24 Hours in Paris

In reality I was in Paris for 3 days - but discounting a wet arrival evening and 2 days in the office - I was left with 24 hours from Friday evening to hoping the train back Saturday night to reacquaint myself with the sights, sounds and (most importantly in my book) tastes of Paris :-)

I started off with a lovely wander through the Jardin des Tulieries and watched the sunset with the Eiffel Tower as a backdrop - spectacular to say the least and definitely put my in the Paris mood.

From there a walk (really a hike once you hit those stairs) up to the Sacre Coeur - which has always been a favorite of mine in the city. It was especially nice since I arrived around 9pm and it was much quieter than I've had the chance to enjoy it before. Of course - March isn't quite tourist season yet either.

Saturday dawned bright and chilly - but I took a recommendation from a friend and rented a bike for the day to easily get around to the places I wanted to visit. A great option I can't recommend enough - though today (Sunday I'll admit my legs don't quite agree). The chapel below is St. Augustin, which is where my hotel was for the entire stay - a great location, not far from the Champs Elysees and right on a train stop.

A true highlight of the day for me was Notre Dame - which, I have seen over past visit to Paris but somehow (over 17 years) I've always arrived when some type of construction was occurring and seen the front with scaffolding and never been inside. Well, it didn't disappoint when I went in for a visit today - I'm glad I made the effort to swing down to that area for a visit.

I then grabbed some bread and cheese from the market at St. Germain and what trip is complete without at least swinging by the Eiffel Tower - add in a lovely picnic - and it was a perfect way to end the day. Hoping back on the bike, it was back to the station for my late train back to London.