Day 3 - Paris, I Love You

I love, love, LOVED Paris. Like seriously, I'm not sure I've ever liked a city more. You probably aren't shocked, but I was. I assumed I wouldn't really like it as I'm not really a big city girl. I didn't care for Rome so I thought I'd feel similarly about Paris. Oh man was I wrong. Honestly, it was probably the first time I've visited another city and really truly thought, "I could live here." Don't worry, I have no such plans at present other than to make a return visit someday.

Day 3 got off to a late start after our long night with Isla but we managed to cram in most of the major sites given that this was our only full day in Paris. I don't think we made it out onto the street until around 10 AM. Bleary-eyed Isla was not sure what time it was but she was in a good mood, though unordinarily quiet.

We were greeted again by warm sunshine which led us to grab breakfast from our local Patisserie (pastry shop) and eat at an patio table at Cafe du Marche. This street is far too cute!

Graham had a chocolate almond pastry and I had a sweet crepe. We both ordered a cafe au lait (coffee with hot milk) which I must say is TO DIE FOR. I am so hooked (we are currently looking into espresso machines that will make similar cups of coffee if that tells you anything).

The weather was so lovely that following our breakfast, we returned to the hotel to change. Our trusty companion Rick Steves recommended taking bus #69 from Rue Cler to get a much cheaper above-the-ground tour of the big Paris landmarks. We had a bit of a hard time locating the bus stop but then spotted the bus as it sped by us. We ran for it and made it on, only to enter through the back door which is apparently a big no-no (Graham received a stern look and a mouthful of French when he went to the front of the bus to pay the driver). Oops! We admired the beautiful sites from the bus window and then exited when we reached the Seine River and took a stroll until we reached Notre Dame.

Such an ornate church! It looked very different from each different angle (and personally I liked the front the least which is what is pictured). It wasn't at all what I expected given that my only prior to exposure to the church was courtesy of Disney's cartoon movie. I didn't get to see the Hunchback but was pleased to see the gargoyles really did exist. We had downloaded Mr. Steve's self-guided Paris walk on Graham's I Touch which included a detailed description of Notre Dame so that was very enlightening. I'm sure we were quite the sight as we walked around, pushing the stroller, each with one earbud in our ear (and therefore quite literally inseparable!) The support beams inside and the stained glass were most striking to us. And we were priviledged enough to be there as a mass was taking place so heard the organ play which was powerful!

We continued our "guided" walk through Latin Quarter where we saw some crazy streets, one with houses leaning every which way, and another with the skinniest building in Paris (only 2 windows wide). I would like to spend more time in the Latin Quarter next trip as it seemed quite fun. We grabbed a prosciutto (jambon) and cheese crepe to-go from a little stand continued on our merry way. It's amazing that something so simple can taste so amazing. Meanwhile, Isla discovered a new sleeping position...

Next we made the trek to the Louvre where we met fellow North American travelers who were took one of the very few non-self-portrait-group-shots of the three of us. It was Isla's cute pink jelly sandals that first drew their attention to us. Everyone in France loved them (see pic of her sleeping above)! I was beginning to wish I'd bought 20 pairs to sell over here as I would have made bank (apparently Old Navy fashion flies in Paris!) 

Isla enjoyed a picnic on the Louvre steps since she'd slept through our crepe lunch. We had a great system down for her meals and had what we called the "Feeding Bag" that went with us where ever we went. It contained her bib, bowl, cheerios and a little necklace box filled with utensils, including a pairing knife for cutting fruit. It worked so well! However, as we went to enter the Louvre and realized our bag would have to go through the x-ray belt, I started to question my brilliance in packing a knife. I thought for sure it'd be confiscated, but they didn't even bat an eye! Doesn't that make you feel so safe? If they aren't stopping people with knives, then who are they stopping? Probably those dangerous people carrying 5 oz tubes of toothpaste...

We more or less whizzed our way through the enormous Louvre, focusing primarily on the most famous pieces (da Vinci and Vermeer). I was quite excited to see the Mona Lisa but it definitely is much smaller than you imagine (thankfully, I'd been warned). It doesn't help that it hangs solo on a huge, blank wall. Isla really enjoyed the Louvre as well. She was tickled pink by the Mona Lisa.

But her favorite part was when we let her roll around on the museum floor...I mean, a girl's gotta get out and stretch!

We rested our weary legs and took the very hot and crowded (think I'm gonna pass out from claustrophobia crowded) metro to the Arc de Triomphe. We debated whether or not to pay to go up to the top but I'm really glad we did. They gave us a special pass to use the elevator since we had the stroller. Unfortunately, there was some sort of ceremony (it looked like a funeral) taking place underneath the arc and so they had police surrounding it and wouldn't let anyone pass over to the other side which was where the elevator was. We tried to go around the thing and a policeman pounced on us, holding up his arms in an "X" and telling us to stop. We showed him the special pass we were given for the elevator and told him that we were instructed to go that way but he wouldn't budge. The stupid thing was that while he was busy keeping up from crossing over, swarms of people behind him were crossing freely over to our side. Finally, after we told the ticket sellers that he wouldn't let us get to the elevator, they sent an escort for us who put that cop in his place. It would have been one thing if it was really a funeral for a very important person (as it appeared), but we later found out that it was some daily ceremony that they do...

The view from the top was amazing as the Arc is located smack dab in the middle of the biggest roundabout I have ever seen. There were probably at least 10, tree-lined streets converging into this one circle, creating what looking like a round sun with its rays (the 10 roads) streaming off of it. The view of the city was awesome.

Isla was quite intrigued by what she saw. Do you want to know what captured her attention?

THIS! Absolutely, positively the most insane merging of traffic I have even laid eyes upon. And this documents only 1 of the 10 roads that flowed onto the giant roundabout! I don't know how we didn't witness any accidents! Look closely at the picture and you'll see scooters weaving in and out in the tiny spaces between cars. This in and of itself was worth the fee we paid to go up the tower.

Our last stop of the day was Sacre Coeur, a beautiful white church up on a hill overlooking the city. We intentionally made it our final destination as we wanted to see Paris at night. The hillside leading up to the church was covered with partying, drinking teenagers which really ruined the scene for me. This was the only place we visited in Paris that felt like it could be dangerous to me. There were a bunch of guys selling cheap-o souvenirs who approached Graham. They were selling some little finger trap or something and wanted to tie his arm up as a part of their gimmick. Graham wasn't about to let him but the guy kept pushing himself on Graham, trying to grab his arm. Finally Graham gave him a little shove because he wouldn't back off. The guy started yelling "Hey now, don't push me!" or something like that and I was sure there was going to be fight. But we walked off as fast as we could, hanging tightly to our backpack and camera, and they left us alone.

We wandered down the hill from the church to a cafe recommended by Rick Steves for dinner. Graham ordered veal with mushrooms and rice with a cream sauce that made it on the Top-Five-Foods-He-Ate-While-In-France list. I again had the most amazing salad. If only I could figure out what it was I was eating! The menu listed it as a salad with goat cheese, figs and a "girdle cake." Yum. I love girdle cakes! Maybe they meant griddle cake? Still, I'm not sure what a griddle cake is. Whatever it was, it was good! The goat cheese was served with these small pink berries/seeds of some sort sprinkled over top. Isla got to try her first veal and figs and enjoyed them both.

The view of the tower after dinner.

Okay, I lied. We made one more stop for ice cream on Rue Cler before retiring for the night. We ordered a dish with 2 kinds of chocolate, tiramisu and coconut to share. I don't know what they do to their ice cream in France but it is MUCH better than ours! We arrived back at our hotel room to discover it was almost midnight. What a full day!