Day 6

It is at this point that Nellie would like me to point out that I wasn't some sort of weak, passive observer in the whole "crossing the square" business. I, however, decline to admit any such thing.

So that morning we decided to go to Versailles, that magnificent example of regal excess. Alas, we got on the right type of train, just not one that took the right track. About 4 hours later, we got back to Paris and decided to go to Notre Dame.

 
The Bell Tower was already closed by that time, but we still got to walk around (it's stunning, by the way), and yes, naturally I sang God Help the Outcasts as I wandered. And luckily, they don't mind if you take pictures inside:

From there we were right next to the Louvre, and were trying to buy this hot chocolate mix for a friend of Neller's that was supposed to be just down the street (and just to get it out the way right now, we tried 3 times, and could never get it), so even though we had decided to cut the Louvre, we dropped by. Turned out they closed early that day so we only made it to the gift shop, but it was still pretty cool to be there--that place is massive.

From there we went to a place I have been dying to see: Le Grand Opera--the place where Phantom of the Opera was set. Was it amazing? Yes. Did I sneak in just as far as I could without having a ticket? Naturally. They also, just in case you were wondering, have an amazing gift shop. It was freaking cool. The amount of restraint it took not to buy everything is just colossal.

Unfortunately all the pics I took of the top were blurred, but this was the best out of those:

We walked by the Tulleries, which in the middle of a winter's night were really unimpressive, but that's okay because from there we went to the Comedie Francais. On the way we passed this chocolaterie that reminded me so much of the one from Chocolat that I had to a picture:

 

Mmmmm..... 

Anyway, the Comedie Francais was France's premier theater for ages, and where Marguerite St. Just (of The Scarlet Pimpernel) performed during the Revolution:

Then of course we had to go the Rue de Richlieu where she lived. Now might be a good time to mention that I collect the original Scarlet Pimpernel books:

 

And while I haven't been able to confirm it recently, I thought at some point that she lived at #12 (though, given that it's me, it's just as likely to have been #21) so:

         

Having seen all the street sights we want to, we went home, stopping by our first bakery on the way. It must have been 10:00 or 11:00 by that time so almost everything was sold out for the day, but we managed to buy some bread...and had a totally cathartic, almost overwhelming experience as we took the first bite. You don't know what food is, or meant to be, until you try real French bread. I had no idea that plain bread could taste like that. And Bre, just in case you're reading this, we did hold a moment of silence in your honor, with a slice of bree.

Seeing as most of Day 6 wasted on the wrong train, we got to bed early in hopes of a better Day 7.