Today we kind of had a lazy start. Justin and I had plans to meet at Invalides and the Pont Alexandre III at 10:00 in the morning. He gave me a list of things he wanted to see and I added a little to it. I love putting together a day's worth of activities and plan the surprises along the way.
We ended up at our meeting point at the exact same time. We walked down to Invalides and over to my neighborhood to grab a few things from the grocery store and a baguette at the boulangerie. On our way, we saw a clan of donkey walking in front of the historical building. One of the most bizarre things I've seen. Anyway, I decided that I needed to treat him to a real French breakfast in a real Parisian apartment. He was able to see just how tiny my little flat is. We had our baguette with butter and confiture and coffee and orange juice. I opened up the windows to let some fresh air in and he admired the view for a while. He asked about the church whose steeples that we could see which is very close by. As we were leaving, I called my boss to see if she was at the house so that he could see their flat and meet her. She said that we could come over in fifteen minutes, so that's when I took him by Assemblee Nationale and the church that he asked about.
Please take notice of the group of donkeys walking in front of Invalides (click on picture to enlarge).
Fifteen minutes later we were at the family's apartment. Justin met Barth which was so fun because he is only the second friend from back home that has met my French family. Isabelle came in just as elegant as ever and introduced herself and offered us coffee and tea. We sat down and chatted with her about the French Open and her job. She asked about his travels. It was just a lovely conversation. I really saw how blessed I am to have such an amazing family to work for. I was very touched today by how she took time out of her busy schedule to entertain me and my friend. I really admire this woman.I was able to go back to Les Invalides, but this time to share all I knew about Napoleon with Justin. I was disappointed with how little I remembered from my last visit. He was able to see Napoleon's crypt and we even visited the WWII museum. There are so many possessions of Hitler in there. It sends shivers down your spine just to see it.
Justin posing with Napoleon's hat and frock to show that he is a bigger man than Napoleon.
The alter in The Dome Church at Les Invalides
We got on the metro for a short trip over to the Champs Elysees. We walked up towards the Arc de Triomphe. I showed him the nicest McDonald's in the world. It's not even fair to call it McDonald's. We went under Etoile, the twelve-lane roundabout which goes around the arc, and found ourselves right in the middle of groups of tourists all looking at the same thing. I've been here about five times so I'm used to the enormity of it. Justin walked around and took it all in and oohed and awed.On our way to Montmartre, we stopped at Place de la Concorde to see Tuileries and all that is contained in that small area. The Tuileries was filled with tourists. Enormous amounts of people were pouring from the Louvre through the garden. Absolute mass exodus.
From there we walked by Madeleine down to Opera. It was time for a little bit of a break and snack, so what better place than Starbucks. I've already posted pictures of most of the places we visited, so I opted not to be redundant and repost. If you remember, the Starbucks at Opera is by far the best in the world. If you've been there, I doubt you will disagree. It was a nice pick-me-up before hitting Galeries Lafayette for a free view of the city. We went to the top floor to the rooftop terrace to see Paris from up high. I am pretty sure this is only for those that know Paris well. No tourists will find this view in a guide. It's strictly limited to novices.A restaurant/entertainment club called The American Dream. It's near Opera and Madeleine and I have never seen it before.
The view from Galeries Lafayette
The metro was calling our names again. This time we jumped on and headed towards the Moulin Rouge. It's a different world over there. You can visit five areas of Paris in one day and feel like you have visited five different cities. It's such a diverse city and it's what I LOVE about it. 
Once we took a pic at the famous cabaret, we trekked up the massive hills to Sacre Coeur, the place of the best view of Paris. I made Justin close his eyes while I walked him to the view, then when he opened them, I am pretty sure he was breathtaken. The air is so fresh from so high up. It's a place that I will never grow tired of. However, I just realized that I didn't get any pictures from it.I learned a few months back that there is still a vinyard in Paris and it's located in Montmartre. I've wanted to go for sometime now and I knew today that it probably would. We winded through the amazing streets to find it. I couldn't tell on the map where it was, but as we were looking around, we found ourselves right next to it. This little place was so beautiful. This amazing vineyard, just in the middle of these old neighborhoods, just tucked away. It might be my new favorite place considering my love for the spiritual significance of vineyards.
It's right across from the oldest and most famous cabaret pub in Paris, Au Lapin Agile (The Agile Rabbit).
I look awkward, I know, but I love my Paris vineyard.
From the vineyard, we walked back up the hills to the square that is most known to be my favorite part of Paris. Justin aptly described Montmartre as "raw" and I thought that it was definitely the best adjective. It's bohemian, yes, but it's really raw. He collects paintings from all the places that he travels, so I knew that he would enjoy this area. It's phenomenal and impossible to describe with mere words. It's a feeling. While we were walking through, we saw a camera crew interviewing on of the artists.
Sacre Coeur in the background
This was the end of our tour. We made the trip down all the stairs that we climbed up. We caught the metro at Anvers to line 1 where we made the split. He went towards his hostel and I went back home to sleep off my walking hangover. I will say that my feet are aching, very slightly. More than slightly. It was my favorite two days of touring. I feel as though I am getting much better at this. Justin and I talked about options of becoming a tour guide in my spare time. We were not kidding. I absolutely LOVE it! I've learned as much history about this city and know it like the back of my hand now.
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