In Which Tigger exercises his tail

As mentioned, Badger has quite happily arrived back in the land of consistent computer and internet access, and will be able to help update to blog without wanting to throw Mouse's phone at a wall (which still would not have helped it upload pictures faster).

So, to remind everyone where the adventures last concluded (since it has been a while), Mouse and Badger had returned to London for one last night in the English-speaking world before journeying to the continent.  After spending the night at a hotel near Heathrow airport, the pair were up at 4:30 in order to catch a flight to Paris.  

Tigger enjoys the flight

Arriving in Paris, Badger took over as lead navigator and managed to find the way to the hostel.  It was too early to check in, but they had a place in the corner to store bags so they could be left there.  Meanwhile, Tigger made a new friend.

Tigger was pried away from his new friend to come help figure out where to go.  After consulting the map, Tigger and company headed out into the French world to see the City of Lights.

The first stop was Notre Dame.  It was a beautiful cathedral, with a less beautiful crowd to get in.  Mouse wanted to go in, but Badger felt that time might be better spent in seeing more of the city and not spending too much time standing in lines.  Mouse graciously agreed, especially since she would be returning in a couple of weeks. 

Speaking of Mouse returning to Paris, the next stop on the agenda was to find the Shakespeare and Company bookstore, where Mouse hoped to be able to spend time relaxing in during her few days.  It took some searching, but the bookshop proved to be everything it promised.  There were quite a few people that day hanging out, playing chess, and plenty of books (in English) that promised to keep Mouse occupied for as long as she could stay awake.

We then headed down the river Seine, passing the Louvre on the way to the Musee d'Orsay.  We actually stopped and went into this museum, which contains a very nice collection of impressionist works.

After the museum closed, we decided to walk to the Tuileries Garden, and then the Champs-Elysees, the most well-known street in Paris.  We even got a view of the Eifel tower, though we were too tired to walk closer.

The Champs-Elysees soon turned into a very commercial district, with the streets lined with well known stores.  We even found a two-story Disney Store, and Tigger got to say bonjour to some foreign friends.

We finished the walk at the Arc de Triomphre, admired the monument, and then headed back to the hostel to change into something nice for dinner.  We went to a resteraunt that was sufficiently non-touristy so as to have some communication problems with our waitress.  Badger, having had a single semester of French about 10 years ago, and therefore the most experienced speaker of the pair, was proud of being able to ask for a table in french, whereupon the waitress promptly seated us and gave us menus in English.  Other then feeling bad for our waitress, the meal was excellent and worth the trouble.  We had learned that we had arrived on the day of a music festival, so there was some live music playing.  Some of the locals even started dancing in the street (dinner and a show!).  Meanwhile we had the beautiful Sacre-Coure (french for sacred heart) in the background.  We finished off the night with a walk to the Moulin Rouge since it was within walking distance and we both love the movie.

By this time it was nearly midnight, and we had done a lot of walking around that day.  However, it was worth it.  Tigger had done quite a bit of bouncing and even he was ready to give his tail a break and get some sleep.