Notre Dame , The Ballet, and a Real Creme Brulee

Our flight was long but uneventful despite the two babies on board. We were asked if we wanted to pay an extra $200 to upgrade, but declined, yet somehow we were still sat in Economy Plus. Not that I will complain...

We had a funny flight attendant who made various amusing quips including telling Katie she chose the wrong language to learn in thirty minutes as she whipped out her translation guide not long before landing!

After a minor delay at the luggage collection point we made it onto the crowded RER express train and were on our way. A quick change at the Chatelet Hub and then we were at our home stop, Hotel-de-Ville. Walking out of the train station was like returning home. I knew I was back in my second home. Without consulting the map I guided us to the quaint Rue Aubriot. We rang the bell as instructed and were me in the courtyard by the owner’s wife. She led us up to the fourth floor and told us a little bit about the apartment and generally got us settled in.

We dropped our bags and made our way over to Notre Dame, which to me as one of those places that will always signify Paris for me. It started drizzling as we approached, and I noticed that the line to go up the towers was very short, almost non-existent. As we approached the beginning, I realized why…the towers were closed due to ice. Somewhat disappointed we got in the very long line to enter the church, all the way down to the bridge. While we stood in line we marveled at the architecture and our extraordinary good fortune to be in Paris. Even the drizzle and the line did not dampen our spirits. We made our way in and as before I was amazed. Katie seemed a bit awestruck too. We wandered the beautiful cathedral exploring the chapels and watching the lights shine on the nativity scene.

With a few final pictures, we left the cathedral starting to get hungry so we stopped at a crepe stand to get something to snack on. Two crepes with ham and cheese and two cups of vin chaud (hot wine) seemed to do the trick. We stood under a roof and polished off some yummy crepes watching people go by, and then started a walk to Ile St. Louis. I had wanted to see the church there so we made our way sipping our wine. I had to keep stopping to stare at the decorations and take pictures. The French really know how to make store fronts gorgeous without overdoing and remaining tasteful. Unfortunately the church was closed for lunch time, so we walked back to our apartment stopping to pick up a baguette. At the apartment we grabbed my shopping bag and went back to get a few things at the Franxprix, namely wine and champagne for New Years.

Back at the apartment we wrote our postcards and got ready for our night at the Ballet at Opera Garnier. We were going to see Raymonda, a tale of romance and enemies. We hopped on the Metro to get there, already navigating our way easily on the system. When we stepped out of the station we were greeted by a magnificently lit Opera Garnier. It was a beautiful majestic and opulent building. We took quite a few pictures before entering and looking for our seats. Now I can stand a lot of things, but the seats, which granted were the cheapest, were the most uncomfortable and narrow seats you can imagine. It was very crowded and no room to sit comfortably. The ballet was however beautiful, my favorite being the Hungarian style dancing at end. As much as I loved the ballet, I was also highly amused by Katie who kept nodding off only to suddenly wake up as her head fell. I was slightly afraid she would somehow fall out of her seat, but she is a trooper and survived.

We had reservations at Petit Riche but it appeared closed up for the night when we approached, and since we were hungry we did not give it much time and walked back to the Grand Café des Cappucines. Our meal was delicious but not overly fancy: a creamy mushrooms soup, followed by shredded duck and potatoes, and crème brulee for dessert. And I mean real crème brulee, the kind you need to crack open. All this helped down with a half bottle of red wine, Cote de Bourg. Service was poor, slower than we would have liked but it was late. After we paid our bill, we had to take a cab home as the Metro was closed.

All in all a wonderful first day..so glad to be back…