The safe in our room malfunctioned, which kept us from being able to access iPads, passports and Amanda’s wallet. Not a huge deal, but it was a little troubling. It actually happened last night, but there was only one guy at reception so he made a note about it. I talked to the lady at the desk this morning about it and she said she was just waiting for us to be ready for her to give it a try. It turned out to be a bigger deal than she thought it would be and she had to call someone to take care of it. I told her she could leave the stuff in the room, and sure enough when we got back all of our stuff was sitting in the open safe.
We decided not to lock it again.
We got a bit of a late start today. In part, Stanton was trying to get the flights to Rome squared away and had a lot of trouble with it. He’d try to lock one in then the price would jump or there would be an error and he’d have to go back and put the info in again and the seats were taken by then.
Eventually Amanda, William and I got a cab to the Louvre. We decided to buy a two day museum pass, which not only acted as a pre-pay for a ton of places, but also got us in a priority line so we didn’t have to wait. If you’re reading this and going to Paris, I strongly recommend it.
By the time we got into the Louvre and bought the passes and a bite to eat we got a text that Stanton and Sarah were walking up to the Louvre, so we all met up and went in together. We all got separated eventually, but I really enjoyed being there. I could probably spend a whole day looking at and admiring all the art. The Mona Lisa is, of course, the most famous painting there (and probably in the world), and that room was constantly crammed. I did get to the front and got some pictures, but I had to wait for a girl who was taking some selfie duckface pictures to get out of the way.
Just about everything closes at 5:00, as far as attractions go anyway, so we didn’t get to see much more. We did hoof it over to Notre Dame though, and on the way Amanda and I bought a lock to put our names on and put on the Lock Bridge.
The line at Notre Dame was pretty long, so we decided to just start there tomorrow. We also checked in on the Sainte-Chapelle, a place Sarah really liked visiting before, but it was closed already too. We grabbed a bite to eat at a cafe then took the Metro to the Arc de Triomphe.
Until this trip I wasn’t aware that you could go up in it. There were a LOT of steps, but the view of Paris was amazing. There was a lot more space inside it than I would have thought too, so I decided it would make a great refuge if you happen to be I paris for the zombie apocalypse. Only two difficult ways in so it’s easy to defend, lot of space inside and a great tactical view from the top.
It gets dark retry late here and time flies. When we finished there Sarah looked up some restaurant reviews on Trip Advisor and we decided to check out Le P’tit Bouchon Gourmand. We had an amazing time there. I wasn’t too sure about it when we first walked in though. It was small with only a few tables and the only other people there were a largish party.
I read a review later that I very much agreed with. It said the menu was inventive, and it was. There was a salmon with mustard ice cream that Stan ordered, Sarah had a salad with their famous Camembert I think and several of the desserts were sorbet in a liquor. I, for example, got a lemon sorbet with vodka. It tasted kind of like a lemonade slush drink, but the leftover vodka tasted like a lemon drop.
As good as the food was, the owner, a man named Christian, made it all even better. He was a very funny, personable and somewhat flamboyant host. Sarah asked about the upstairs (which was an extra dining room). I was curious about it too, so he took us both up there and we started talking about the circus decor then told us about his business partner, who is apparently a famous juggler.
Christian caught me trying Stanton’s mustard ice cream without the salmon, so he cut some salmon and fed it to me like a baby. When the desserts came out I asked if I was supposed to mix the sorbet and the vodka (which would have made a tasty slushie) or just eat it regular, so he took my spoon and scooped the sorbet up and fed it to me. Stanton got that on video and everyone had a good laugh.
The handle on the bathroom door wasn’t very secure (though I didn’t have a problem) and Amanda accidentally knocked the handle off. We saw Christian getting some new handles so I told him Amanda was the one who broke it. He sat down next to her and I told him she was a little reserved so he decided, as punishment I suppose, to show her some pictures from a bachelorette party that had been there last Saturday. Five rugby players showed up and they ended up stripping down to their skivvies. Christian said he then told them their underwear was ugly and, well, anyway, he had an iPhone and we all saw him pinch-zoom a picture that caused Amanda to say, “Oh my!” I think he showed her a few pictures like that then shared them with Sarah.
I couldn’t help but think that kind of thing would probably lead to a lawsuit in America, but Christian was hilarious and we had such an awesome, fun time.
When we left Christian gave us his credo, which was that he lived life doing what he wants when he wants with whomever he wants. He gave Sarah and Amanda kisses on the cheek, but he told Amanda to give him one more and when she did he turned his head and gave her a kiss right on the lips. Again, we all thought it was hilarious. He was certainly a unique individual and entertaining host.
Zach Dotsey
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