End of Phase 1

Yesterday and today were spent "adjusting to the time differential" by walking the streets of Paris and the halls of the Louvre and Military Museums. It has been very relaxing and we have enjoyed our time together.

At the Louvre, the English audio tour was excellent. We followed along through two different rooms. First, we went through the Louvre History and Antiquities (Egyptian section) rooms. After lunch we did pre-programed tours. The first tour was of the "master pieces" (Mona Lisa, Venus De Milo and Winged Victory). This tour took about 45 minutes. The second tour was the "Italian Collection" which included paintings and sculptures. The tour was listed as approximately 2 hours. We didn't do the whole thing.

Dinner was a simple afair. We found a nice restaurant on a side street, more of a local joint with very little English spoken. It seriously tested my limited French vocabulary, but we muttled through just fine and didn't end up with raw meat and asparagus. If we had been more adventurous we could have eat a meat with a unique atmosphere and a good view of the city. Just off from the Louvre is a one-of-a-kind restaurant. It is suspended from a crane.

The Military Museum was interesting, but there was no audio tour in the main parts. We were surprised though how much English descriptions there were for the exhibits. The first room we visited was a history of Knight's armor. I can't image how anyone could move in that stuff not to mention fight some one else or worse ride a horse. The last room we visited was all about Charles De Gaulle. It was interesting in that it was really designed as an audio visual experience. The audio part would kick on automatically as you approach each exhibit. It seemed to work pretty well, but there were a few glitches. There was a nice video documentary of De Gaulle's life. We found these great ways to pass the time. You could sit comfortably, pay attention and learn something or let your mind drift off.

This evening we worked on basic Amharic phrases while we ate pizza in the Eiffel Tower Park. It's been very windy so far and a bit cool, but the view was worth it. However, despite the relaxation, the complex jumble of emotions (excitement, nervousness, uncertainty, etc.) has been ever present and growing. We have taken very few pictures while here even though we have seen many spectacular sights. Our hearts and thoughts are obviously elsewhere. I'm not going to post the few pictures we have taken because the laptop battery is very low and I have now way to charge it. I'd much rather save it for Ethiopia.

I expect tomorrow to be a very long day. We have to check out of the hotel by 11:00 a.m. but our flight does not leave until 10:00 p.m. Hopefully I won't get sick this time! We fully expect to be spending most of the day we arrive in Ethiopia with the girls.