For those of you who have followed us on previous trips, we did take a hiatus.
Following our fabulous experience in Lucca, Italy, Blockley, England, Dublin Ireland, we returned home just in time to welcome our beautiful grandchild into the world. Well we had to stay home for awhile to bond with our sweet baby! But we are off again and hope you will enjoy the next segment in the beautiful city of lights-Paris.
We arrived early at the Orly airport. After stumbling around a little we found our way to the Orlybus, purchased our first weeklong pass and settled in to make our way to our apartment. That overnight flight fatigue settling in a little counter acted by the excitement and anxiousness of a new location, we nested in for the ride. The family with three young children also nestled in and the excitement of arriving soon gave way to three little ones sprawled asleep on the bus.
We barely found the apartment when we set off to check in on the state of Notre Dame. We have heard the indefinite updates on the restoration progress. The sacred Cathedral appears strong from the front facade from a distance. Up close, a staging area obscures the square in front of the church changing the icon approach. Steel scaffolding surrounds the side and back. The charred timbers and the once glorious steeple have been removed. The buttresses have been reinforced with new wooden beams. The spire and Cathedral roof are gone along with the beautiful stained glass windows. Where the spire once heralded the city, a large crane hovers high above the gargoyles. An impermeable sheet is stretched across the roof to keep the rain and cold out. Notre Dame is the heart ( and soul) of Paris. It is alive in religion, literature, culture, and civilization. No word on when no it may reopen, but work is busily going on. While Parisians are devastated by this tragedy, they remain hopeful. cathedrals of this size took generations to build. The Parisians hope that is will be rebuilt and reopened sooner with modern technology on their side.
Well Paris is the home of superb wine,strong pungent cheese, delectable croissants and pastries, however, we are never long here before visiting Le Maison de Gyros! Yes, nothing says Paris like an Kebab in the Latin Quarter.
Maureen and David’s Travel Blog 
Glad you are settling in nicely. We loved our visits to Paris when we lived in Germany. I’m sure your adventure will include many of the places we visited and we’ll enjoy reading your reflections of the places we visited. Hope the weather cooperates, but if you gotta be some place that is cold, grey and drizzly, Paris is a good choice 😀 Cheers – Steve
LikeLike
Love kebabs! Can I have some red wine? I also enjoyed Julia Ormond. 😉
LikeLike
I, too loved Julia Ormond
LikeLike
Maureen! So great to get another blog post from you two! Your granddaughter is precious – how adorable…congrats! And now you’re in the city of lights! So many reasons to use so many exclamation marks! Ha ha ha. Love hearing about your excursions and stops…and the apartment looks lovely (nice view). Don’t forget to smother us with the details. The highlight of my day was the copier wasn’t jammed! Ha ha ha. Love living vicariously through your journeys! ~ Terri
LikeLike
Thanks, Terri. May the copier continue to treat you well until you too can travel
LikeLike
Awesome!! Looking forward to read all your beautiful posts!! 😃Paris!! That is the only place Raquel is really interested to go.
LikeLike
Awesome!! Looking forward to read all your beautiful posts!! 😃Paris!! That is the only place Raquel is really interested to go.
Your granddaughter is so lovely!!
LikeLike
You and Raquel would find lots of wonderful things to see and do
LikeLike
Enjoy yourselves!!!
LikeLike
Thanks! We are having fun.
LikeLike
Enjoy!! Love the pic of your granddaughter!
LikeLike
She’s got good genes!
LikeLike
I do believe I recall getting a Kebab with you back in 1980! 🤓
Enjoy your journey!
LikeLike
A kebab? If he was anything like he is now… you had more than one!
LikeLike