Day 7: Louvre the food, not the Rouge

It was time to conquer the Musee de Louvre. A least as much of it as I could handle in a few hours. I must say, I covered quite a bit of ground in that time, but being perfectly honest - it wasn't fully my art cup of tea. All the antiquities were pretty amazing - but there were so many, you had to be choosy where you spent your time to leant about them (difficult because only the famous ones had an English description) (yes yes I should have got the audio guide). And as for the paintings - majority were Italian pieces, pre 19th century. 98% of which were religious based (not that this is a problem, but theres not so much connecting that i can do with a painting full of angels and priests). They just didn't tickle my fancy quite like the impressionists or portrait galleries would. And of course, number of people in there didn't help!

The most enjoyable part for me was actually the buildings themselves. A stunning place, with some amazing staircases, open courts and halls etc...

Anyway, that done so off for some lasagne! There's Italian food on most menus here so time to try some. It was yummy as, but alas, after this meal I had to bear witness to a horrible sight.... My plate with salad left on it!!! The dressing they had was just awful (really mustardy and oily. Thanks again no doubt to our American touristic influence grr...) to the point that I couldn't eat it. Damn. 

Attempted to visit the catacombs yesterday to discover them shut.... And the same today. Such a shame, 'twas one of the top things on my list to do in Paris, but never mind, will just have to return one day again soon!!

Then to one of the best surprises of the trip so far - Saint Chapelle. This is an 800 year old chapel not far from Notre Dame and full of the. Most. Amazing. Stained. Glass. Ever. Honestly, the whole tall chapel is basically just stained glass. They are currently restoring it, seeing the difference is amazing. The old windows are stunning, but once restored they absolutely shone. If you are ever in Paris. Please go here!!

Then it was time for a visit to Montmatre and the Moulin Rouge. I had bought this ticket many months before, but all week was thinking it may not be worth going, but I had the ticket so c'est la vie! 

So I first strolled around the Abbesses part of town and had dinner. What an amazing little area - definitely a favourite, cute streets, nice shops and restaurants. Feels kinda like the Fitzroy of Paris. And the Sacré Coeur (monument chapel thing on top of hill over looking Paris) was so close to me there, but I ran out of time to visit.. (another unfortunate miss :( :( def def next time). But fear not, the time spent monument-missing was not wasted! The time had come for my last dinner in Paris.... so what was it to be??... Well I hadn't yet played repeat-a-meal, so it was time to crank out another confit duck leg. They just fit so much meat on there! What else could I have ordered?? And what a good decision that was! This was even better than the first, the skin wasn't too oily and the gratin on the side was lovely. Yum. 

On my walk to the show after this I indulged in some tarts that I had been given from Diane earlier that evening. O.M.G. Why have I waited this long to get in to these guys??? Possible the greatest dessert stroll in history. I was so happy I gave almost all my money to a beggar! So amazing, I'm in love with that food. The whole damn meal. Honestly, I never really enjoy sweets that much, they always let you down. But not here. Now I truly understand why people are obsessed with French pastries....

And then my bliss was broken as I hit the street the show was on. Yuck!! Busy annoying street full of sex shops and annoying people. Bugger. And then the show. I have honestly never had to sit through something so painful as that. 2 hours of my life that I will never reclaim. I thought it might not be great, but did not expect it to be that shit. I'm so glad I had all that food before hand to soak up some of the champagne that I needed to survive that. (They gave me a whole bottle!! But don't worry mum, only had a few small glasses... Didn't want to get anywhere near drunk in that part of town, even with the metro just across the road). Was tempted to take a photo just to get kicked out half way through, it was honestly like watching a bad children's tv show with exorbitant costumes, ear piercing squeals and lots and lots of nipples. Not to mention the minature horses. (In saying all this, there were 2 acts that were phenomenal. like 10/10. They were the most amazing partner acrobatics and balances I have ever seen). 

I have been reading newspapers daily since to reclaim brain cells.