Why is The Thinker thinking and the Mona Lisa smiling? Posted on January 17th, 2015 by

Bonjour! Today we began our first full day of adventures in Paris and what a full day we had! We hit the bus and visited the Dome de Invalides where Napoleon was to be buried, but unfortunately was not. Next, we departed for the Louvre, the home of the Mona Lisa. On our way, we had the chance to see The Thinker which was awesome! Our guide asked us a fun question: Why is The Thinker thinking and the Mona Lisa smiling?….because he is thinking of where his clothes are and she knows where they are! We got a kick out of that one!

Once we reached the Louvre, we had a guided tour of some of the most famous works of art. We saw Ancient Greek sculptures and artifacts, Nike, Venus de Milo, the Mona Lisa, and numerous other paintings. Our guide also mentioned that there are 8 Da Vinci paintings and 6 of them are at the Louvre! How cool for France to have these! By this time, we worked up quite an appetite walking for a few hours! We stopped for a quick lunch and next headed to La Sacré Coeur, the famous Basilica. We had the opportunity to walk inside while mass was being held. It was incredibly beautiful.

After our visit to the basilica we were taken to a local courtyard were St.Anthony was beheaded. Then we were off to a scenic cruise on the Seine River. However, before we set sail, we were able to catch a great view of the Eiffel Tower (see below for pictures). The river cruise was very fun and we were able to see most of the landmarks from a different view.image image image image

Once again, the hunger rolled around and we were lucky enough to eat at a restaurant on the Seine River. Tonight for dinner was chickpea soup, chicken and mashed potatoes, and caramel custard.

After dinner everyone was feeling very full and very tired, so we took a nice little stroll to the subway station and headed back to the hotel.

We had a full day packed with fun! We look forward to a visit to a chocolate factory, soccer stadium, and department stores tomorrow!!

P.S. HAPPY 22nd BIRTHDAY TO ONE OF OUR OWN, MATTHEW BAKER!!! We started his birthday off strong by singing to him in The Louvre. Hope you had a great birthday, Matt!

Au Revoir!

Haley Madson & Morgan Sanken

 


2 Comments

  1. Kathy Entwistle says:

    Bonjour! I am Brad’s aunt and enjoying reading about your travels and adventures from your great posts – merci!
    Kathy

  2. Steffie Gronlund says:

    Awesome update Morgan!! I read it to all the aunts as we are together!! Have a great rest of your trip!!