time to shine

I arrived in Paris on Tuesday morning after a long and uneventful journey, including a six-hour layover in Toronto (snore. I have family in Toronto who I'd have loved to see, but I had no way of contacting them). The parting gift of a sleek little ipod nano has made traveling so much more musical, though, which is very enjoyable for me. (Shout out to the fam for helping your luddite niece-cousin back into the twenty-first century!) I waited for Siri in Gare du Nord, where we met Elisabeth, Siri's second cousin. We headed back to her apartment in Zone 3 (RER stop Croix de Berny) to freshen up, then back to the city to see Notre Dame.

Siri and the Notre Dame Christmas tree

Elizabeth met us after her English lesson and took us to Montparnasse for traditional crepes, with their "aperitif authentique," hard cider. Mmmm. 

Wednesday I slept off the jetlag a bit, and awoke to fresh pastries and coffee. Elisabeth is an amazing host, did I mention that yet? After breakfast we went to the Centre Pompidou and spent several hours in the galleries there. I especially liked a small room showing an exhibit by Gabriel Orozco, and a set entitled "Extreme Tension" by Louise Bourgeois. 

looking out from the Pompidou escalator with la Tour in the distance

After our day at the museum, we walked all the way to the Eiffel Tower -- it felt great to be outside, it was a beautiful night, and it was fun to see everything all lit up in the dark. Just as we turned the corner on la Tour, the bulbs began to flash and we got to see the sparkling tower up close!

So that's Paris, then. It's been pretty wonderful. We're heading out tonight for Geneva and South-eastern France, but I'd say la Ville-Lumière did right by us.