Reflections on Europe:France Day Two

On the second day we were in Paris, we really hit the pavement seeing the sites and cramming as much as we could into our day. Our day got off to a bad start in terms of meeting locals because the hotel manager at the front desk was very rude. He had a short temper and I guess he did not like the fact that there were so many of us together hanging around in the lobby waiting on some of the parents to make it down from their rooms. The man was short with us when we asked him questions and his tone of voice left something to be desired. Maybe the rude Frenchmen stereotype blinded me in the moment, but I totally believed it right then. Needless to say, I was glad to get out of the hotel and onto the streets of Paris.
We must have walked everywhere possible that day. I do not really remember the order in which we saw the sites, but I do remember that the one thing I wanted to see most we did not see until sunset. The group spent two hours in the Louvre where the four of us juniors became desperately lost. We found all the ancient artifacts such as the Babylonian lion statues, but wanted to see the crown jewels and that's when we got lost. For the greater part of an hour, we explored the Louvre to find the crown jewels, but instead found French furniture from the time of Louis XIV, the Chinese relics, and other statues from around the world. At the end of our time there, we found the rest of the group in front of the Winged Victory Statue, which was spectacular to see as one walks up the steps to it. As you make your way up to it, it it almost like you are climbing a stairway to heaven with an angel waiting to greet you. Romantic, but not realistic...