Paris......continued

The next day was our full day in Paris. I decided the Place de la Concorde was a good starting point, so we got on the metro and off we went, surfacing at Place de la Concorde. We can walk down the Champs-Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe, taking pictures and bumping into locals and tourists. I've walked the Champs-Elysees many times. Then we turned around and headed for the Tuileries. By then we were hungry, we bought some hot dogs and crepes from a make shift stand and sat in front of the fountain to eat our lunch.

Then it was time for the Lourve. They moved the Mona Lisa, she's now behind glass and one can take pictures of her. The previous times I've seen her, photographing her was forbidden.

The Louvre is so immense, it's a collection of buildings of a palace. I looked outside and saw this immense and beautiful staircase. I love the staircases of baroque buildings, both interior and exterior ones, they make such a dramatic statement.

I can live in Paris and not be bored, one can spend considerable time in the Louvre and be entertained every time. We bumped into a Chinese group with their French guide. Nothing remarkable in and of itself, you see all kinds of groups all over Paris. When the French man spoke, he spoke flawless Mandarin. We smiled and looked at him with awe. He turned to us and in Mandarin said, 'Is my Mandarin funny and amusing to you?'. We said, 'on the contrary, we are very impressed'.