Paris Day 3

I awoke too early again yesterday, but in turn I was able to read about five chapters of my book. We started the day with pastries from our favorite shop and none other than Starbucks coffee. I do enjoy the coffee here in Paris, but I needed a LARGE coffee and I knew that Starbucks wouldn't disappoint. Their mocha definitely tastes better here. The coffee, the chocolate and no whipped cream - delicious!
It was the day we would be spending at the Louvre which is the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. Nearly 35,000 objects from prehistory to the 19th century are exhibited over an area of 650,000 square feet. In short, it is enormous. It would take days to see every exhibit displayed. We had a few pieces of art in particular that we wanted to see like the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo and Liberty Leading the People by Eugene Delacroix. We found all of these works and of course many more along the way. We spent about three hours walking around when we both decided we were museumed out.

We headed back to our hotel to rest a bit. I was getting tired since I had gotten up so early. We were planning on seeing my aunt and uncle later in the evening and I wanted to be awake and feeling fresh for our visit. I took a two hour nap while Andrew read his book. Until this trip, I had forgotten what it was like to take a nap and wake up on your own. What a concept! I don't know the last time I took a nap and was able to wake up on my own at home. That luxury alone might be near the top of my "favorite part of the vacation" list.
Around 6 pm we hopped on the metro and rode to the outskirts of Paris to a neighborhood called Auteuil where my Aunt Cheryl and Uncle Henry Petit live. We found their apartment and rang ourselves in the front door. We sat with them for a long while sipping champagne and catching up. I see my aunt every few years, but I can only remember seeing my uncle when I was very young. He is a very nice fellow - cordial, hospitable and a good conversationalist. After champagne, we headed to one of their favorite neighborhood restaurants for dinner. It was a warm, cozy place with a wood burning fireplace. My aunt explained the whole menu to us. I chose the roasted duck breast and Andrew had the scallop and mushroom risotto. My aunt also had the roasted duck breast and my uncle had the steak tartare. Which by the way, I will never be eating. Go google search it if you don't know what it is. My meal came served with potato chips. My aunt told me they were made in house. They tasted much better than a bag of Lays. I also had a salad with what tasted like a dijon vinaigrette. This was definitely our best meal in Paris. We shared a bottle of wine with dinner as well. Even though I was stuffed, I knew I had to have dessert. If there is one thing I've learned during this trip, it is that the French make the best desserts. Andrew and I both ordered our own creme brulee with raspberry sauce. It was soooo delicious. I had pictured this tiny little order coming to me, but it was quite large. Andrew and I could have shared. I only had enough room to eat half of it. Sad day. I wish I could have taken it home in my purse. 
After a lot of nice conversation we said goodbye to my uncle. My aunt then showed us around her neighborhood and then took us on a tour of Paris in her car. There is so very much to see in the city. There are places that you would never know existed as a simple tourist. Europeans are lucky that their cities hold so much history. The architecture of the buildings alone is awe inspiring. Parisians live their every day lives with this history as a part of them. After about an hour of a guided tour, it was getting to be very late so she drove us back to our hotel. We said our goodbyes and promised to keep in better touch. It was a wonderful evening spent with family.