Paris est Magnifique!

 When we decided to book this trip we knew we would only have two and a half days to pack in as much as we could - in fact, we took to calling the trip "Lunch in Paris." I think we did pretty well, and we have had an amazing time. For our last day we started by sleeping in...but not on purpose. Our Louvre reservations were for 9 and I got us up at 8:37. I can count using only my thumbs the number of times that has happened to us. We got there at 9:10 and were fine. Click on the pictures to make them larger.

 The picture above is from the lobby. And here, of course, is the star:

 It would take months to see al of this gigantic place, so we concentrated on the Renaissance. Here are a few of my favorites:

 Next we went up to La Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre. This few hours might be my favorite part of the trip. The church was lovely:

 But the views from this high point in Paris rival any I've seen from mountain peaks.

 After enjoying time at the top we strolled around Montmartre and enjoyed the neighborhood. I wanted to light a candle for my Mom at Notre Dame but the lines were too long, but I found an old church in Montmartre called St. Jean and lit one for her:

 M-S and I love seeing the people of cities at work and play, and this area was awesome. I could have looked at the wares of this fish market for quite some time:

 I wanted to have a drink here, but it wasn't open:

 Paris' Opera House:

 For dinner we took a cruise on the Seine and really got to enjoy some architecture.

 And wildlife:

 The bridges in this city are pieces of art:

 Our meals were excellent (is there such a thing as a bad meal in Paris?)

 I really like this picture:

Some Americans living in Paris donated this to the city. Sure, it's 1/16 the size of the one France gave us, but it's still pretty big. It used to face the other way, but the city turned it around so it would face the USA. I love how the tower is also it the picture. Tomorrow we'll spend the day getting home, but we have had an amazing time. I did everything I wanted to do - including kissing my wife in front of  the Eiffel Tower. Life is good.
~MET

More of Paris

 Today was fantastic, and I'm pretty sure we walked around 10 miles. Click on the pictures to make them bigger. We started the day with breakfast at the apartment featuring pastry from this neighborhood shop:

 We shared these two and will try two different varieties tomorrow. Then we walked to the Eiffel Tower, stopping along the way.

 We had reservations, so we didn't have to wait very long. Some views from the first platform, which is about a third of the way up:

 This is the one we took from the very top:

 It was windy and cold, but great fun. I then had a "simple" salad for lunch at a place called George V:

 Then lots more walking and shopping and looking around.

 There are lots of outdoor artists and vendors. This was an antique show:

 I just liked this boat - the guy has a lawn on top:

 You can see a duck on the far side of the roof.  This was a gift from Egypt:

 It marks the spot where the guillotine was during that revolutionary summer. One of many of St. Joan:

 While M-S was in one of the stores I bought her a watercolor from a street artist:

 We made our way over the the island to see Notre Dame:

 The line to go inside ended somewhere in Switzerland, so we went to a smaller island next door that Dominique Ryon, a French teacher at WHS who grew up in Paris, told us we should check out:

 The shops were wonderful and we had an amazing ice cream. More pics of Notre Dame:

 For dinner we went to LaFontaine St. Michel. We shared some stuffed mussels:

 I then had beef béarnaise and M-S had Quiche Lorraine:

All of the food has been amazing so far, and we have been enjoying some great wines. Life is good.
~MET