Paris -- Oct 20

Off to the Louvre. We need lunch and find a perfectly acceptable bistro right across the street. Ryan has a croque monsieur. I have a quiche, and Steve has onion soup and an omelette. We are ready to hit the paintings. 

The Louvre is just overwhelming. Ryan and I start with a loop that includes the Mona Lisa. We don't get very near it but there are three other great DaVinci paintings across the hallway that no one is paying any attention to. We do pass Winged Victory and ultimately figure out how to get in one wing and into another wing. I hit the Vermeer and the Rembrandt room. And then we just catch whatever is interesting as we pass by. It's about 5:00 and we are ready to leave.

We can metro to Le Grand Epicerie so Steve can buy his wine. The one in our old neighborhood is actually easier to get to. But when we walk in we find that they do not ship wine so Steve is very disappointed. He eventually comes around to buying two bottles to carry with him and Ryan buys one. At least a momento. They also buy some cookies and biscuits to take home.

We head to dinner at Le Récepteur, a place recommended by the wine sales person. Bit of a long walk but we make it. Walk through our old neighborhood. Place is cute but kitchen doesn't open for a half hour but we order some severin chablis wine that we tasted yesterday. We have a good waiter whose English is great as well as his knowledge of American football. The kitchen finally opens and we start with a tasty charcuterie tray. Then Steve and Ryan both order steaks, one a ribeye, and one a bavette of black angus. I have a monkfish with baked carrots and a frothy cabbage concoction. All very tasty. We are very near the Seine and so we walk down to get a gorgeous view of the Eiffel Tower. Then Ryan figures out how to get us back home. It's nearby and we get off at a stop that is right near the Le Relais de Venice restaurant. It is probably 9:00 p.m. and there is a line waiting to get in. Don't think we will opt for that one tomorrow night.