May 5

So this cranky old guy swept us out of the church of St. Germaine des Pres exactly at closing, before we got a chance to see much of anything. I said I wanted my two euros back. He pretended not to understand English, or didn't understand English. To my chagrin, I certainly don't understand much French. Amazing how much language disappears through 45 years of disuse. Sad, too.

The Louvre is too big for a one-day visit, but the D'Orsay is just right. Yes, I could go back and look at all those incredible impressionist paintings that I've seen in books for years another 10 or 12 times, but a one-day visit was also marvelous. I asked a restaurant server if Parisians bring their children to the art museums, because there were so many children at the two I've been to do far, and she said no. People who live with all that culture on a daily basis tend to take it for granted, she thought. I suppose so. Glad there were a lot of children at the Louvre, though. Wherever they were from.

Step count since leaving Minnesota: 64,258
Converted to miles: 30.2