Paris - Day Six (The Final Hours)

Coffee at Cafe Gambetta to start of our last full day in Paris. While we were a little sad that our week was already coming to a close, the weather decided to look up - sunshine!

To Sue's dismay, we decided to spend some of our last day at the Louvre. We sped through though, and picked out what we most wanted to see - the Apollo Room. Tucked just behind Winged Victory, the Apollo Room is quite a spectacle. Every inch of the room is decorated with gilding and frescoes. Even the floor has an intricate inlay pattern! And the objects displayed within the cases are among the most beautiful I have seen - rock crystal serving ware fit for kings fill the room. At the far end is an elaborate case holding the Coronation Crown of Napoleon - very sparkly! We had a quick lunch at the Louvre (and a not so quick search for the bathrooms!), and we were off.

After lunch, we visited the Musee Cognacq-Jay. A small museum of pretty little things collected by the founder of La Samaritaine, a once famous department store in Paris. The objects, mostly 18th and 19th century decor, are extraordinarily beautiful. It was a quick and fun little museum.

We then went to the Musee Carnavalet, a museum dedicated to the history of Paris. This museum literally collects anything and everything related to the city of Paris. There is a neat collection of shop signs, showing how shopkeepers would boast their wares to an illiterate public. The museum also has a large section of period rooms, and a large collection pertaining to the French Revolution. The collection was neat, but very dusty. As a museum professional, I was strongly tempted to close the (open!) windows, open the cases and start cleaning!

We headed home for drinks at Cafe Gambetta, and a quick costume change into our nice clothes. Then it was off to Chez Francisse for a very fancy dinner at the foot of the Tour Eiffel! Dinner was absolutely amazing, and the view was spectacular. Torie and I ran outside to take pictures of the sparkling Eiffel Tower when it went off (true tourists). It was a wonderful evening, and a great way to end our lovely trip.

The next morning, we had our last coffee at Cafe Gambetta, and headed off to the airport.