Today we moved to the Latin Quarter and are now very close to Notre Dame, St. Chapelle, the Louvre, the Sorbonne, the Pantheon, and St. Sulpice. Our room is large by European standards and even has a balcony on which we can sit and gaze out over the rooftops. We loved our hotel at Rue Cler, but it was noisy at night until quite late as there were a number of popular eateries in the street below and Parisians have a tendency to eat late, unlike us Yanks.
Today we went to the Deportation Memorial and were very moved by the experience. This is where 200,000 Jews and other undesirables were rounded up prior to being sent to concentration labor extermination camps by the Nazis. It is a very solemn experience and makes one wonder how human beings can so easily lose their humanity and treat other humans as if they were the scum of the earth. We also went to St. Louis island and had delicious crepes for lunch. We found ourselves sharing space with six other Californians. Nothing like leaving home to go home.
Today we went to the Deportation Memorial and were very moved by the experience. This is where 200,000 Jews and other undesirables were rounded up prior to being sent to concentration labor extermination camps by the Nazis. It is a very solemn experience and makes one wonder how human beings can so easily lose their humanity and treat other humans as if they were the scum of the earth. We also went to St. Louis island and had delicious crepes for lunch. We found ourselves sharing space with six other Californians. Nothing like leaving home to go home.
Today we also went to the Louvre and saw the Winged Victory Of Samothrace, The Mona Lisa, and Venus de Milo. We did only two parts of the Louvre as it is so vast and overwhelming that you hit sensory overload after awhile. We followed the advice of Rick Steves and went later in the day as the Louvre stays open late on Fridays. Rick Steves has been a tremendous help to us in so many ways. One of his best hints is buying the museum pass which saves time and money since most of the major attractions accept the pass and you hardly ever have to wait in line. We have seen quite a few Americans with the Rick Steves "Bible". Part of our barge trip is a tour of Paris including the Louvre, so we will have the chance to see what we did not see today.
Tomorrow we plan to hang loose and explore the sights and sites of the Latin Quarter
