Paris Rocks!

Just a quick post. Work looms. YS is in Paris and during our phone call said, "I've had more fun in two days than in two weeks in Strasbourg!" He's been to the top of the Arc de Triomphe, the top of the Eiffel Tower, to the Louvre at night (not inside), and to the Sacre Coeur, all within the first 48 hours! He and one of his roommates, Stefan, set out to find the Louvre the first night they were in Paris. After about a 45 minute walk, they stumbled upon it. The next day, they had their orientation to Paris and the Metro. They were split into pairs and sent off via metro to find a specific monument. YS and his friend, Corina, had to find the Arc de Triomphe. YS said the metro is a lot like the Tube in London, so it was a piece of cake for him. He has a great sense of direction, too. They got out of the metro station, looked around, and there was the Arc. There are 12 lanes of traffic that go in a circle around the Arc, and YS and Corina decided they should run across them all to get to the Arc rather than use the underpass. They ran across laughing and screaming, arriving safely at the Arc, only to see two gendarmes standing there watching them, heads shaking as if to say "idiot tourists!" They loved it. But it was early Sunday morning with very little traffic. Later that day, when the whole group went to the top of the Arc, they saw people crossing with tons of traffic. Now those were idiot tourists! After the trek to the Arc, they went to Sainte Chapelle. On Saturday they went to the Pompidou Centre, and just walked around. Today was the Eiffel Tower. So, yeah, Paris rocks!