If You Don't Cheese Or Bread, Don't Come To France

Yesterday, after we got settled in to our room and checked in with the internet, we did a bit of exploring around Rue Cler. It is a very pedestrian friendly area. Right around the corner from our hotel there are numerous small shops such as cheese shops, wine merchants, bakeries, butcher shops, flower stores, pharmacy and an ice cream store. We explored the area to get our bearings and drooled over some of the cheeses and chocolates and even walked into the butcher shop to watch the customers and the butchers. We also went into the church of St. Peter on Rue Dominique. The church is old and looks more Romanesque as far as architecture goes. It was a very peaceful beginning to our journey. We had an early light supper at a small corner cafe and were asleep by 7:00 in spite of our best efforts to stay awake longer.

This morning, after 12 hours of refreshing sleep, we rose and had breakfast at our hotel. The meal consisted of coffee, croissants and bread, yogurt and orange juice. Bread and cheese are staples in the French diet so I guess we will need to do a lot of walking to undo the cheese and bread. Today we rode the bus to Notre Dame and spent a good amount of time there. You can't help but be impressed by the skill of the builders who constructed these massive Gothic cathedrals as you feel absolutely dwarfed by the enormity of the structure. If any of you have read Ken Follet's two novels about the medieval cathedrals, you have an idea of what I mean. The crowds at Notre Dame are immense and some of the sense of being in a sacred place is lost due to the constant flow of people. There are signs prohibiting flash photography and cells phones displayed prominently, but some people were not deterred by the signs. The organ was played and the sound is truly inspiring. After Notre Dame, we had a bite to eat and made our way to Orsay Museum. The Orsay is in a converted train station and houses works of art by impressionists, photographers, art noveau, modernists, naturalists and is quite impressive,if a bit overwhelming. Listen to me about overwhelming. We have not even been to the Louvre yet.

We are having a wonderful time. We are now on our way to the Eiffel Tower. Tomorrow I go to Versailles and Dianne will stay in Paris as she has been to Versailles before. I will follow the Rick Steves bible and go on the train to Versailles and take a self guided tour. I should expect crowds, so I will further follow his advice and leave Paris by eight so I can be there a t 9 when it opens.

We will post more as we make our way through the wonders of Paris. Au revoir for now.
Art