We arrived in Paris on the 12th of July 1998. France and Brazil had won the chance to face-off for the world cup soccer championship.

This shot by Hotel de Ville shows how "BIG" soccer is in Paris!

All of Paris was already celebrating even though the final match would not be until that evening. We saw some of the goals being made on a huge digital TV screen we could see as we climbed the stairs to the middle of the Eiffel tower. Later that night we saw the last goal of the game on the TV in the courtyard of our hotel. The whole town erupted in cheers, fireworks and people riding around honking their horns and waving the French flag. People said that they had not seen so many people celebrating in the streets in Paris since it was liberated by American troops at the end of WWII.

It was raining the morning of the 13th, so it was a good day to visit the Louvre. I got to see the paintings and sculptures I craved. The sun came out just as we decided to leave the Louvre. We walked across the Tuilleries to see the "impressionists" and Monet's "Water Lillies" at the Orangery. After lunch, we visited the Rodin Museum where we saw The Kiss, The Thinker, and The Hand of God.