Day 4: Walking Tour of the Marais

Today, Marie took us on a tour of the Marais and the Jewish Quarter. The neighborhood was bursting with shops and bakeries selling traditional Jewish foods. We passed a bakery that was celebrating their grand opening, and they kindly let the group sample some of their doughnuts, which were incredibly delicious. Marie shared some history about the neighborhood. While talking to her, we found out she regularly visits family members who live about twenty minutes from our home in New Jersey - the world is smaller than we thought!

The Louvre!

After the walking tour, we headed to the Louvre and met up with the group’s museum guide Vincent. The museum was packed to the brim with visitors, but Vincent whisked us through without any problems. We all had Rick Steves audio players, so we could hear what Vincent was saying even over the noise of the busy museum. He highlighted some of the collection's most famous and stunning works, including: Michelangelo’s pair of slaves; the famous painting Liberty Leading the People; huge wall-size paintings by Delacroix; the sculpture of Cupid and Psyche; Nike atop a ship’s bough; and of course, the Mona Lisa. After the group tour, we decided to stay at the museum until it closed, and we viewed many other spectacular works and even Napoleon III’s apartments.

Dinner and Etiquette

We were exhausted by the end of our tour around the museum and got a sidewalk dinner directly across the street at Le Nemours, where we learned the value of saying “Bonjour”: We always greeted the host or shop attendants, but we witnessed what happens when you don’t here. A waiter greeted a couple who entered the restaurant and they ignored him, chatting amongst themselves before demanding a table. Needless to say, they enjoyed a long wait as other more polite guests were helped immediately.

After a fantastic meal of croque monsieur and a massive charcuterie plate, we returned to the hotel and fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillow.