Let Us Begin at the Beginning

We arrived ‘en retard’, at 1:17 a.m. and by the time we reached our hotel it was well after 3:00 a.m..  For this, I think we are forgiven that we slept in until almost 10 a.m. local time.

But this did not stop us from enjoying a very full day in Paris.  We began our day with a ride on the Metro to Ile de la Cite. The oldest settlement in Paris, literally the birthplace of the city seemed like a suitable beginning.  The Metro brought us just meters from St. Chapelle Church.  owever,  However, the long lineH However, the long lines deterred us from entering. Instead we wondered the streets to Notre Dame Cathedral.  This huge twelfth century church features stone carvings and gargoyles on the exterior.  Again the lines deter us from mounting the stairs into the towers, but memories of Esmeralda and Quasimodo remain.