There are stairs everywhere in Paris; no wonder the people here can eat such good food and still stay skinny.  Several flights for every trip on the subway (we made 7 trips today, most of which included a transfer and thus, more stairs).  Then there were the 400 steps up and down Notre Dame.  To top it all off, there were ~250 steps up and down the Arc de Triomphe.  Jeesh.  My feet are quite sore right now, and taking a much deserved break.

After Notre Dame we came back to the hotel and uploaded some pics and played with camera settings.  Then we set back out and walked around the Eiffel Tower.  It was raining, so we didn’t stay too long.  Then we took the Metro to the Arc, where we climbed up and surveyed Paris from up top (and there was a break in the incessant drizzle so we could enjoy it!).  From there, we Metro-ed to the Musee de l’Orangerie, which has good impressionist works, including oval two rooms entirely covered with Monet’s water lilies.  (This was Mel’s favorite; she had no idea there was more than one of these).

We were planning on re-visiting the Pompidou after this, but were bushed, so we headed to the Latin Quarter for some dinner.  There were so many tasty looking options that we opted to mill around the streets window shopping and munching on food from street vendors.  We had the tastiest salami and cheese panini (toasted!), then after a bit more wandering we had a nutella and banana crepe.  After a bit more wandering, Mel’s shoe decided to attack her foot, and we decided to call it a night.  On the way back, we stopped at the market and got some wine, cheese, marmalade, and bread, and munched on these back in the room.  Now it’s late and we’re bushed.  Time for sleep (it’s almost 10 here!).

Here’s some pics from the back half of the day (more online).

Yes, that is a wall-size Monet, one of 8 we saw today.