After a 7 hour flight, we landed in Paris around 8:20am (2am ET). Even though we didn’t sleep much, we’re ready to get to our apt. It is located in the 8th arrisdonment, and is two blocks off the Seine, not far from the Champs-Elysee and the Eiffel Tower. You could say we are in the fashion district…which is kindof funny for mom and I to be there. We don’t appreciate or will shop here like others would. While walking around today, we saw an entire block of Dior. Gorgeous, but we didn’t go inside.

Unfortunately we couldn’t get into the apt until 3pm, but the people who manage the property live on the third floor, and let us store our luggage there. So we had time, and decided to go to Notre-Dame. Its not close enough to,walk, so we had our first adventure on the Paris trains. To get there, we walked by the Flame of Liberty. It is a full-sized, gold-leaf-covered replica of the new flame at the upper end of the torch carried in the hand of the Statue of Liberty at the entrance to the harbor in NY. We then crossed the Seine, and the stop,was right there. We’re close to an RER line, little different than the Metro, but after 15 minutes trying to figure out how to buy tickets, and which train to be on, we made our way to the St Michel stop.

We could see the catholic cathedral immediately. My first reaction was, that it looks very similar to the National Cathedral in DC. We went inside, and the feeling didn’t go away. The stained glass was amazing, so were the gothic arches, and massiveness do the building. I was surprised there wasn’t more any mosaic art on the floor, like we’ve seen in other churches in Europe. But so much of its religious imagery was damaged during the French revolution in 1790 and WWII. There is no entrance fee, so we walked around, took photos, sat for a bit to relax, and then walked around the outside. The spire and gargoyles were cool, but I expected scarier gargoyles.
We were getting a little hungry, so we stopped at a little bistro at Norte-Dame to get something to eat. We ended up having the most delicious crepes. They were made to order, as they should be, but not on the grill your used to seeing, it was a long rectangular. Mom was Going to have soup until she saw them being made. It was fun to watch.

After lunch, or more like dessert, we took the RER towards the Eiffel Tower. We figured we would chill there for a bit. Well the train stop right at the tower, so w ended up walking farther than we expected. Mom wasn’t wearing the right shoes for all this walking, so we walked slow. We passed a museum who had an American exhibit, called the Color Lines and was about segregation.

One of our unusual adventures was a public toilet.not one I’d usually write about, but it is cleaned and sanitized after every use. We waited for about 15 min to get in, and I’m not sure I’d recommend or use it again, it was a little confusing and didn’t speak English.

After the Eiffel Tower we walked home on the other side of the Seine, which I believe is called the right bank. We got lost on the way back to the apt, but we’re finding our way through the neighborhood. We stopped at a market on our block for drinks then met up with Thomas who checked us in, which is where we stayed for the evening. We were exhausted, after being awake for 29+ hours. I napped, mom took multiple cat naps, then we went to bed around 10:30. The apt is lovely, 2 bedrooms, 3 baths, but only one has a toilet…rather odd. We opened the windows and the cool air was refreshing while  listening to the sounds of Paris. It was a cool and lovely evening.

I added photos to the photo page.

Tomorrow we are going to the Musee d’Orsay in the morning then meandering through Saint-Germain-des-Pres  to visit some of the famous and delicious chocolate patisseries.