Mona Lisa Smile

Even on a cool and overcast day, Paris is a gorgeous city. Today started with the requisite April showers but by the time we finished our breakfast, the skies had stopped spitting but the chill remained. At long last, Rosemarie had regular coffee, courtesy of the hotel. The breakfast room, small, quaint and with little cafe tables offered the perfect start to the day. A croissant that melted in your mouth the second it touched your lips and the chocolate oozing out from layers of dough was the ultimate breakfast treat.

Since it was such a cloudy morning, the choice to spend the afternoon in the Lourve was perfect. Now, my mom and I are no great fans of museums, but I don't think there's a person alive who could resist the equisite works of art on display. From Winged Victory holding court over one of the massive staircases to the crowds pressing against each other to get the perfect shot of the Mona Lisa - the Louvre was as exciting as I thought it would be.

"I'll have to watch the Da Vinci Code again," my mother said. "Now I'll be able to say I've been there."

I have to admit, I was thinking the same thing. But then I thought how silly that book really is -there's no way anyone could steal even a paper clip from this place.

Trying to get Rosemarie to take my picture with one of the statues was more work than the shot turned out to be, but it was fun watching her try to fit my big head in the same frame as some nameless emperor.

Leaving the artwork behind, we headed out to the streets and wandered into a boulangerie for lunch. Eating the fresh baked baguette sandwich on the steps of some nameless church was the ultimate Parisian lunch. Of course, we had to have a chocolate banana crepe, which turned out to be good nourishment as we got lost in the Metro station. The tip I can give you for Paris is to transfer at the smaller Metro stations - the big ones are so massive that one even has an underground shopping mall that makes it even harder to find the exit. Of course, had we not done that stop, we would have missed the homeless woman deciding that finding a public toilet was too much of an effort.

When we finally emerged from the Metro, my mother really thought she'd discovered our hotel. "I think we're going the right way, I recognize that pasty shop."

Mind you, she also thought we'd seen the same woman in mini skirt and stilettos four times that day, I of course, knew by the shoes that it was not the same girl - to hell with the dress.

The one thing we both did notice however, was the lack of obese people. For, despite the multitude of delicious food, the Parisians put the Americans to shame. We are simply exhausted at the moment and she is napping, although she will deny that she's fallen asleep.

"Go out and mail your postcard," I told her when we got back to the room.

The look she gave me was priceless. And if you think she walked outside without me, then you'll believe the Mona Lisa really smiled at me.

Day 2