paris day three // walking through the city { europe 2012}

// day three //

Another day, another adventure!

I was feeling really sick today, but insisted on still exploring the town. I mean, come on, being sick in Paris is better than not being in Paris at all, right? I rarely get sick, but I think the recirculated air in the airplanes, buses, trains, and other modes of transportation really hit me hard.  Next trip I will definitely use a lot of Emergen-C or Airborne to try to boost my immune system.

Anyways, back to the fun stuff . . . 

Sarah and I used Sandeman New Europe walking tours again (we used this group in London the previous week) for a 3.5 hour walk around Paris. I felt exhausted because my body was fighting whatever foreign virus I caught, but I still couldn't believe all the beautiful sites we walked through.

{ p.s. I don't know if I've mentioned, but almost all of the Paris pictures were taken by my sister Sarah on her awesome DLSR camera. It was a huge pain to carry that huge camera around, but now looking back at the amazing quality of photography, I can truly say it was worth it! }

We walked through the Louvre and gasped at the magnificent architecture, walked on Pont Alexandre III, which is the bridge above {I fell it love with it when I saw Midnight in Paris and had to find it!}

We didn't actually go inside the Louvre on this day (we saved it for our last day!) but simply walking in the square knowing that behind those walls were priceless masterpieces was enough. 

We finished up near Les Invalides (below), a complex of buildings of museums and monuments related to the French military. At one point, it was a hospital and retirement home for war veterans. And lastly, it is also a burial site of some short guy with a big ego named Napoleon. 

After the tour, we walked over to our favorite area on the Left Bank (near Notre Dame) and I found this little gem that I had been hoping to scout out. Opened in 1919 by Silvia Beach, the original Shakespeare and Company was a hotspot for literary greats including Ernest Hemingway. Closed in 1940 under German occupation, it never reopened. Then in 1961, the second (and current) Shakespeare was opened here on rue de Bucherie and serves as a reading library and bookstore and was featured in one of my favorite films, Midnight in Paris. 

Needless to say, my {not so} inner geek came out full force.

We finished up our day by walking around the neighborhood and trying to soak in the experience, while at the same time trying desperately to find places to sit down because I was starting to feel worse.

{ coming soon: our fun day on the BatoBus boat tour! }