This just might have been my favorite day in Paris. Much of the delight came from spending the day with Brina. But I have been dreaming about writing the reviews for Angelina's and La Potager since the second I stepped into the restaurants. Perhaps that comes with knowing I had to write, but also, it was the most enjoyable of food experiences in the city. No other dining experiences of the trip quite matched these two. . .although some came close.

We planned to pick up a breakfast on the street like a real Frenchman, but elected to eat at the hotel because a) it was free and b) the weather didn't look like it would be cooperating. The usual breakfast at the hotel gave us a late start, but we got on the metro and to the Louvre not long after it opened. The first Sunday of every month has free admission to most museums in Paris. It was for this reason we chose to not purchase the museum pass. There are two entrances to the Louvre, and almost everyone recommends using a side entrance instead of the main entrance that takes you through the glass pyramid. I expected the line to get into the main entrance would be long because of the free admission, but surprisingly, we only slowed down through the line instead of stopping. There were at most 15 people ahead of us when we got there. Immediately, we pulled out a Rick Steve's map, which guided us to the Mona Lisa and then to other highly historic or popular paintings and by the time we got to the sculpture of the Venus de Milo, we were worn out. I could not believe how small the Mona Lisa was (and how big the museum was). I suppose it also had to do with the fact that we were far away from her with all the protection, but it was still not as gigantic of a painting as the photos in art books make you think. Paul had downloaded the Rick Steve's story about Venus onto his cellphone and Brina and I sandwiched it between our heads as we stood in a corner imagining her beginnings.

Parallel to the Louvre is Angelina's, an old but indescribable, restaurant and tea shop. Also along the way I saw tempting candy stores and gift shops, but I didn't want to carry the goods around for the rest of the day. This is not the wisest thought process, but I don't regret that we spent more time making memories than buying memories.

After Angelina's, we walked to Le Potager, which Brina and I had both been steered to by different individuals. We then walked off our meal by exploring a few of the flea-market style shops along the River Seine, strolling through the Bird Market and finally searching for public restrooms.

Then, came the hard part of trying to convince my father that seeing Jim Morrison's (lead singer for The Doors) grave really wasn't that important. I finally agreed to go with him because he doesn't speak French, but we just couldn't convince my mom to go back to the hotel with Brina and rest. So once again, we all went underground and road the Metro to the opening of the cemetery. As soon as we walked up the stairs to daylight, we saw a newspaper stand that sold maps of the cemetery for 2,50 euros. Although, I thought it was overpriced, I quickly decided it was worth it. Jim Morrison wasn't the only plot that made the cemetery the fourth most popular attraction in Paris. Actually, his grave is of lesser importance than Chopin, Delacroix, Guy-Lusac, Sarah Bernhardt, and Marie Callas. The cemetery turned out to be very large and the map turned out to be mostly incorrect. But, at least we had a list of the residence of the land. Five minutes before the cemetery closed, we met one family where the husband spoke English and a caretaker of the cemetery who took us straight to Eugene Delacroix's (which confused and amused them because my pronounciation said "Del-a-kroy" instead of "Dela-kwah") sarcophagus--because he is actually buried quite above ground--and out past Marie Callas' crematorium. We had a marvelous walk and quite an educational experience considering my French is limited and his English was non-existent. (I should have played charades more as a child.) Whoever that nice old man with the gray hair and the cat food was may never know what a cool afternoon he provided for us. We will always be grateful for that.

Dinner included fondue and raclette because Brina doesn't normally get fondue at home because her husband is not fond of it. We ate with Brina's coworker who took part of the group to Versaille for the day (and made a special trip to Angelina's to buy me postcards because I forgot to pick them up when I was there!) and Paul's folks. Some of us concluded the evening with one last trip to Grom.

Sitting here with my head in my hands reviewing the events of the day, my heart beats a little more rapidly with the simple pleasure of a historical and altogether delicious day. I could relive it over and over.