Paris -- the most beautiful city in the world

We arrived in Paris a little after 8 pm. Both of us were feeling slightly ill (perhaps some lingering illness from India?) and struggled to make our way to the hotel in the Montparnasse district. Getting to the hotel was quite the adventure though, as the RER train had all sorts of problems and the ride took about 2 hrs (it should normally only be about 40 minutes). We were exhausted by the time we reached our hotel, Villa Montparnasse.

On Thursday, we started off the day by visiting the local store for drinks and cheese, and the boulangerie for a baguette -- we made our own little breakfast which we enjoyed in the park nearby the hotel. From there, we took the metro to Luxembourg and then did a large walking tour of Jardin du Luxembourg, the Pantheon, the Latin Quarter, Notre Dame, Ile St. Louis, and Centre Pompidou. For lunch, we had a 3 course set menu at a restaurant in the Latin Quarter and enjoyed some moules et frites (mussels and fries). It was delicious!

Friday involved a lot of walking too. We started off at the Arc de Triomphe, and took the 284 steps to the viewing platform at the top. Despite the cold weather, we enjoyed every second at the top of the Arc and had an incredible view of the Paris skyline. Next, we stopped for a quick lunch nearby and then walked the length of the Champs Elysees to Place de la Concorde, visiting the museum in the Petit Palais on the way. We made a brief detour to Place de la Madeleine and the Jardin des Tuileries. All this walking worked up an appetite so we snuck in a couple of chocolate and cheese crepes along the way!

We spent most of Saturday morning/early afternoon trying to find our way around the Louvre. It is an amazing and ridiculously large museum. In the evening, we took a river cruise on the Bateau Mouche to see Paris from the Seine.

On Sunday, we bought some cheese at the local fromagerie and enjoyed a nice ham and cheese sandwich in the park. From there, we re-visited Notre Dame (our first visit earlier in the week was abbreviated as the church was closed off for the Pope's upcoming visit) and even had a chance to tour the interior while Mass was ongoing. Next, we walked through the St. Germain district to the Musee d'Orsay. We then shuttled over to Marais on the metro and did a walking tour of the area, which is well known for its Rennaissance architecture. We even stopped by a cafe restaurant to have one last round of mussels and then did a little people-watching while having our meal -- the quintessenntial Parisien activity.