Busman's Holiday?

Here's the problem:  to all intents and purposes, neither of us have been to Paris before.  So how best to get a quick sense of what's where and gather a broad impression of the expanse of the Paris ambiance? Hop on an open-top bus, of course!  We had prearranged a day with access to four different routes, hop on, hop off options, and off we went, complete with running commentary through earpods.  This turned out to be quite effective, except that the game was called in the seventh due to a sudden downpour, and we ended up plumbing the intricacies of the Paris Metro (subway) and making our way back to home base on our own, only slightly dampened.  Here are a few highlights:

Some of the best views were of the ubiquitous adornment that graces building facades, granting a visual feast of art to the passers-by. 







The ever-picturesque Seine, and ideas for other ways to take in rolling views.  Looks like a pretty good idea here, but not so much when encountering the roundabouts, Paris style.  By comparison,  New York drivers seem timid.

Annie's artistic framing of the quintessential Paris icon.  Damn, she's good!








One of the nicest features of the tour was that it afforded us opportunities to get off and on, and to switch routes so we could see different parts of the city.  We changed buses at a stop on the Île de la Cité in the shadow of Cathédral Notre Dame de Paris and walked across the footbridge to the neighboring Île Saint-Louis, looking for a place to eat.  The café Au Lys d'Argent fit the bill!

So, that's a taste of today. Tune in tomorrow for the next update.  Bonsoir, mes amis!