Paris 2009: We Made it to the Louvre, and Our Last Meal in Paris

It's been weeks since we returned from Paris, seems like a lifetime away that we were enjoying the food and sights of France. The great thing about vacation is that you can choose to do things and live the way you dream of, but not may be feasible in everyday life. To sleep in til noon and have amazing French meals everyday was a dream come true for us.

On our last day, we made our way into a museum after all - none other than the Louvre. I think it was our most visited place this trip, through the gardens, the courtyard, and finally a fast look inside as well (not to worry travelers, we have been before!). We did the speed tour to start: Mona Lisa, Winged Victory and Venus de Milo, seeing favourites along the way such as the Wedding at Cana. We eventually made our way to the Rubens Room, an amazing exhibit of21 paintings commissioned by Marie de'Medici, wife of King Henry IV of France. We stopped for lunch at Cafe Marly, as recommended by our friend Stella. We were saving it for our "last meal" because we wanted to make sure we left Paris with an amazing meal to remember. Cafe Marly did not disappoint - sitting under the elevated arches of the Louvre and facing the pyramids. In the cool fall weather, the experience was sublime. We started with a king crab guacamole salad - the king crab was meaty and fresh and tasted like it was just cracked out of the shell. For mains, I had a delicious prawn risotto and Tony had steak. Before this trip, I did not know that prawn risotto was such an amazing French dish, from our delicious first meal at Coup d'Etat, to this last meal at Cafe Marly, the prawns were delicious and like nothing I have tasted before. The steak was not extraordinary, but the bernaise sauce was amazing...heart stopping, but amazing. We left with our bellies full and happy. We managed to sneak in another couple rooms at the Louvre before it was time to leave.

The Louvre is possibly the most beautiful building in the world, housing the most amazing collection of art and history, plus an delicious meal...not a bad way to say good bye to the City of Lights.