Paris

Up at 5:00, in Paris by 10:15.

We started the day at Basilique Sacre Coeur in Montmarte. The highest point in the city, and a lovely chapel. Montmarte is old Paris. Cobbled streets, shops selling fabrics and feathers, trees, artists, cafes and a soft vibe.

First order of business was croissants. We stopped at the first little cafe we saw and boy did we get lucky. Cafe Carla was clearly a locals place with a group of older men taking up a large table and the staff serving up the regular customers their usual orders. Paul had a plain croissant and a saucisson sandwich which he raved about. Brad had his usual canelle roulade and Kirsten had the absolute best ham and cheese croissant in the world (we all tried it). I’m not a morning eater, so I just ordered a small tomato and courgette tart — honestly, never had anything that tasted this good. Ominous start to the day.

Next order of business was the Eiffel Tower, which is brown, not gray, and huge! We took a taxi from Montmarte to the Eiffel Tower – our two furthest points today – and we struck gold in a taxi with a Syrian race car driver. It was like being in a Tom Hardy movie. He zoomed through intersection, barely missed cyclists, and careened through boulevards – skillful and competent and never broke a sweat.

We walked through the park, over the Seine into the 8th Arrondissement and all needed a restroom and a proper lunch. We picked the first sidewalk cafe we saw and were treated to a floor show of bustling waiters with a sense of humor. Food was good, not great (a Niçoise salad with ripe olives?!), but Paul got great French Fries and Kirsten had her first French Diet Coke. All was well with the world.

Sightseeing commenced in earnest. Grand Palais, Petite Palais, Les Invalides, Arc de Tromphe (huge), Champ Elysee, Jardin Tuileries, Parc Monceau, The Louvre and finally St. Germaine du Pres. We covered a lot of ground.

We even stopped to see where a bit of Chazy resides under the Goddess Diana in front of the Louvre.

After all that walking we made it to Notre Dame and sat and had crepes and ice cream and wine (how French).

Notre Dame is an incredible structure has a fascinating history and is a wonder of recent accomplishments. It was magnificent.

Sated and fulfilled emotionally, we took a walk into the neighborhood we usually stay in and showed the kids Relais Christine, a favorite hotel. No one was in the lobby, so we settled into the library and had a glass of champagne and discussed the days events.

The only thing we hadn’t done was take the Metro. Brad is not big on public transportation, but he capitulated.

He was not happy, but he made the 9 stops to the Gare du Nord. We had our final Parisienne meal at a restaurant across from the train station. Dover sole, steak frites, pate and of course the last French Diet Coke.

We entered the train station full and happy with no battery life in our phones (except for Brad, who never turned his on), 20,000 steps under our belt and another family memory to cherish.

We’ll always have Paris.