I took a bunch of pictures before crossing the street, then crossed the street, then realized that I couldn't get anywhere near enough of the building in the shot and went back across the street again. The Louvre sat on a bed of fine white sand that kicked up into the breeze like a beach. What class she had! When I went around the side - the walls of which stretched for another 4 blocks at least - I felt like I was walking along the Great Wall of China. I finally found the side entrance, which led me into a large courtyard with a fountain in its center. I sat on a stone bench, rested my feet and watched some children play.
When I passed through the west side of the courtyard I came into another that was open-ended and had the same stone floor, several fountains and some glass pyramids. At the ending of all of this there was a small stone arch topped with some bronze statues. I thought that this might be the Arc de Triomphe. It seemed quite small for a guy like Napoleon; maybe he was tired from all that conquering and wanted to take a break from building gigantic stone structures? Most certainly not - this was in fact the Arch du Carrousel. Stupid American strikes again.
I stood looking west and saw a long open walkway bordered by trees and paved with the same soft white sand. I could see how it weaved up and down over terrain for miles into the distance. This was the Gardens of Tuileries, the oldest park in Paris. I passed a large fountain bordered by groves in either direction with pale stone statues of men on horses bordering its walkways. I really wanted to linger when I saw that everyone around me was smiling. It was such a great energy. I watched couples holding hands as they walked into the sunset. Sigh... At the end of the road I saw the Arc de Triomphe - far off in the distance several miles out - it stood like a castle on a hill divided by only sand and time. I continued west hoping to make it before sunset.
On my way there I passed the government buildings of Paris (many of which were adorned with gold) and headed towards Champs Elysees, now a famous shopping strip. Before I got there I had to stop because guards had barricaded the sidewalk. Obama was on his way through to visit with the President of France. After a few minutes they opened the street back up and I was on my way again. It was really weird in a comforting yet slightly disheartening way to see that Banana Republic is as alive and well in Paris as America. Or maybe it was Macy's. Whatever, I try not to look around too much these days haha. The walk was long - really long - but nice (incredible actually) and the breeze was refreshing and becoming more so as I got further uphill and closer to the Arc. I made it there just after sunset, mildly freaking out because light was fading rapidly and I wanted some good pictures. The Arc sat on the center of all intersecting roads as it's own gigantic roundabout, one that I couldn't figure out how to get to because it lacked proper crosswalks and I didn't want to piss off the guards out front that were undoubtedly waiting for jaywalkers like me. Once I found the entrance it took me underneath the street level and up to the base of the Arc. Freaking huge man. Unbelievable.
The view from the Arc was amazing by night; all roads extend outwards from its center creating a clean view down every avenue, the dips and turns highlighted by streetlights. In the distance I saw the Eiffel Tower shining bright above the city as the last of the twilight cast a deep blue behind it. Again, unbelievable. I met Lotfi there and after a ton of pictures we headed back down Champs Elysees on our way to - you guessed it: the Eiffel Tower.
