Paris! Day Deux!

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It is safe to say that we slept VERY well last night after all our jaunts around Paris yesterday. This morning we had breakfast at Cafe Dagurre again - why mess with a good thing? Especially when it's 2 blocks from your hotel? The breakfast was equally yummy and I could drink their chocolat chaud (hot chocolate) all day long. [:]

We decided that we would take a boat tour (the Batobus) up the Seine to see Notre Dame, the Louvre and a few more sights. Since we are now old hats at the Paris metro system, we rode the train to the first Batobus stop. Except it wasn't really there. Hmm, that's odd. Oh well, Notre Dame doesn't look that far away on the map. Yep, famous last words. Two miles later we arrived at Notre Dame. The saving grace is that the walk along the Seine is beautiful, the sun is out and fall is in the air. So we really don't complain - we just take rests here and there.

We approached Notre Dame from the back, which is equally spectacular as the front. Unlike a lot of churches in Italy, the French made all sides of this church beautiful - not just the facade. There is a park behind the church lined with trees in all their fall-colored glory shading park benches and a huge fountain in the middle. It is such a peaceful place and so photogenic! It was so pretty that we spent nearly an hour in the park wandering around enjoying ourselves. We finally made it to the front of the church and took a little break to take some prego pics. Now, we know we are a day early as technically I am not 19 weeks until tomorrow - but we REALLY wanted pics in Paris. So there I am, all 19 weeks of me in front of Notre Dame! There is no denying that I am pregnant anymore - non-elastic waistbands be damned!

Entrance into Notre Dame is free! What!? Yep, that's right, free! Unbelievable! We spent about an hour winding our way through the church. It is spectacular - there is not one square inch that isn't a work of art or covered by one! Even the ceiling is painted - I think that was my favorite part - the dark blue ceilings with gold stars - very peaceful. And can we talk about the stained glass windows for a minute? They are so vibrant! I can't even imagine the workmanship that went into them. Some of the detailing is so fine, especially the facial features of the saints. There is so much to see that even if you spent a week in the church, you would miss some detail. It is safe to say that we were in awe.

After our self-guided tour of the church I went on a mission to find some souvenirs as this was our last day and I had not a thing to show for it! After shopping for a bit I was lured in by one of the crepe street vendors. Tell me, can you really resist the smell of fresh crepes being made on a crisp fall day in Paris? I didn't think so. And neither could I. I bought a crepe filled with strawberry preserves and Gus and I enjoyed every bite - I think I even licked the jam off the paper wrapper! Those French really DO know food!

Yay! We found the Batobus stop just on the opposite side of the river from Notre Dame. Now we get to start our boat tour of the Seine. It is a great big, flat boat that thankfully is enclosed (with plexiglass as to not obstruct the view) and HEATED! As soon as you get near the river the temperature drops about 5 or 10 degrees, so the heat is welcomed! We slowly thaw out as the boat makes its way down the river. We cruise by a bunch of incredible historic buildings and get off at the Louvre stop. You can't come to Paris and not at least SEE the Louvre. We had no intention of going in as we just didn't have time to do it justice and once again, this trip is not about museums! We wander the Louvre grounds and the park in front. Is it really a park when it seems endless? Standing at one end, you can't see the other. It has a wide promenade flanked with statues and the surrounding gardens are perfectly manicured. The park is surrounded by the typical Parisian-style buildings that just continue to remind you that you are in Paris and it's a unique and spectacular city.

After some more photos and wandering we head towards the large glass pyramids which sit in obstinate juxtaposition with the centuries-old Louvre buildings. We love it! It is a beautiful blend of old and new. Gus has a hey-day taking pics (we have 500 total of Paris between the two of us) and we slowly make our way around the grand plaza. As you can see, we really couldn't resist taking another prego pic by the pyramid - it just says "Paris."

At some point during our stroll we realize that we haven't had lunch...and it's 3 o'clock! We decide to head down to the museum/shopping mall which is underground. We figured we'd find typical French fair. Instead we were greeted by an international food court. It was nuts. Lebanese, Spanish, Chinese, American, Mexican, Moroccan, and Japanese restaurants all beckoned us. Gus settled on Mexican food - super nachos and a Corona. I had Chinese. It was all very yummy! We figured they must have brought in some consultants on the Mexican food because it tasted just like the nachos at home - guacamole and all! The Chinese was very tasty too and we left feeling a bit guilty for not having French food, but satisfied nonetheless.

Back on the Batobus we headed for the Eiffel Tower and some sunset shots. Yes, the sun sets REAL early here! We got some great pics of houseboats on the Seine - what a life that must be - ah, to dream! We make it to the Tower just in time to watch the sun turn the tower a warm bronze. Sounds like a great place for another prego pic! And there it is!

And with that, it's time to head back to our hotel for a little nap. We make a pit stop at this INCREDIBLE bakery on the way to pick up breakfast for our insanely early day tomorrow (we have to be out and on the metro by 5:50 am! Oh, and we didn't get back to Florence until 3:30 pm!) We also pop into this really cute supermarket, and God bless the French, they have an entire aisle dedicated to yogurt and another dedicated to butter and cheese. Mmmmmm... And the produce section is gorgeous - it makes you want to buy everything!

After a nice relaxing break in our hotel room, yes, the dainty one, we head out in search of dinner. We head to the Champs-Elysses because if you're going to eat out, what better (if not overpriced) place? We are quickly distracted by the Lido show. It's a new-ish cabaret show and is pretty over the top. Hm...why not? We're here after all.

And what a show it was..."Bonheur" or "Happiness" has a cast of over 70 and more acts than we can remember. At first it's a song and dance revue with fantastic costumes and fun music, some in French, some in English. Then the craziness ensues. There's an act where a small jet "flies" in from stage left with one of the singers trapped, I mean lounging, inside. Another act has a huge fountain that comes out of the floor. Then there's the Chinese acrobat and the aerial chiffon act. More singing, more dancing...within a HUGE Buddhist temple with an animatronic elephant roaming around in the background! Oh, yeah, and most of the performers are topless during all the acts. I almost completely forgot as I was just amazed with everything going on. Then an ice rink appeared out of nowhere as did two skaters. They did some incredible tricks on a relatively small patch of ice. There were parts I almost couldn't watch because I thought that he would drop her or she would go flying into the crowd. It was very cool and our favorite part. This show was completely insane in a very French kind of way. After nearly two hours of entertainment the show ended and we were in a bit of a daze trying to comprehend what we had just seen and how you would categorize it. It was just very entertaining! And very, very French! Ooh la la!

And with that we were off to bed for a few short hours before our flight back to Pisa.

A tout a l'heure...off to Florence!

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