Paris (July 5th 2016)

We took the Eurostar from London to Paris on Saturday July 2nd. Our train rolled in to Gare du Nord at 11:30 am.  My Aunt Debby was waiting for us at the station. Deb has a bond with Paris like I have with St. John's or maybe more accurately the Pope with the Vatican. Anyway we were delighted to have her join us during our time in Paris. I was eager to see sites I had never seen before and even more than that try and understand  how Parisians really live.

We took the Metro to St. Michel and made our way up to the Hotel Diana where we took over all three rooms on the fourth floor.
It would become our home for the next four days.

Highlights during these days included a walk to the Mouffetard Market area where we picked up some food to be eaten a little later in the Jardin du Luxembourg. We climbed the 400 spiral steps to the top of the Bell tower at Notre Dame Cathedral.  There were got to get up close and personal with the Gargoyles and were rewarded with a spectacular view of Paris.

We learned about Marie Antoinette at the Conciergerie and were left dazzled with slightly sore necks after staring at the stained glass windows at Ste-Chapelle.

We rode the Batobus along the Seine and wandered around the Basilique du Sacre -Cœur, past the Moulin Rouge and of course the Eiffel Tower.

France has always been associated with delicious food and we certainly had our fair share. We woke up each morning to the smell of freshly baked croissants and pain de chocolate in the hotel lobby where we savoured each and every breakfast. Other tasty food we enjoyed included Crepes, Frog Legs, fondu, mussels and last but not least Berthillon ice cream.

We savoured every moment of it whether it was taking in the sites, watching people pose for pictures, kids sail their toy boats at the park or simply stopping to have a coffee at a street side café, it was all part of the lesson on the art of living.