We'll always have Paris...

A delay in posting, but Paris has been exhausting! It seemed like a poor welcome by the city when Steve couldn't get through a malfunctioning Metro turnstile. He got stuck, then ended up rescuing a young lady whose whole body was similarly trapped. Then poor Stevie schlepped our suitcase up and down several staircases. No escalators here. I remember doing this in my teens all by myself. But we are not in our teens now. My phone was not working, and I forgot how to use the phone card. We went in the wrong direction toward our apartment.

Anyway, after all that, we settled into a well located apartment with a strange smell. To focus on the positive, we are staying in Montmartre, and it is very working class with no tourists in sight. Everyone is friendly, and I am delighted that everyone speaks French to me.

It's been 10 years since I was last in Paris, and I notice that there's more Africans around, which gives the city a hipper, worldlier feel.

Pictures to follow, but we have visited a museum of evolution that was beautifully staged but contained no edifying information. It made us appreciate the field museum so much more!

We also visited my favorite church, St. Chappelle, with the best stained glass in Europe--a bubble of multicolored light. We took a boat tour down the Seine and tried to visit the Eiffel tower, which Zoe is obsessed with, only to discover that the line was too long to accommodate her bedtime.

Tomorrow we blow this stinky apartment (we suspect moldy rags) and head to Provence! See you there.