Paris, in detail

Paris was different from many of the other cities we've visited in the last year. Up to that point, the only city that came close to Paris' size was Berlin. While there is an historic centre to Paris, the attractions are somewhat more spread out than in a lot of the places we've been to. Plus, there seems to be more of them. So with all of that, plus an all-night bus ride, it was a little bit much to take in at first.
We did our best to fit in as much as we could in a few days, to at least get a taste of it. We started with the views - from the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower. Both were as good as advertised. We went up the Arc in mid-morning, with no waiting in line, and got a good overview of the central area we'd already walked through - and a nice preview down the Champs-Elysee. We could also look the other way to La Defense, where we weren't going to go. The Eiffel Tower we did at dusk, after a nice picnic lunch in the park below the Tower. (We picked up the picnic supplies at a charming little street a few blocks away, which we heard about from Rick Steves' book. A meat shop, a bakery, a cheese shop, a fruit stand and a chocolate shop and we were good to go. Though France is renowned for its gourmet food, we found we were able to eat quite well on a small budget, too.) The Eiffel Tower was quite the experience, one of the biggest "we're really here" moments of the trip. I also enjoyed comparing the views from the three different viewing levels.
It was also museum city for us, as we hit three of the big ones: the Orsay, the Pompidou and the Louvre. The Orsay was very crowded when we went, which kind of ruined our appetite for the Impressionists. We didn't spend as much time there as maybe it deserved, but time is short on this trip anyway. The Pompidou is, well, a modern art museum. There were a few pieces that made me think, a few that didn't do much for me, and a few that made me think modern art is just a big scam. The Louvre, of course, is the crown jewel. As it is the biggest museum in the world, there was no way we were going to be able to devote enough time to it, so we headed straight for the highlights (the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo) and browsed around those areas. I've heard the Mona Lisa is disappointing in person, but I didn't think that was the case. Personally, I was impressed, but perhaps I just had low expectations. The museum was really quite good in general; it's definitely on the list to see more of next time.
Finally, we also did a tour of the Paris sewer system. It was included on the museum pass we bought. Chelsey thought it was a joke or something at first, but I said it might be interesting, as I had read a book about the Paris sewers in university and remembered them sounding interesting. Ultimately, we decided to go, and I think Chelsey wouldn't have minded except for the smell. Ah Paris, the city of romance.
-Jason
Pictures will be added soon.