Vendredi Noir in Paris

As Americans hit the malls for black Friday, we got on the number 2 train to go the Louvre and then Ste Chappelle and Notre Dame.  The 15-minute, one train station change ride took us right to the Louvre and we entered through the I.M. Pei glass pyramid, got our tickets, (the kids were free!) and with a lot to see in a little bit of time, we made our move to the Denon wing and the Mona Lisa.  There were no lines to deal with and we wiggled through the crowd and saw the Da Vinci masterpiece.  Ben and Marley both thought the painting was smaller than they expected, but were still impressed to see it in person.

Our next destination was the Venus De Milo,

then on through the many hallways filled with paintings of all genres and ages.  We had no plans to really dig into the museum since we had other things to do, but we did come across the Apartments of Napoleon III which were stunning.  Hungry, we hit the streets and found a cozy cafe that served some great pizza and filled up on that before heading to Ile De Cite for Sainte Chappelle and Notre Dame.  The security was tight at Ste. Chappelle since it's part of the complex that includes the French Supreme Court, so we waited in line for about a half an hour to get in, the longest wait of the trip.  But the wait proved to be worth it once we got inside and saw the beautiful colors of the stained glass.

The only disappointment was that the windows are in the process of a painstaking restoration project, so some of them were blocked off, but it still took our breath away.  With that goal chekced off the list, we headed toward Notre Dame and as true Buckeye fans took the opportunity to use it as a backdrop for our latest O-H-I-O which we've done a few times on the trip at other landmarks.

Inside the cathedral, it was humbling to see the beauty of the church which reminded me of (on a much grander scale of course) the church my family went to when I was a child in Youngstown, Martin Luther Lutheran church.  Annie and the kids lit a candle at the Statue of St Teresa and we quietly walked out into a sudden snow squall as we headed to the metro station to go back to the apartment.  The Metro has been great to use due to it's convenience and the frequency of the trains.  It's clean and the people have been friendly, in fact that's been the case across the board throughout the trip including during our stay in Paris.  We haven't run into any more rudeness at restaurants than you get at places back in the states, and in many cases, the people have gone out of their way to be nice.  Tonight, we have to pack up and get ready to return tomorrow to Cincinnati, to our family and friends and pets that we miss. 

The trip has been the best experience we've had as a family.  From the first night on the overnight train to Venice, to the sights in Rome where we had the best pizza and service at Remo's near our apartment in Testaccio, to the magical feeling of San Gimignano, the Alps we watched whizz by our train window on the way to Zurich and the many wonders of Paris, it's been simply spectacular.  Our perspective on the world can't help but have grown, which is something we probably won't truly appreciate until we are back home and get back into our day to day lives.  Ben and Marley have been the best traveling companions you could ask for and Annie and I are very proud of how they've handled the many changing situations we put them in.  We took this trip to appreciate what we have as a family and the chance to take a journey that we will never forget.  While it's sad to see it come to an end, what we've seen, heard, smelled, tasted and felt over the past 14 days will be shared and cherished by us for a long time.  As we got the chance to experience Thanksgiving in Europe, we are very very thankful for our health, especially Annie's and the opportunity to do this.  Thanks to everyone who has read this and reacted.  Bon Voyage!