better than christmas lights...

7/3/2008

we slept in this morning til 9h and started out vers 10:30h, stopped at a cafe for petit-dejeuner. my croissants were even better than yesterday! kathy had a cheese omelette, which was also good... but really, the croissant. were. indescribable! i ate mine with strawberry jelly and they just melted in my mouth. the outside was flaky and pieces just fell into my cafe au lait. the inside was just so soft and chewy. (stevie k you can expect an in depth description in the future.)

after a late breakfast we were headed for point zero, the exact center of paris and the point from which all is measured. the bronze plaque is about 30 yds in front of the entrance to notre-dame, the facade of which is absolutely beautiful. (anyone have some other synonyms for beautiful because i am using that a lot?!)

entering the church was unbelievable. after studying the architecture it was hard to believe i was actually there in person. the detail was stunning. in the middle of our walk the priest started giving a mass - i can't wait to be there for easter sunday!! we continued on to the deportation memorial, as recommended by rick himself, but unfortunately it was closed for lunch. this memorial is dedicated to the 200,000 french who were taken to nazi concentration camps. it is designed to make you feel as if you are actually a prisoner in one of the camps. continuing along the seine, we admired the view, les bouquinistes, and historic paris.

the next stop - sainte chapelle, where the stained glass panels were so intricate and absolutely breathtaking. we passed the palais de justice noting the revolutionary phrase ''liberte, fraternite, egalite.''

the line for the conciergerie was trop long so we decided not to go in, but thought fondly of marie-antoinette and the relic collection in her cell. we continued walked to the seine rive droit crossing at pont neuf (''new bridge'') which is actually now the oldest bridge in paris.

from there it was time to tackle le louvre. (jessy i took beaucoups des photos so do not worry!) with our museum pass we were able to enter a line-free side door. difficult to navigate we found the most important works - mona, venus, and madonna - getting a little lost along the way. we exited through the glass pyramid and i swear angels were singing. coincedently enough we then headed in the direction of l'opera garnier, stopping for a bite to eat at an itialian place before entering les galleries lafayettes. kathy searched for boots unsuccessfully before we made our way to the top for la terrasse to enjoy a view of the paris skyline per merz's instructions!

more shopping ensued at h&m then les printemps. if you think the galleria houston is overwhelming you should visit these paris department stores. even kathy said ''i gotta get out of here!''

since evening was approaching we made our way to trocadero for a nighttime view of la tour eiffel. it gets dark later here so we stopped for a cafe and creme brulee. sitting outside we were able to people watch and enjoy the city. after finishing, we made it just in time to see the lights come on and sparkle like twinkling christmas lights, only waaaay better - and you know it has to be good if i say it's better than christmas lights! people were all over trocadero enjoying the view as the reflection showed in the pool below.

even though it was just about 20h we were beat from the busy day and made our way home to rest for yet another busy day... we have to fit everything in before kathy leaves!

bonne nuit!