Walking, Walking, Walking

Yesterday morning we got up and walked down to the marketplace for breakfast. Josh really wanted to buy a box of raspberries, so we did and they were the best raspberries anybody had ever had. A little further down the street we discovered a bakery. So we had a baguette, and chocolate eclair, and a doughnut. All very fresh and good. Decorah really needs a market area like this... (perhaps as part of the Kellog grant proposal Brenda could do this)

After our little breakfast we walked, over the bridge to the grand palace, down the road to the obelisk, onward to point zero, further still to the Louvre. In the Louvre we walked. The Rick Steve’s iPod tour was really helpful and interesting.

Our family seems to have three speeds when going through a museum. Josh and Mom lead the way, Dad is in the middle, and Kaia wants to savor every work of art. In the Louvre we saw many classic greek and roman works of art.

the Louvre was very interesting we saw the Mona Lisa of course, along with many other famous works including Winged Victory, and the Venus DiMilo. It was a good learning experience as we learned how the greek artistry influenced the romans and other artists for many years to come.

Lunch was at the Cafe Beaux Arts, just a random place we picked as we walked by. Josh had a cheeseburger, can you believe it? Kaia had Penne with fresh basil and red sauce. Jane and I both had a hot ham and cheese sandwich (Jambon avec Fromage) on toasted bread. The sandwich was delicious. In keeping with French tradition we had a small glass of wine. So far the idea that wine is cheaper than pop does not seem to be true.

After lunch we continued walking, walking, walking down the the island in the Seine. We went to Notre Dame cathedral, and the center point which is right out front. The center point is the place that all other distances in France are measured from. The cathedral was amazing. When we got there the line to go in to the main cathedral was long so we went around the corner and got in line to go up the tower. This turned out to be a good decision, as the views were just great. In addition once at the top you get to go into the bell tower itself to see a GIANT bell. The radius at the bottom must be a good 10-12 feet and is so heavy you can’t really make it move back and forth by pushing on it. After the large bell we were able to continue even farther up the bell tower for even better views of the city. The weather was a little cloudy so the Eiffel tower was in a haze in our picture.

When we got done with the tower tour the line was nothing to get into the cathedral. So we went inside. Mass was in progress but tourists were still allowed to wander around the perimeter. The rose window and the organ were both beautiful.

By the time we finished the cathedral we were getting pretty tired, so we decided to get a quick snack. We had a crepe chocolate to split. Very very good. We continued down to the last little island called Isle St. Louis. Here there were many nice shops and restaurants. On the way off the island we stopped to watch a street performer for a while. He was an acrobat and had a fun show.

By that time we were really tired and wanted to catch a boat ride back up the river. But we couldn’t seem to find the right one so we gave up and walked, walked, walked back to the apartment. We were all very foot sore by the time we made it to the apartment. I think none of us thought we would walk that far and we were sorry we didn’t have the pedometer to keep track. We do know that we climbed 400 stairs in Notre Dame!

After a short rest, and some consulting of Rick Steve’s we decided to find dinner somewhere close by. Dinner was at La Arcade. We tried to get in at several of Rick Steve’s recommended places but they were all quite busy. Josh had Duck, Kaia had Chevre in Phyllo Dough, I had rack of Lamb, and Jane had Prawns.