Finishing Paris with a Bang

Well hello again. We are writing this aboard the train from Paris to Brussels. We had an absolutely amazing time in Paris, and we can see why its called the city of love. We say almost everything that we set out to see, had some great food, and enjoyed some delicious wine.

We started the day really early, getting up 7 because we planned on going to Versailles first this in the morning. But when we got to the train station, we found out that Versailles is closed on Mondays.

Not wanting to ruin our last day in Paris, we decided to go to Invalides to see the French Army Museum. Now, we know you’re thinking that the French don’t have an army. However, in actuality the French do have an army, they just don’t really know how to use it without Napolean. One thing about all of the places we visited is that there is no modern building anywhere. Invalides is in the former headquarters of the army. In front, retired cannons point outward in defense, and inside, the cadets in the military train. We started with checking out the person who is most famous in all of France for his military efforts, Napolean. We went in and saw the tomb that was built in his memory. There is no other way to describe this tomb, other than by saying it looks like it was built for a God.

We left Napolean’s tomb and headed to the World War 1 and 2 museum, which had old uniforms, weapons, and various Nazi paraphernalia. What was funny about the World War 2 exhibit was the perspective of the French, which was portrayed as abstaining from the idea of war. But we both knew that this was just a front for the fact that the French were too afraid to fight, and just let the Nazi’s march all over French. There was a photo that summarized our opinion, which depicted Hilter and his generals strategizing in front of the Eiffel Tower.

We left the World War 1 and 2 exhibits to check out the rest of the French military history. Austin found this particularly interesting because it showed the progression of armor and weaponry. We got to see the first prototype for a musket, which was conceived from the ideas of a “mini” cannon. The rest of the exhibit showed the armor of royalty, as well as various weapons from the 1400s to the mid 1800s.

We both enjoyed Invalides a lot, and it was a good substitute to Versailles. Because Invalides was more for Austin, the second half of the day was spent the way Quincey wanted it. We got back to our hotel at 1pm, and Quincey wanted to take an hour and a half nap. After the nap, we decided to go shopping. We asked downstairs, and the best shopping in Paris turned out to be just down the street from us. Austin was happy that we didn’t discover this til the last day because the galleries were very overwhelming. Quincey called it paradise. Austin called it hell.

The seven-story mall was geared toward only women, and you couldn’t turn around without seeing Louis Vuiton, and Gucci purses, De Beers and Cartier jewelry, and then hundreds of different perfume vendors. There were also many mid range high fashion stores. The next three floors above were filled with various clothing outlets, and even though Quincey’s feet were killing her, she was rejuvenated by all of the different options. Austin was very behaved considering it was probably the last place in Paris that he wanted to be.

We were both shopping for our moms and after a few hours at the mall, we found the perfect gifts. Because it was still Quincey’s half of the day, we returned to the hotel to take another 45 minute nap. After the nap, we watched a little TV before taking off for our last night in Paris.

We found a great restaurant district on Haussmann Boulevard, which is one of the main streets that runs through Paris. Although there were many great French, and Italian restaurants, we both settled on a restaurant called Indiana that turned out to be excellent. Austin had breaded chicken, and Quincey had “the second best” cheeseburger of her life.

We went back to the hotel to get a good nights rest before our early train departure in the morning. We woke up early to make sure we were all packed, and Austin had to sit on Quincey’s suitcase to make sure it would shut. Then we proceeded to check out and call for a taxi to the station. We were extremely efficient and got to the train station an hour early, with just enough time to enjoy our last croissant in Paris.