Saturday June 16

Saturday began with the group meeting fairly early to check out a few of the museums we saw on our bike tour up close and personal. Our journey began at the Musee D’Orsay, a Parisian impressionist museum. While I have had a little trouble fully appreciating the pieces of art at most of the various museums we have visited on our trip, I really enjoyed the Musee D’Orsay. I think the main reason I enjoyed the various impressionist pieces was that I could see myself actually having those paintings in my own house. For example, I can’t envision a scenario where I would want a piece from the Vatican in my living room, but I would definitely like to have a landscape painted by Monet. I think a few other group members agreed with this way of thinking because a handful of us commented how much we enjoyed the museum as we were leaving.

View from Arc de Triomphe

Moving from one museum to the next, we made the short trip to the Louvre. The most visited art museum in the world, the Louvre is one of France’s most famous attractions. However, we didn’t even attempt to cover the entire massive museum. We spent about two hours hitting the high points of the museum such as the Mona Lisa, the Winged Victory of Samothrace, and other famous works. While I was glad I was able to see the Mona Lisa, the throng of people surrounding the painting was ridiculous. Seeing people elbow their way to the front and their general rudeness reminded me of trying to navigate my way to our fraternity’s seats just before kickoff of Auburn games. Regardless, it was interesting to check a small portion of the Louvre.

La Defense with Arc de Triomphe in the background

Following our quick tour of the Louvre we walked to the Arc de Triomphe. The Arc de Triomphe is a large arch in the center of the city that was built to honor the veterans of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. The arch is actually at the center of what is apparently one of the most dangerous roundabouts in France. According to our bike tour guide the other day, any wreck which happens in the roundabout is paid 50/50 by those involved in the crash regardless of fault due to the roundabout’s dangerous nature. Once we arrived at the Arc de Triomphe we made our way to the top to see a panoramic view of the city. It was actually really interesting because the roads leading to the roundabout all radiate from the Arc de Triomphe. After grabbing a few pictures, we began walking to our next stop. 

Eiffel Tower at night

A few kilometers away from the Arc de Triomphe, our final sight of the day was the La Defense, Paris’s business district. Unlike most of Paris, the business district is home to a handful of sleek, modern skyscrapers. Our trip to the district brought us to the Grande Arch. Built in 1989, the arch is a newer take on the centuries old Arc de Triomphe. After resting on the steps of the arch of few minutes after our long walk, the group was released for the evening.

After grabbing a quick dinner, almost the entire group met up to head to the Eiffel Tower to see the nighttime lights. Beginning at 10 pm, the iconic tower lights up and glitters at every hour, on the hour. It was fun to enjoy some wine and relax in the park at the base of the tower as the tower lit up. We left the tower about midnight, worn out from a long day.