Paris: History Unfolds in the City of Lights

Our departure from Spain was eventful, and I'll sum it up with advice to get to the airport early and close it for now with the fact that I know how to get a lost or stolen passport replaced while traveling overseas.

Ann had come in via Madrid airport, and did not have a good experience, so as we traveled that way back to Paris I got to see why she was a bit distressed.

But we made it to Paris and our driver from mydriver.com was there waiting for us.  This service was way better than a cab for me. Time to clear the airport was just a few minutes thanks to the EU.

Our AirBnB apartment is on the island in the Seine River behind Notre Dame. It is called Île St-Louis and is a great location for walkers. In fact, to give one extra steps each day, it is up 4 floors, and the ground floor is zero. The building is likely 18th century, the stairs are pretty amazing. But we made it to the top and we're rewarded by being able to spend time together in the kind of space we love.

The first day was devoted to just going for a walk. Those who have been here know that almost every public building is on steroids, and shops are tiny. We found the basic necessities in our neighborhood - Ice Cream, bakery, wine, cheese and Ibuprofen. Oh, and olives too.

Then we walked around Notre Dame, the Louvre, Tuileries Gardens (our favorite spot that day), Marche des Fleur's, Sainte Chapelle and a couple of cafés. Paris is a great place for walking, we got in about 15000 steps, a lot for Ann and a day off for me.

Today we had a wonderful walking tour with Paul (and his wife Paulina) and a dozen others.  He is a French young man with international roots who is a history buff (recent and centuries back) and offers these walking tours on a 'pay what you think it is worth' basis. The photo shows Paul explaining Napoleon Bonaparte's final years with the Museum of the Army in the background. The gold dome behind that is where the tomb of Bonaparte rests, the Dôme des Invalides. That is real gold, folks.

The tour was priceless for us. I strongly suggest that you spend 4 hours with Paul if you visit Paris. More details are available at www.wegowalking.com. Oh, and he has a great sense of humor.

We followed up the tour with lunch on a street he suggested, Rue Clare, away from the tourist traps. Ann had very nice salmon with roasted vegetables and I enjoyed lamb curry with couscous. And since there is always room for Crème Brulé, we shared one of those.

Then our first Metro ride to buy warm clothes, it is much colder here than we (or the French) expected, high 40s to mid 60s. Then back to our island home for a light dinner.

Tomorrow it is Versailles on the train and   Saturday we will visit Musée de l'Orangerie and Musée d'Orsay before heading to the airport for a flight to Athens and then the next morning on to Istanbul.

This trip has been saturated with the history of Islam and the Catholic form of Christianity. I wasn't aware of that plan when I arranged the order of the places, but it is a good balance. I have learned a lot, all for less time and treasure than a semester of tuition. And I am in the best physical condition of my life.

In addition, the Camino friends have opened opportunity to visit another dozen countries. I am blessed.