Hi everyone! Subway again today! This time it was worse than yesterday. I wouldn't have believed it was possible, but it was. My purse was actually between two different people than I was. It was a pretty rough ride, so I felt like I got a Shiatsu massage on the way to the Louvre. Ann didn't seem to mind so much this time because she was wedged between a couple of nice looking young Frenchmen. Just kidding...she minded anyway! Ann wasn't too excited about visiting another museum today, so she said she was going to see the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo and sit the rest out. I told her she couldn't do that because we were going to be part of a tour group! And the Louvre is huge. If we lost her, she wouldn't be found for days. As it turned out, we had a great Dutch guide, and Ann really enjoyed the tour. Each day on a Rick Steves tour itinerary, they have a little symbol of how strenuous the walking will be. One little person is easy, two is a little more, and three little people is the most strenuous. Yesterday was a three people day. Today was supposed to be a two people day, but it turned out to be a four people day for us! After the Louvre, we had a free day, so I wanted to go to the Arc de Triomphe. There was no way I was going to get Ann in another subway, so we decided to start walking (about four miles) as far as we could and then take a cab the rest of the way. She got tired about half way down the Champs-Elysees, but I didn't want to stop there because we were just getting to the shops and restaurants. We kept going....and going.....and going. We stopped for lunch at Boulangerie Paul and had a wonderful lunch. We split a tomato, mozzarella and basil sandwich on the most delicious olive roll. Everything is so fresh in Europe. People shop every day for their food and bread. Then we got rhubarb and raspberry tarts. So delicious! The Champs- Elysees reminded me so much of New York--all the traffic, stores and people. Crossing the street is the same as New York too--you watch the locals and cross when they do on a red light. Once we got to the Arc, we found out it was 276 stairs up, and there was no way Ann was going to go. I figured I'd try it. I could always come down if I couldn't make it, but I decided to ask someone if they had a lift. They did, and we went right up. The view was as nice as the view from the Eiffel Tower, and we avoided the long lines they have there. Ann is OK with the buses here, but I really didn't know how to get the bus to our neighborhood from there, so I talked her into taking the Metro. It wasn't rush hour, so it was fine. It's really a very easy system. We've got a lot of nice people on the tour, and Ann is doing great learning their names. I, on the other hand, am not. She gave me a test tonight, but I didn't pass! Oh, well, at least I can find my way around Paris on the Metro. Only a couple of mishaps today. Every day at breakfast, Ann spills coffee on the table. She couldn't quite figure out how to use the coffee pot at the hotel, but today she broke the code so she should be OK tomorrow. Me? Well, our tub only has a half shower door. Unfortunately I put my clothes on the floor next to the tub when I took a shower this morning. That's OK. They'll be dry by the time we leave tomorrow! Thanks for your comments; we enjoy getting them. Jill, to answer your question: We usually try to find American tourists to take our picture (we look at their shoes). We'll write again when we can.