Today showed us the most diverse sides of Paris.  We began with the 280+ steps to the top of the Arc de Triomphe for an unbelievable view and a peek into the roof top gardens above the city. We then strolled.  With its cinemas, cafés, luxury specialty shops and clipped chestnut trees, the Avenue des Champs-Élysées is one of the most famous streets and one of the most expensive strips of real estate in the world.

Next we ventured below the city to do the Musée des égouts de Paris (The Sewer Tour). 
Until recent times, the Paris sewers also carried tourists: initially by carts that were suspended from the walkways along the tunnel walls, later by carriages drawn by a small locomotive, and--until the 1970s--in boats.  We walked.  At first Kegan couldn't understand why we would tour the sewers until he saw it for himself.  It is impressive if not a bit stinky!

A return to the Eiffel Tower followed for crepes and naps in the park.  We split up after this point for Kegan to go to the Musée de l'Armée and it's large collection of WWII artifacts while Steve and I meandered through Rodin's house and museum.  The artist's Thinker is always fun to pose by and to see all his works displayed in his gardens is pretty wonderful.

Our evening ended in a stroll through the 'seedier' side of Paris with dinner at the Place du Tertre... a reminder of the time when Montmartre was the mecca of modern art. At the beginning of the 20th century, many penniless painters, including Picasso, were living there.  French onion soup while a rainstorm occurred ended a rather perfect day.

After a délicieux breakfast of a baguette and brie, we hit Paris running.  We spent hours at Versailles learning about the history and opulence of the reign of Louis XIII and his heirs. The gardens are were the highlight for Kegan.  To wander then lay about in the cool summer grasses where the royals hunted is a pretty fun way to pass an afternoon.

The Musée d'Orsay was a must see to reacquaint ourselves with our favorites and to discover artists we have never know.  I really loved Lucien Lévy-Dhurmer's Portrait de Mademoiselle Carlier.  Something about her just drew me to her.  The museum itself is one of our favorites- intimate with a great deal of history.  "The museum was installed in the former Orsay railway station, built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900. So the building itself could be seen as the first "work of art" in the Musée d'Orsay, which displays collections of art from the period 1848 to 1914."

What a day of wonders and walking!