We decided that today we were just going to explore the streets of Paris, with our only semi destination being Notre Dame. The streets of Paris are relaxed on Sunday. Most of the major stores were closed, but a few clothing and furniture stores were open. As we walked along the river, several locked boxes that were attached to the sidewalk’s edge were being opened. These locked boxes (that I thought looked like small lockable trash bins), surprisingly opened up into miniature used book stores that contained everything from plastic covered French Playboys, to antiqued versions of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”.

As we walked I noticed several people had thrown out their old Christmas trees. They were strewn about on various steps and street sides. I don’t know if this is the norm, but they seemed rather tiny in comparison to the Christmas trees I grew up with. Charlie Brown size in my eyes, but then again everything in Paris seems smaller. Smaller food portions, smaller cars, smaller toilet paper squares…..

We made our way from Paris’ city hall to Notre Dame. The epitome of my French gothic architecture studies during school.  Words like oculus, quatrefoils, and flying buttresses suddenly appeared from the confines of my mind. I simply stood in awe. Not a single textbook could ever prepare you for the extreme beauty contained in every detail.  It’s almost like god touched the tops of every arch and didn’t want to let them go.

Little French girls in navy skirts and berets were playing a game with the trees behind the church. Couples were lighting cigarettes and kissing on park benches. A homeless man was drinking a bottle of wine near the playground. Several boats docked along the river contained small gardens and assorted plants growing strategically from their sides and roofs. Tourists from all over the world were taking photos in front of the entryway. I decided to finally put my camera down and savor the moment. Rather having the memory.

I wanted to go inside but we decided to eat first because we had skipped all meals that morning. We found a little French restaurant where we had duck and the most amazing chocolate mousse I have ever consumed in my life.

By the time we had finished dinner, the line to enter Notre Dame was entirely too long. I decided that I could come back another day since it is only a short walk from our flat. Chris has already experienced the interior, so I can even brave the experience while he is at work.

On the way back to our flat, I forced Chris to stop at a Pharmacy so I could see what it was like. They are very easy to find here, because the store front usually has a huge glowing (sometimes flashing) neon green plus sign. It reminds me of a very classy Walgreens or Rite Aid with less garbage to sell. There weren’t very many brands I recognized other than Thera Flu, Durex, and Bausch & Lomb. Even the makeup section at the Monoprix is mostly made up of brands you don’t really see anywhere in the states. I’m tempted to buy all sorts of things just to give them a try.

We walked the rest of the way home with only a few more forced explorations of stores with their doors open. Exhausted, we had a sample of our second guess mystery red wine bottle and went straight to bed.