Paris Day 3 (26,201 steps, 20.3km)

Once again we found ourselves getting off at St Michel’s square. This time we are heading to Centre Pompidou. This stop can be skipped, in our opinion. The building is supposed to be radical and amazing (the inside is on the out). We found it to be very ugly and not impressing. I’m not sure what I did, but I am now walking with a limp. My knee is so badly hurt that now I have to fight to keep the wince off my face. That being said, we have a huge day in front of us. The walk to Pompidou did prove to be not totally wasted, as we stopped at a Starbucks for a pick-me-up. We then walked to the Conciergerie and Ste-Chapelle. The conciergerie was the prison during the Reign of Terror and where Marie Antonette had stayed (not worth it). Ste-Chapelle was said to be an impressive gothic church, it took us more than 20 minutes to get in and only 2 minutes to leave, nuff’ said. From here we continued south on our journey to pass by the Pantheon and then finally the Catacombs. I guess if you have seen a bone chapel, then this won’t impress you either. It was said to be a maze made of bones underneath the city. It was under the city, and there were bones lining the walkway, but when there is only one route to walk, it can hardly be called a maze. We then caught the subway to the Arc de Triomphe to have a better view of it, and then we walked down the Champs Elysees and headed toward the Louvre. It’s Friday, and Julie gets in for free after 6pm. We figured we would have to wait in line, but as it turns out, everything moves rather quickly. Once inside we decided our path and it wasn’t before long that I called a halt. My knee was bothering me so much that I could only justify visiting the main areas. These being the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, the wedding at Cana and on the way up the stairs we passed the winged victory at Samothrace statue (Luke recommended it). Everyone says the Mona Lisa is small, so naturally I found it to be bigger than expected. The Venus de Milo was nice as well. The Louvre is huge, and I would suggest visiting it first when you have the energy and the health to do it justice. In Paris we walked a total of 78,024 steps which according to Julie’s pedometer is roughly 60.4km. Maybe that’s why I have a busted knee.