This is the fifth spring in a row that we've gone to Paris, so we didn't feel pressed to cram each day with sightseeing. We just wanted to enjoy some summer days watching the passing parade in this very interesting city. We spent a week; Karen, Jeff and Ethan were with us four days. The weather was mostly warm and sunny-- so were the people.  The meals alone were worth the trip.
	Eurostar from London Waterloo under the Channel to Gare du Nord station  in Paris, then the Metro to Bastille station . Walked a couple of blocks to our hotel. There was plenty of time to settle in and rest before going out to dinner-- at Chez Leon, a Tunisian restaurant where we've eaten a few times before.
	Our hotel was just off rue St-Antoine, in our favorite part of the Marais.  It was renovated this year, cost more than we've paid before--but has an elevator that goes from -1 (the breakfast room) to the top floor.  Comfort and easy access matter!
	Street sign.
	Amazing how much can be put in a small room!  The window looks out over rooftops to the West.  We enjoyed sunsets and the just-past-new crescent moon from here.
	The stairway down to the breakfast room certainly looks like it goes to a dungeon or an old wine cellar.
	Breakfasts here were excellent:  buttery croissants, good baguettes, cereals, yogurt, juice, confitures and really good coffee or hot chocolate.
	Karen and Jeff identifying saints at Notre Dame
	Resting on a bench in the square outside Notre Dame on a warm day
	The ticket line for our boat trip on the Canal St.-Martin, which was a great way to spend Saturday afternoon.  We sat in the hot sunshine for a while, but then went into a lovely cool tunnel under the boulevard from Place de la Bastille to Place de la Republique.
	There are several sets of locks on the canal--that's Ethan seeing how it all works.
	There were Saturday crowds all along the quais and on the arched bridges that span the canal.
	Tourists and tourist-watchers.
	Paris park on a sunny Sunday.
	Shades of George Seurat's Paris at play.
	The Eiffel Tower was very high on Ethan's to-do list for Sunday. It was a foggy morning, not very crowded, and we all had a fine time taking pictures and trying to pick out familiar landmarks.
	This is the second level deck, 376 feet above the ground.
	The third level deck, 905 feet above the ground.
	Barb enjoyed the chance to peer into the courtyards of these large buildings; their street façades are very private and closed-in.
	A closer look.
	These fountains are almost irrestistible!  Even Karen took a walk through...but she went between the jets, not right into them.
	Ethan, of course, enjoyed getting soaked.
	This is an art deco Metro entrance in Montmartre. Barb's on the bench at the right. There were leaves scattered all over the ground; they were torn off by a severe hail storm the previous evening. We had been at a much lower elevation, so the storm was briefer and milder.
	Street scene in Montmartre.  We're definitely not in Eastpointe anymore!
	We were several blocks from the more famous-- and seedier-- parts of this suburb.
	The funicular allows tourists to avoid the very long staircase up to the basilica of Sacre Coeur.
	School for boys half way up the hill.
	Work on the basilica started in 1895 and was completed in 1914.
	There are great views of the city from here. But it was hard to find a shady place to sit. During a heat wave a few weeks later, vendors were reported to have sold quarter-liter bottles of water for 2.5 Euros!
	Because it was attractive, interesting and near our hotel we often sat in the Place des Vosges.  The rules seems to have been relaxed in recent years--there are people on the grass and it's much less formal.
	Sandboxes draw Parisian enfants just like they attract kids anywhere.  I heard one curly-headed moppet singing "We will rock you", but she spoke French to her little brother and her parents.
	I think school was out today, the Place was full of young people.
	Classical architecture doesn't intimidate these modern Parisians.
	The student standing on the left walked around making cell phone calls the whole time we were there.
	The cloister around the Place has several  shops selling the work of local artists.
	Jeff and Dick discussed buying this sculpture, but didn't get around to asking the price.
	The bus is a wonderful way to see Paris neighborhoods while seated (if you're lucky).  Carrying a cane helps.  We rode all the way to the Eiffel Tower from this stop.
	This market is very near rue Castex.  Everything looks delicious, and you're not supposed to handle the merchandise yourself.
	I bought 2 excellent apples for our lunch at Sacre Coeur, for only about a dollar each.
	Happy to be in Paris and resting by a fountain at the Hotel de Ville.
[Joint effort: some paragraphs were written by Barb, some by Dick]