Paris: The Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, and Julie Gets Swindled by a Street Rat

Getting an early start to our second day in Paris, Julie walked to the nearby mall to purchase the Paris Pass for the four of us - a tourist's convenience card which doubled as our admission tickets (to almost everywhere) and metro cards.  With our new-found ability to travel freely throughout the city, we were off for a quick trip to the Louvre.

Cliché Louvre entrance picture

Intricate details of  the "Dying Slave"

Michelangelo's "Rebellious Slave"

The exterior line looked daunting, however, we didn't have to wait for tickets and would skip the majority of the wait.  Inside was bustling, various flags and umbrellas were raised in the sky to gather the sight-seeing hordes like aimlessly wandering cattle.  Two things quickly became apparent, summer days at the Louvre are chaotically crowded and exhibits stew in the stagnant summer heat.  The four of us were fortunate enough to have visited the museum before and we agreed on a one hour pursuing of our favorite masterpieces before our departure.  At times, the Louvre resembled an ornately decorated can of sardines more than of a world-class art museum.  Feeling the desire to reconnect with personal space and fresh air, we made our way south across the Seine - en route to the Musée d'Orsay.

Walking over to Musée d'Orsay

View of the Seine and exterior of the Louvre

Lucky for us, the masses we encountered across the river were not prevalent in the famed impressionist and post-impressionist museum.  After a few hours spent in the Musée d'Orsay, our ATP was running low and the bulk of the day still remained.  A bustling cafe beckoned; to refuel, we devoured multiple quiches and delectable Parisian pastries.

Sacré-Coeur...

...and again

...and again

Feeling recharged, we boarded the closest Metro and headed north to Montmarte to visit Sacré-Coeur and observe the nearby street artists.  Julie's parents went to take a quick loop through the basilica while Julie and I remained outside to watch a street entertainer juggle a soccer ball while suspended from a lamppost.  Eventually, we proceeded to Place du Tertre to watch artist sell their works and observe yokels get swindled by caricaturists who create overpriced souvenirs that can only have limited sentimental value.  Before we made our decent down Montmarte, we stopped for some afternoon coffee and plotted our course to the the Arc de Triomphe.

Je suis Charlie

That's a lot of stairs

As we headed towards the Metro, Julie got distracted by street-rat peddlers and their three card monte games.  To briefly summarize, there are generally three scammers that never leave the area; the dealer, the street-rat that always wins, and the street-rat that repeatedly loses.  While passing one of these band of gypsies, Julie caught a glimpse of the act and got sucked into the scam.  One of the street-rats picked the wrong piece, leaving a 50/50 chance to guess correctly.  I didn't see the shuffle, but before I could say, "just walk away," the gypsy dealer started coming towards Julie because he saw her wallet in-hand.  There was an exchange between the two, an incorrect betting increment; which was then doubled before Julie decided to play.  Suffice it to say, that damn gypsy burned us, making me wish we would have spent that money on a terrible caricature of us with François Hollande.

Wait, we were just over there

Diggin' the large radio tower

Champs-Élyées

In our silent sadness, we mourned the loss of precious Euro while riding the Metro to the Charles de Gaulle stop.  Upon our exit of the Metro station, I pondered how I was going to safely drive through the 12-spoke traffic circle surrounding the Arc de Triomphe.  Soon enough, we joined the cattle call waiting to climb the 284 stairs to the top of the Arc.  After we enjoyed the panoramic views of Paris, we needed to forage along the Champs-Élysées.

Family photo time

Architecture

Au revoir tour Eiffel

The world-renowned promenade was teeming with pedestrians, traffic, and construction in preparation for the final stage of the Tour de France.  However, none of the previously mentioned stimuli was distracting enough to assuage the growing hunger of the female half of our party.  There was some testy groveling along the way, but appetites were soon satiated.  Shortly thereafter, we rode the Metro to Trocadéro station.  The touring portion of our day wrapped up as we descended down the stairs and headed southeast towards the Eiffel Tower.  We weren't foolish enough to join the masses waiting four hours to ascend the structure, instead, we rested our tired legs and absorbed the lively ambiance.  Our second day later concluded with another late dinner and some libations as we reminisced about Julie getting swindled by the street rat gypsies.