Bonne Annee du Paris!!

Paris is many things. Expensive is one. To make it viable, we eschewed hotels and made plans to stay at a more reasonable "bed and breakfast" of sorts. Actually, it was just a woman's spare bedroom in her apartment - with some bread and jam in the morning. Amazingly, it still cost us about $100 US/day. The whole procedure was a bit clandestine. We had instructions on how to give overly curious neighbors the slip, as not all of them were supportive of our hostess's entrepreneurialism. She turned out to be very fascinating, very friendly and very business savvy. This is Samia, the Tunisian woman we stayed with while in Paris. Oh yeah...she starred in a few movies back in the 70s...seriously. : )

We were planning to party on the streets of Paris at the turn of midnight, but we took our time finding the perfect cafe...and never made it. The food was better than we imagined it might be, and we talked about a children's story we'd like to write, called "Castles aren't Cozy."

Of course, with all the hoopla, there was no chance of forgetting to ring in the New Year properly...

After dinner, we walked around the city for 3 hours or so...We don't have pictures of the crazy people we saw, but some things stood still long enough for us to get their likenesses...

As the evening turned into morning, people still lingered in the streets, but it was time for us to call it a night.

The next day, we began exploring again,

and some things seemed more familiar than we were expecting...

But that was about it!

We went to the Sacre Coeur Cathedral, where many artisans, vendors and street performers take advantage of the breathtaking, masses-attracting view.

The fella with the soccer ball did various tricks for about 5 minutes as we watched...

all on top of a small pillar...never once losing the ball!

We wondered if he used magnets. :)

A flash storm rolled in...

After seeking shelter in a cozy cafe,

and warming ourselves by the steam of our lattes, we continued on...

We were too late to see the exhibits within the Louvre, but even the exterior was a bit mesmerizing.

And so we pressed on to the inevitable Parisian destination...

For our last dinner in the city, per Samia's recommendation, we made our way to the very old and very famous "Chez Chartier." The decor has been unchanged since the 1930s. After waiting outside in line for 45 minutes, we were finally seated at a 4-top table with a German couple who was finishing up their meal. This is the kind of place where they get so busy, they just fill the open seats at each table as they become available. Luckily, we got our order into the kitchen just minutes before it closed, and justly discovered why it is so famous!

After our delicious traditional French dinner, we had just enough room for dessert:

yummy Nutella and banana crepe from a street vendor!

(That's not acting.)