Paris

We had a wonderful experience being to able to see Paris, even if for just a short time. We had an 18 hour layover in Paris. We arrived in Paris at 7 pm and left the next day having to be at the airport by 10:30.

From the airport, we took a 40-minute train ride to Paris. Here's Meemo anxiously waiting to see Paris.  The trains were not air conditioned and at times were prettty warm.

 Our hotel was near this intersection in the Latin district.

Gayle was craving macarons. They were pretty tasty.  She got salted caramel and Marc got lemon.  She loved it!  Marc thought they were good.

With just a few hours to walk around, we walked a lot (actually almost four hours). Here's Notre Dame:

There were thousands of people around town, including the many tour boats that were floating on the Seine.  We had thought maybe we would do it, but before arriving decided to just do it on our own. 

There are many bridges like this one all over Europe and the UK.  We forgot to bring a lock with us.  You are supposed to declare your love for each other and lock it onto the fence and throw the key into the river. You can see part of the Louvre in the background.  It is HUGE!  This picture was taken around 9:30 or so that evening.  Meemo was enjoying the brreeze.

It started getting dark while we sere still on the way to the Eiffel Tower.

We had expected the tower to be lit up with white lights and were surprized when we saw it these primary colors.  so beautiful!!  We couldn't believe we were actually there to see it in person!!  After we saw the tower we were so hungry and found a cafe that was still open at 11 pm.  We ordered quiche lorraine and a ham omelet that looked like Julia Child made it.  We then headed back to our little hotel and finally got to bed around 1 am.

We had the classic French breakfast le petite dejeuner:  chocolate, warm croissant, baguette with butter and jam, and orange juice.  It was at the  Saint Germaine cafe.  So surreal to be eating on a Paris street!  It was the perfect end to a great vacation!