The bikes are right there in the lobby. We could ride them anywhere in the city, but we must resist the urge. Today, we hopped on the 95 bus, which dropped us off right in front of the Louvre. We were hoping to get walk-up tickets, but no luck. We strolled through the Tuileries, where Sunyoung fell in love with the sculptures depicting Greek mythology. We gawked at the Luxor Obelisk at the Place de la Concorde. We saw the Arc de Triomphe in the distance, and turned south to meet Susan at the Musée de l'Armée. The scale of the buildings, the boulevards, and the gardens, is difficult to believe at times. The only thing that comes close, in my experience, is Washington D.C.

We entered the museum from the north entrance, and Susan from the south, so a little game of Marco Polo ensued until we spotted one another. Sunyoung and I were expecting to tackle the whole museum, but Susan set us straight by choosing one wing, in this case starting with the Franco-Prussian War (flashbacks to the fine arts museum in Angers), and ending with the present day. As you can guess, most of it is devoted to the World Wars. There's a lot of stuff, and it's overwhelming. I left a tiny bit more knowledgeable, and astounded at how much there is to learn. The two things that I pondered heavily during this time are how effective the propaganda efforts are in rallying people to a cause, and how quickly militaries develop and adopt new technologies.

We also visited Napoleon's tomb. It lies in a grand rotunda, and is currently overshadowed by an art installation in which a skeletal replica of Napoleon's favorite horse is hung from the ceiling. It's rather controversial. I think the French are comfortable with controversy, and even invite it into their lives in order to challenge assumptions. Before I learned the story behind it, I simply thought it was an odd way to honor an animal.

We found a nice Vietnamese place for lunch, and headed to the Eiffel Tower for the obligatory (but fun!) photo opp:

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We went to Susan's place and chatted until we realized it was going to get dark soon. There was the matter of the bike box. Susan helped us get it downstairs and out the door. It was easy to carry, but the journey seemed fraught with peril. Every time we crossed a street, I imagined a scooter coming from out of nowhere, hitting the box, and leaving a cartoon-style silhouette of itself and the driver in its wake. We did have a lady clap in approval of our efforts. That was encouraging. She must've thought there was a bike inside. Luckily there were no incidents, and the box is sitting happily in our hotel next to the bikes. Now we just have to find it a companion!