A Unicorn, some knights, a rainbow, and a sub, only Frenchy-er

So, before we tell you about today - yes, we do have to walk over the boat where M. Valat (Georges) and his daughters live to get onto our boat. This is no problem, though it is good that none of us is on crutches or otherwise impaired.

Now, for the name of this post - today we went to the Cluny Museum (where we saw The Lady with the Unicorn tapestries), and l'Hospital Invalides (the French Army museum and Napoleon's tomb), saw a rainbow from the boat when we got home, and ate our cheapest meal yet - quiches for Alexa and I, baguette sandwiches (a sub, only Frenchy-er as Ben says) for Ben and John.

I never really had an opinion about medieval art - not a fan, but didn't hate it - until today. We saw the most amazing tapestry, sculpture, and altar pieces at the Cluny - including some of the heads of the statues that were cut off of the Notre Dame facade. It is amazing to think about how long these works must have taken to create, given the limited supplies, and short life spans of the time. Ben was a bit bummed that the rooms with medieval weaponry were closed (the staff did not show up so they had to limit the exhibits), but we more than made up for that later. I (Michelle) got an early birthday present from my Aunt Martha before I left and it was clear that a tapestry pillow cover was a great use of it - I was enthralled with the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries (there are 6 - 5 depicting the five senses and a 6th demonstrating the magnificence of the series).

After a brief stop for walking shoes for Alexa (the Nike slip-ons she brought weren't cutting it, so its a good thing I know her European size) followed by lunch, we were off to the Invalides museum. John and Ben were the total "war geeks" (that's Alexa's term for them) and we were all amazed at the quantity (and quality) of armor. Its clear from this museum (and the attached tomb of Napoleon), that Louis XIV and Napoleon have a special place in French military history. By the way, if you ever go - Rick Steves is correct that this is a museum that takes 2 hours for women and 3 for men.

On the way out we saw many Smart Cars parked on the street (and the sidewalk) and met a family that took our photo at this great spot with the Eiffel Tower in the background. We picked up dinner on the way home and were lucky that a light rain came while we were sitting on the terrace, prompting John to look for a rainbow (as it was also somewhat sunny as well). You can see that he found it - a full one at that (not sure if you can see it, but there was also the beginning of a double rainbow as well).

A few random suggestions for those of you contemplating a future visit: books are amazingly expensive in Paris (we spent 77 E for two of them in the museum shop), the Weather Channel is an amazingly unreliable source for forecasts, and international calling cards are far more useable if you purchase the ones for the US and Great Britain (as the recorded directions are in English on those, rather than French which is what you get with the generic international calling card).

Finally, for those who know about my sheltered culinary existence - sit down. I have tried fried nims (a roll filled with spicy pate), creme brulee (quite tasty, don't know why the texture put me off before), and a quiche I had limited knowledge of what was in it (quite tasty - salmon and broccoli, which is what I thought it would be - my limited French is growing!) Oh, and we totally randomly bumped into a Games Workshop (the company John's brother and cousin both work for) store - Ben wants to go back when its open to shop, but his Euros are going fast ...