Paris

Our first full day in Paris! It still doesn't seem real. But it is! And it's wonderful, of course. Today we spent the day at the Louvre. We saw SO MANY priceless, breath-taking things, but it's such a tiny part of all that is there. I hope the people who live nearby take the opportunity to go often. I don't think you could see everything if you went every day for a year! I am grateful my guts are being calmer than usual. Prednisone has its price. But being able to enjoy the Louvre with my husband Dave, and with my son and daughter-in-law, Zack and ShaNae, and our granddaughter, Clara -- Priceless! The Lord is blessing me and I am grateful. Every toilette at the Louvre (and there aren't many) had a LONG line. The cafe where we lunched had a line, but not as long. If I'd been in trouble, many people would have suffered (or at least would have been sorry to be close to where I was). But that didn't happen. Thankfully, the biggest challenge was staying hydrated. The Louvre has no apparent (even after what I consider a thorough search for) drinking water fountains. And the only place they sell bottled water (for >$3 per .5L bottle) is near the entrance -- a good 15-minute walk from where Dave and I left ShaNae and Zack taking care of Clara while we did a water run. I did bring my own water, but I drank it before noon, of course. And found no place to re-fill it. I have to say the Louvre is not very sensitive to human needs. Besides the dearth of rest rooms and drinking water, the stairs everywhere make much of the museum inaccessible to wheelchairs (We only saw 2). The stroller was challenge enough, as Clara's diligent parents hefted it up and down stairs. The stroller did, however, get us to the front of a line on the way in. :-) At lunch, I ordered vegetable soup and hard-boiled eggs. And for dinner, some kebab with bread sounded good. That sounded safe. Apparently it was. I'm still doing well tonight. I have to credit divine intervention, though. Even though I carefully planned and prepared ahead of time my meds for the day, I somehow only brought the symprom-control, emergency stuff like anti-diarrheal and pain killer meds. Non of the maintenance stuff. I still can't find them in the apartment tonight. I honestly have no idea what I did with them. But it's all good. I have bottles and bottles of all I need in my suitcase, and I promise myself not to leave them behind again. Tomorrow, we're touring the city from a boat on the Seine and visiting the Isle de Cite. Can't wait! If I can figure out how to get some photos from my Adroid to my iPad later in the week, I'll post them. I'm not getting much cooperation between these two devicies so far. Maybe I'm just tired. Good night! Smiling in Paris, Beth :-)