Day 3 Paris

If you walk far enough into the streets of Montmartre you find the best hair salons for the best prices. Of course they don't speak English at all so I had to dive into my reserve of French vocab to get them to understand what I wanted. Success. One hour later and three inches less I walked back out into the cold rain and found the best cafe. Hello pizza! Boy oh boy have I missed real food. Not to say the food in Africa was bad. It just all tasted the same. But the rain died down a bit and so I paid and headed out towards Le Louvre. I had planned on taking the train but hey, I'm young, I'm healthy, and insane so I decided to walk. The walk itself isn't so bad. But I had walked all day yesterday in uncomfortable shoes (the only ones not destroyed in Africa) and it's rainy and cold. I broke down and bought a coat because I was about to turn into a French Popsicle. Again. I spent some time walking up this street and down that one just to kill time and I found les Galeries Lafayette. Which is the official name for every high end shop imaginable all in one location. I'm talking Tiffany's, Chanel, Mui Mui, and a hundred others. Bags in one place, shoes downstairs, and makeup in the middle. It was packed. But also a lot of fun! After I had my fill if playing rich and famous I headed back out into the cold and continued on to Le Louvre. I got there two and a half hours too early so I sat on a bench and--as Ms. Tidd recommended--people watched. Oh the fun things I got to see and hear. Finally six o clock rolled around and I got to go inside. By this time if the day my dogs were barking. However I was too excited to be at Le Louvre to care. I think I'm more interested with the ceilings of these places than the actual pieces on the walls. I spent 90 percent of my time looking up. Twice I ran into someone and I only tripped once. The coolest part was when I was in the rooms of Napoleon. From one of the grand windows you can see the Eiffel Tower and because it was dark and it was the top of the hour, I got to see the light show. It's a lot mor impressive from farther away. It looks like a Gina's sparkling diamond...an odd shaped diamond. Sadly it was time to head back and although I was brave and walked to Le Louvre I was not about to walk back. Instead I walked down to Notre Dame (cars splashing people in the sidewalks doesn't just happen in movies) and grabbed a train from there. This time when I got out of Le Gare du Nord I actually took the right street! And the entire way back I didn't use my map once. I am now the master of the metro! Or at least to and from downtown. An after an adventurous day, I'm dreading the few steps to my bed. My dogs aren't barking any more; they are yelping.