We arrived early on Monday morning, about 10:00 after some plane sleep. A 30-minute train ride took us to St Michelle/Notre Dame Station with our suitcases in tow. Our apartment is only four blocks from the station, a short stroll which included Place St Michel, a liberal hippie hangout with a colorful past (Karen felt at home!) and Shakespeare and Company Bookstore (a very old literature haunt for many famous authors, and still supports new authors with free rooms upstairs!). Anyway…as I was saying our apartment is two flights up, overlooking the Seine and Notre Dame. Our apartment is in an old building, hundreds of years old, but adequate (even has a dishwasher!).

The first order of business was to stay awake! We started with a stroll around Notre Dame, and then went on to explore a little of the Left Bank and the Latin Quarter. We ended up at the Jardin du Luxembourg. Then a long walk back via the Sorbonne, and the University of Paris, along the way finding wine cheese, yogurt and of course pastries. A bit of wine, a bit of cheese and sleep was not to be put off…..