THE LOUVRE

MIA BESIDE THE RIVER SEINE, SHE WAS EASY TO FIND WITH THE PINK AND YELLOW, NEARLY EVERYONE HERE IS WEARING BLACK OR GREY SO SHE STANDS OUT.

THE KIDS WITH THE GLASS PYRAMID IN THE BACKGROUND WHICH IS THE ENTRANCE TO THE LOUVRE, HORRIBLE WEATHER. yes clare it does look like i tilted this one ....my hands were frozen because i lost my gloves in Oxford and i keep forgetting to buy another pair.

THE LOVELY MONA

THE EGYPTIAN ROOM AT THE LOUVRE

THE CHAMPS ELYSEE TAKEN FROM THE BUS....LOVELY PART OF PARIS

You know how yesterday i said that Paris was not as cold as London ? WRONG ! this morning we walked to the Eiffel Tower and nearly froze and it got worse once we were at the tower. We forgot the Katherine Times which really annoyed us, we are going to try hard to get back there tomorrow depends on the train to Italy. Anyway the kids went up to the very top of the Eiffel but scared of heights me stayed on the ground with all the beggars and souvenir sellers ! Mia took the video camera up and managed to film about 2 mins before the battery went flat, oops...in my defense i have so many things to keep charged up, phone, laptop, camera, video camera, Riley's phone and 2 ipods....blah blah blah whine whine. The footage she did get was good. After they came back to earth full of praise and wonder we jumped on the tour bus for a lovely ride around Paris. What a busy little city it is. So many people and so many cars and bikes and push bikes and buses ! all trying to share the same narrow streets. I liked what i saw although the Seine River was a bit drab and dirty. We spent most of the day at the Louvre museum, fascinating. I loved seeing all those famous paintings that I'd only ever seen in books before. The Mona Lisa was a target for the kids but although it was great to see, its behind glass and you have to stand 10 feet back from it and its really not that big, impressive though, but so many people. I dropped my glasses and thought i was going to be shot, this female guard ran to me calling Madame Madame....guards everywhere over here. We walked all over the Louvre and enjoyed the Egyptian antiquities room, I really enjoyed the few hours we spent there too see everything would take a few days its that big. When we emerged it was raining for something different, so we hopped on the bus and did the complete bus tour around the city, opened top bus which meant we nearly lost limbs through frost bite but it was worth it. The traffic at the Arc De Triompe { the spelling is wrong i think } was unbelievable and i wished the video camera had been working. Paris is a lovely city, a lot cleaner than London and a bit more open but its a lot bigger to get around. London we were able to walk everywhere but Paris is spread out more. Tomorrow we head to Milan, Italy, this hotel we are in now is lovely, the hotel Arley on Rue Viala, if you want to google it. We laughed tonight watching a show we have watched in English but here its dubbed in French....TV is boring when you cant understand the language so we played Dominoes and then walked to the laundromat but its all in French, 6 euros to wash 5kg, so we didn't bother then we spotted the Eiffel tower all lit up....so pretty. More tomorrow from Italy i hope.

Duana....will try to get that photo if not then i will send one from Italy or from the train mmmmm

Glad you finally got the air con fixed, is it new or reconditioned ? my entry for rain comp is 8th December. Hey Jude and Linz...yes i noticed that most French speak English but they don't let on until they have to, cheeky buggers they don't smile much either and will not make eye contact.