Paris, France - June 22nd

This morning was rainy and we woke up with a little later start than usual. However, we did enjoy the same nectarine, bread, and croissant breakfast we’ve grown so bored of but there is not much other option. Since it was raining, we decided today would be a museum day so we could stay inside. We rode on the bottom floor of the bus from the Eiffel Tower to Notre Dame. Luckily there wasn’t too much of a crowd and we had no problem getting in. Inside, we walked around the edge observing the different statues and stain-glass windows. When we had seen and taken in all the chapel’s majesty, we returned to the bus and took it back around the city. The rain must have done something to the audio tour because by the time the bus was passing the Arc it was nothing but static. The next stop was Napoleon’s tomb and the Invalides, a shelter built to house soldiers who were left homeless after returning from France’s many wars. On our way there we got off the bus to look for a place to eat. We came across a Thai restaurant that I was a bit skeptical of but it turned out to be the best service and one of the cheapest meals we had eaten so far. Everything was going our way when we came out of the restaurant. The clouds had split, and the sun came out. We walked to the Invalids and went inside to see the chapel, Napoleon’s tomb, World War I and II history exhibit, and Charles de Galle exhibit. We spent a good amount of time looking at all they had there but were kicked out early by the guards. They apparently had some big deal going on there because as I waited outside the gate for the others, many police-escorted politicians entered.

The weather was so nice that we took our time walking to the pizzeria Geoffrey had spotted to eat dinner. We stopped at many shops including several produce stands Mom had to look at and a store with Chattanooga written on it where Geoffrey got a shirt. The pizzeria provided excellent food for us. From there we slowly walked back to the hotel where I wrote this journal, and Geoffrey planned out the rest of our trip to Germany.