Saturday (Paris)…

As any good Parisian would do, we began our day with a visit to the local patiserie. Delightful flaky pastries with chocolate. Perhaps some fruity ones as well. All buttery and delicious.

Today, we left Paolo so that he could visit with his friend Maarten, visiting from Brussels for the day. We headed to the heart of Paris–the Île de la Cité–to visit some favorites from past visits. On the way, we spotted a historic tower on the edge of the Marais that had eluded us on all of our previous visits. The Saint-Jacques Tower–an impressive Gothic remainder of a 16th century church–has been clad in scaffolding and protective tarps for years and finally we were able to see what we had been missing!

Crossing the Seine, we circled the Île de la Cité, making our way to always-impressive Notre Dame. Extraordinary lines outside the Cathedral diverted us to the fascinating archeological crypt museum, literally beneath the feet of the same tourists waiting for Notre Dame. This simple museum is one of our favorites, because it exposes the Roman foundations of Paris from its founding as Lutecia. Interactive displays bring silent stone artifacts to life.

For lunch, we grabbed a seat at a cafe next to Notre Dame. We knew that we could find 1) warm croque monsieurs and 2) clean bathrooms. In a city where food is plentiful but bathrooms are not, it was a toss-up as to which was more important 🙂

Freshly fueled, we decided to brave the lines and go into Notre Dame. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the lines moved quite rapidly (free entry sped the process up). In no time, we entered the imposing Cathedral. Silent and vast, Notre Dame impresses no matter how many times you visit. As crowds shuffled quickly around the perimeter, we seated ourselves quietly in the center…the perfect place to tip our heads upwards and get lost in thought. Christmas nativity scenes filled cozy side-chapels, dimly lit by late-afternoon sun through ornate stained glass.

We joined up with Paolo for dinner with Maarten and fellow Belgian-visitor Kristof. Pink Flamingo Pizza offer us variety to suit every taste. Creative fusion pizzas hit the spot and sparked conversation. La Che went Cuban with chorizo and pantains. La Basquiat fused French and Italian flavors with savory cured ham and the bite of gorgonzola and delightful sweetness of figs. Wine-a-plenty to go around the table a few times.

Drinks in the Marais at the ever-popular Open Cafe, followed by Tango–a tucked-away dance club. American line dancing mixed with French-pop free style. Quite a site at 2am in the morning.

Weary from a long day of walking, eating, and drinking, we fell into bed.