Paris: Day Three

Kathryn

I knew I wanted to get to the Louvre early in the morning to try and beat the crowds, so I headed out of my hostel early and took the Metro again with all the morning commuters. I stopped for some coffee since I was a little early and then made the rainy walk over to the Louvre.

On my way I crossed over the Love Lock bridge, which was so much cooler than I'd imagined. Couples come to the bridge and attach a lock that they've carved their initials in, and then throw the key into the Seine. Something about everlasting love.

The bridge was completely covered, and there were locks on top of locks on top of locks! More than I'd ever imagined. When I arrived at the Louvre there was already a long line formed, but luckily it moved pretty quickly and I made it inside in about 25 minutes. Perfect amount of time for way too many selfies.

Once I'd purchased my ticket, I hightailed it to the Mona Lisa. I knew this piece drew the most number of visitors so I wanted to get there early before there was a huge crowd.

Tada! Proof that I saw it! Haha

Once I'd seen that, I circled back around and started making my way through the whole museum. The building itself was absolutely beautiful, even if you ignore the art on the walls:

I also saw a few pieces that I recognized from AP Art History in High School:

By the time I was finished walking through the Maze that is called the Louvre, I was hungry and ready to find some lunch!

I'd been dying to go to Caf Breizah, which was recommended by a reader! I walked through Marais to get there only to find out the wait was about an hour and a half. Since it was my last chance to eat there, I decided to wait. Verdict? Totally 100% worth it. I did not, however, take any photos oops? After lunch I headed down to Notre Dame Cathedral on Ile de la Cite. I have to say that this might have been my favorite site that I visited while in Paris. I loved walking through the Cathedral imagining all the church services and weddings that took place there over hundreds of years.

Once I'd walked through the Cathedral, I headed over to Ile Saint-Louis to walk around. I absolutely loved this little island because it wasn't crowded and seemed very quintessential Parisian to me.

After that it was time to start walking to the Arc de Triomphe. I knew I wanted to be up there when the Eiffel Tower lit up and I wanted to beat the crowds, so I ended up arriving at 8:30 and waited for 1.5 hours, but it was totally worth it!