France!

First stop - the Paris version of the Pantheon, which is right by our hotel.

Then up past the Sorbonne (also by our hotel and by the university where my cousin occassionally works).

To the first true destination of our trip - Patrick Roger (pat-REEK roe-ZHAY).

We pick out some fancy truffles and chocolates.
Yeah, that's what we came for - my cousin Paul's version of Paris.

Then to the river and Notre Dame.

Thanks for the directions, street sign!

Gorgeous cherries.

Happy to be here.
Ready to go in.

A look up as we head inside.

Inside is as gorgeous as we remember.

Love the stained glass.
Interesting that one is open.

We walk around the back side of Notre Dame, where the new (to us) statue of Pope John Paul II stands guard.

A little further away is Pont des Arts, a famous bridge where folks lock secrets and throw the keys into the river.
(Just a few weeks later, on June 1, Paris officials started removing these locks due to the risk that the bridge will collapse under the weight of 45 tons of locks. Some sections of the bridge apparently had collapsed in the past.)

I love the old stations.

We pass Sainte-Chapelle

and continue along the Siene

to a great French meal at Le Comptoir...

Capped off with a really cool apple dessert.