Back to Paris

Woke up tired...having difficult time going to sleep every night. We have an hour to evacuate our flat in Bayeux - much smoother than the same exercise in London. Fuel up 'gazole' and return the rental. Train is a few minutes late - compartments of eight...only two others at first, but pick up the others at subsequent stops.

Smooth trip into town, but unfortunately, we cannot check into our flat until 15:00...another two hours. Stop at a Yelp-approved creperie near the train station for lunch. The boys had sweet and I had savory - all quite good.

Grab an Uber with all our gear, figuring to hang out in a nearby park and buying groceries until the gal could meet us with keys. She texts, saying it will be 16:00 instead...crud. I let her know we are heading toward the flat now, will be waiting nearby, and ask if we can meet her to pick up the keys. Suddenly, she says she can meet us there. Very confusing, but I'm grateful all the same.

Fourth floor walk-up on a quiet courtyard in Le Marais. I knew it would be cozy, because we had several Airbnb reservations cancelled with big-city crackdowns on unlicensed rentals and I had to rebook us in March. Prioritized central location over size and amenities. However, this place is tiny! Rowan and me sleeping on pull-out sofa in living room, while Tom and Logan share a double bed. Worst equipped vacation rental I've ever seen too...no salt & pepper, oil, dish soap, or even extra pillows. Oh well! Hardly spend time at our place, except dinner-time through breakast (usually too exhausted to leave after a full-day of sight-seeing, so we've prioritized lunch.)

After the train ride, we all want to stretch our legs, so we walk 15 minutes down to the Seine to check out Notre Dame. From the outside, one could hardly tell there had been a massive fire, except for the missing spire. Some scaffolding and wood, but more looks like a renovation. The immediate vicinity is blocked off though, so difficult to see ground level except for the construction entrance to one side (North, I think). So incredibly sad, although still very beautiful...I had been looking forward to showing the boys the gargoyles and chimeras. Told them they'll have to bring their kids!

We circumnavigated the cathedral and enjoyed checking out the sights, sounds, and people around the river. The City of Love is all decked out for Pride month and starting to gear up for Bastille Day, only two weeks away! The city seems much grittier than I recall...as Tom said, "it's like the whole place needs a good pressure wash." Definitely more homeless people (in London too), as we also have at home. A shocking amount of graffiti, which is upsetting on such beautiful buildings.

Stopped at the tourism office to purchase our Museum Passes (kids are free!) Next, we bought groceries from the corner store, cooked up cheese tortellini to eat with an amazing crusty baguette and pain au chocolate (ridiculous at $1/each and oh, so delicious!)

It is so hot, despite the thermometer saying it's *only* in the high 70s, we all have a tough time falling asleep.Read more