Savoring Paris with friends

Our friends Jim and Tricia arrived on the Eurostar from London last week, where they had spent the first several days of their vacation.  Jim and Tricia are also from Seattle and own property at Lake Wenatchee near the site of our former cabin.  It was great fun introducing them to Paris!

The first morning of their visit, we took the metro to Notre Dame.  It was rainy, so we retreated to a nearby barge on the Seine for some delicious coffee.

Even though the sky is washed out, I like this moody shot taken from the barge

where we had coffee that day.

Jim and Tricia at the cafe with Notre Dame in background.

The queue for Notre Dame was quite long, so we returned a few days later to visit the cathedral, which was begun in 1163 and completed in 1250. It is one off the finest examples of French Gothic architecture, and one of the first buildings to use flying buttresses for support. 

The serenity of the cathedral is unbroken, even with crowds of people inside. My photo of the rose window doesn't do it justice.

Of course, you are familiar with Victor Hugo's classic, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. When we were here 32 years ago, our son Aaron was 12, and we took a photo of him posing as Quasimodo at this cafe.  We repeated the shot with Kevin.

On this showery day, we strolled through the Île de la Cité

and the Marais. (The name "Marais means swamp.) The area is far from swampy now, though.

However, we were a little damp from the spring showers, so we took refuge in a small cafe.

The rain lifted as we walked on through one of my favorite Parisian squares, the Place des Vosges.  It was constructed in the 17th Century and became a model for future city squares. Victor Hugo lived there, and his house is now a museum.  I've promised myself every time I've been there that I'd return to view it, but I haven't yet. If I were as rich as Bill Gates, I'd have a home there.

I hope Tricia and Jim enjoyed their introduction to Paris.  I know Kevin and I did!