India and the Caste System

I came across this interesting article about India and the Caste System in today's Washington Post.

A 'Broken People' in Booming India

Day Two in Paris

On our second day in Paris, we headed to Sacre Coeur and Montmatre in the morning. The handy-dandy funicular up the hill was out of order, so we had to walk. Fortunately, it wasn't as bad as I imagined and every time we stopped to catch our breathe, we were treated to spectacular views of the city.

After visiting the cathedral, we made our way to the main square and wandered through the streets before deciding on a cafe. We stopped to have a drink - but mostly to have a good vantage point for people watching. Soon, we made our way back down the hill, stopping at a few stores along the way, and moved on to our next stop.

From Montmatre, we hopped on the Metro and emerged at the Arc de Triomphe and the largest traffic circle in the world. After admiring the arc and taking the requiste photos, we stood on the corner and watched a police officer direct the traffic. We were quite amazed at her task and the skill with which she performed it. The Arc de Triomphe was our starting point for our stroll down the Champs Elysees, where we stopped for pizza and visited the Louis Vuitton flagship store.

In the afternoon we returned to the Eiffel Tower, so we could go up this time. Lucky for us, the line wasn't that long and we decided to go all the way to the top. Before taking the elevator up to the top, we stopped to admire the views and take photos on the second floor. Finally, we made our way to the top and it was definitely worth it. This was my fourth or fifth time in Paris, but my first trip up the Eiffel Tower. I don't know why it had taken me so long.

We stopped for coffee along the Seine so we could enjoy the Eiffel Tower a little more. From there, we headed to the Louvre to take advantage of the extended hours on Wednesdays during the summer. Unfortunately, we were a little later than placed and had to race there. We got there just in time and were able to visit the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo in a matter of minutes before the museum closed. Once outside, we lingered by the pyramid for awhile and remarked about how high it was for 10pm!

After leaving the Louvre, we walked along the Seine and made our way to the Latin Quarter. This area was so lively and fully of students, tourists, cafes, and street performers. We had wonderful gyros for dinner and yummy ice cream for dessert. But finally, the night came to an end and we head to return to our hotel since we had to depart for the airport at 6:30am!

Day One in Paris

On Monday, we packed up all of Ani bags (there were lot of them) and headed to Dulles Airport for our flight to Paris. The flight itself was uneventful. We arrived around 6 in the morning and made our way to our hotel in the Jardins des Plantes by train.

After a brief nap, we hit the streets for two packed days of sightseeing. We started on Ile de la Cite, with visits to Notre Dame, Sainte Chappelle, the Palais de Justice and the Marche aux Fleurs.

From here, we walked along the Seine for a bit and stopped into a pet store where we spent nearly an hour. Like everyone else, we fell in love with so many of the cute puppies there, but I kept me distance from the nasty mice in the back. Next, we walked to the Louvre and through the beautiful courtyard there on our way to the Tuileries Gardens. In the garden, I actually fell asleep for awhile and felt refreshed enough to continue our trek. Our final stop in this area was the Place de la Concorde.

We walked around part of the Champs Elysees for a bit and had dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant. A little later than planned, we took the metro over to the Eiffel Tower. We started at the Trocadero and took several of the required Eiffel Tower shots. From here, we walked on to the Tower, but were too late to climb the tour for the day. In all the times I have visited Paris, this is something I have never done, so it became a priority for this trip.

After the Eiffel Tower, we called it a day and headed back to the hotel for some R&R.