After sleeping for about 5 hours, we got up and went to the Eiffel Tower. We were in a great spot in line, and the minute it opened they closed the very top. This was due to elevator problems. They said it would be several hours before it was fixed, at minimum. Since this was our third attempt, we decided to go up anyway to the second level, which is still high up there. On the picture that appears to just be a close up of the tower, take a close look to find three men hanging from the metalwork. They are currently repainting the tower, which requires basic mountain climbing equipment and a desire to be hanging from great heights. Add this to the list of jobs I never want. Paris looked beautiful of course from up high and the lack of crowds was nice too.

From there we went to the Musee Rodin to see Rodin's most famous sculptures, including The Thinker and the Gates of Hell as well as many statues of intertwined hands and people. The marble works inside are all wonderful, but the more famous ones outside are fun to admire and to photograph creatively. I thought the three guys looked as if they were doing the Single Ladies dance, so I joined in with its signature move. We figured The Gates of Hell was also known as Lily's front door, so here's a picture of her going home. haha. And of course Crawford is certainly the more interesting thinker. How lucky that he just happened to be thinking in the exact same pose as the man on the pedestal.

We then went to the Opera Garnier. Paris' opera house best known as the setting for The Phantom of the Opera might be my favorite building in the city. Nicole said she liked it the best of everything we've done so far. It is decorated to the point of being gaudy, but somehow manages to pull it off. The grandeur of the grand staircase is matched only by the hall of chandeliers overlooking the city below. We were steps away from the Galleries Lafayette at this point. We went up to the 6th floor in the department store to eat lunch while looking out big windows onto the rooftops of the 9th arrondissement. Galleries Lafayette has nine floors in its main store. While the top floor sells wedding dresses, the third floor exclusively sells "seductive clothing." Crawford picked up a couple of things while we were there.

At this point we were so tired that we all came back to the hotel and took long naps. 5 hours of sleep is not sufficient for Paris in the heat and crowds. After resting, we ate dinner with Fabienne on the Champs. Fabienne taught them about how to order un carafe d'eau, which is free tap water. Nicole wanted ice as well, and ordered both beautifully in French. They bring the water in a large carafe and the ice in an ice cream bowl with a serving spoon. Coming off her fabulous ordering, Nicole made a faux pas and poured the water directly into the bowl of ice and used that as her glass. The rest of us drank the water out of the nice glasses that were provided that were not in fact bowls. Fabienne, ever so French, is not a fan of ice and could not believe that Nicole would 1. pour water into a bowl to drink and 2. want that much ice in her drink at all. We definitely all backed Nicole on #2.

The last picture is of me and Fabienne at the very moment she tickled me in the side. As I'm the most ticklish person ever, it made for a great picture. Tomorrow is our last day. The big sale period starts tomorrow, so we are going to Rue de Rivoli to go shopping and tomorrow night we'll go the Louvre.