yesterday, and this intelligent poster was already adorning the outside of the Lacoste store on the Champs-Elysées this afternoon (see translation below).  It is his 10th win in Paris.

1--It's difficult
2--It's impressive
3--It's 3 times more difficult
4--It's incredible
5--It's legendary
6--It's for the record book
7--It's historical
8--It's unheard of
9--It's almost too much
10--It's Rafael Nadal