Paris, France

What a big, old, beautiful city.
It is so cliché, but it is romantic..it is festive..it is fashionable..it is inspiring in so many ways.
Everyone loves to visit..everyone dreams of living.

We have arrived! I have chosen one of the most animated streets to live on for the week. It is in the 5th, smack dab between the Latin Quarter and St. Germain de Prés. My kids are not sure what to think.I have taken them out of their comfort zone. Our apartment is an old speak-easy. It is small and crooked, but has a certain charm (which it could probably only get away with here...).I feel a tad better knowing that we are surrounded by places of worship. The Notre Dame is less than a minute from our front door.



We arrrived early yesterday afternoon after an uneventful train ride from Geneva to here. A number of trains had been cancelled earlier so our train was packed. There were people sitting anywhere and everywhere. There were even people sitting on the toilet!



I wish I had a photo of Mike as he tried to get his bike on board. He was in everyones way trying to explain, in haphazard french what he was doing. Finally, he figured it was just easier to smile. It worked. I thought he was going to have to stand with it the entire three hours, but somehow, with the help of a German fellow, they manage to contrive some contraption so that it remained locked down. Not much else to do...The bike is still with us. The bike bag is fantastic for storing dirty laundry. (ok, not fair..it has been used a number of times)

After a quick dinner we started walking. I love Paris by night. All the buildings and monuments are lite up, the river is alive with revellers and there are crowds of people just wandering about. We ended up at the Louvre and walked through the Tuileries gardens. Max was thrilled to finally see the Eiffel tower in all its glory. He is dying to buy his own miniature tower. I would like the snowglobe version.

I dont even know where to begin tomorrow..