Ahhhhh!

Ahhhh.  10 hours of sleep and all is well.  The apartment that we are in was previously used as an art studio.  We thought that might mean that this would be an eclectic, art nouveau, Parisian apartment.  Hmmm.   Well, if that were to translate into street front, thread bare non matching towels, and a staircase down to a basement/cave that you could slip on one stair and fall to your death, then we would have been correct!  That being the case, I would be remiss if I did not mention that the 2 beds in the cave and the two beds up at street level are some of the most comfortable beds that we have slept on, complete with the typical duvet covered down comforters that you would expect to find in Europe.  When we were enveloped into these cocoons, all thoughts of thread bare towels, and coffee makers with no coffee pot were forgotten.  Ahhh.

Of course Jeff was the first one up.  He beat the rest of us by an hour and a half.  So, after his run to the Eiffel Tower (surreal!), we were woken up with fresh croissants and coffee!  Ahhh.  What a great way to start the day.

After pulling ourselves out of bed and devouring the much awaited French pastries, we hit the streets once again.  We walked first to an outdoor market.  This one was huge and reminded me of a flea market.  Frankly, the outdoor market in Thousand Oaks feels like it is more of a farmers market than this did.  Granted, there were hundreds of booths, most of which were selling fruit, there was also a swap meet feel to some of the other things that were being offered there.  We focused our attention on the food, the cheese and the bread.  We were not disappointed.

We took our goods to a park to have a picnic Parisian style.  It is amazing to watch.  The parks fill up with people at lunch time from all walks of daily life.  There are groups of school children.  Are they on a field trip, or is this a daily adventure for them?  I am not yet sure.  There are young adults who seem to simply be gathering, and then there are loads of business people.  They come, they sit on a bench or on the grass  (There are no picnic blankets.  Not one!) and they proceed to eat their sandwiches.  If they are with friends or co-workers, then they are engaged in very lively conversation.  If they are alone, then they are reading.  One thing is for sure, and that is that they are not in a hurry.  How refreshing to watch!  We think that we could fall into some of these customs very easily!  At least while we are here!

From there, we took to the streets again.  At this point I had 2 blisters, but looked very French.  So, suffer on.  We went to the Notre Dame first.  Wow.  700 years old.  It took 200 years to build.  Can you imagine?  Once inside, we could not help but just sit in the pews and have several moments of contemplative silence.  Wow.

After that, we went to a Deportation Memorial.  If you have read "Sarah's Key" then you will know what this looked like.  It was not the actual place that the jews were held, but was made to look like the one that was used.  What a somber place.  Total silence was required, and was very difficult for Soren.  He had so many questions.  There was a hallway that was lined with 200,000 lighted crystals.  One crystal for each French person that was killed in concentration camps.  At the end of the tunnel is a light signifying eternal hope.  As you exit, a sign over the door says what all concentration camp sites apparently say.  "Forgive, but never forget."  Need I say more?

After this we stopped to "re-fuel."  We stopped at Bertholinni's Ice Cream on Isle de St. Louis.  OMG!  I have never tasted chocolate ice cream like this!  I mean OMG!  It tasted like we were simply licking cold melted chocolate.  Heaven.

Once re-fueled, we went to see Sainte Chapelle.  This church was a huge contrast to the Notre Dame as it took only 4 years to build.  This church is known for it's stained glass.  We were there late enough to see the colors come alive and light up the church.  What a sight to see!

Needing a little bit more energy, we stopped at a cafe and had a cafe au lait and chocolate chaud.  Again, I love watching the people here at these cafes.  Engaging conversation, little (and I mean little) cups of coffee, and no rush.  Fabulous.  So much to learn here!

Finally, we went to see the museum that I was most looking forward to.  Musee D'Orsay.  Impressionists.  Old train station.  Awesome!  All of the paintings and statues that we have read about, came alive this evening for us!  My personal favorite was not the Monet's, which surprised me.  My favorite was  a Renoir.  The dappled light was so fascinating to see close up!  I cannot remember the name of the painting right now.  Too tired.

When we came out of that museum into broad daylight, we were shocked to have Rachel tell us that it was already 9 pm!  Holy cow!  I mean, broad daylight!  Now, we had to make fast to get dinner and bed.  What a fulfilling day.  The long day of light allowed us to do more than we normally would.  So, believe it or not we had lots of breaks in the day.  We are loving Paris, and even more we are loving their lifestyle.  One person told me that I would come home "changed."  I hope so.  I like what I see here.

Going forward, I will not write sooo much on this blog.  I just could not help myself today.

Au revoir for now!