Paris 1st trip

Who would have ever thought that at this time of my life, I would be in Paris.  But, here I was, standing on the banks of the Seine River, with the Eiffel Tower behind me.  We had gone to the Church of the Sacred Heart, up 100+ steps, and then down some narrow cobbled streets to Montmart.  There were artists outside painting, and many pieces of art displayed.  I bought post cards instead of 100Euro paintings.  When we first arrived in Paris, we went to the top of the 59 story building called Tour Maine-Montparnasse.  The tower building is 689' high and is mostly offices, the restaurant closed for renovations on the 56th floor.  From the top we could see all of Paris in all directions.  Stunning.  Beneath the tower are the catacombs, we didn't see them. We saw the Arch de Triomphe and the Champs-Elysees, the Sacred Heart Church and Montmarte.  We drove by the Louvre and the Moulin Rouge Caberet.  When we go back, we'll go into the Louvre but there wasn't time this trip.  Of course we saw the Eiffel Tower, and as it got dark, the tower was lighted.  Beautiful.  One of the most memorable parts of the trip, which one might think is a simple part, is that Steffi and I sat on a bench in the middle of a busy intersetion in a small cement park where the Flame of Liberty is.  It is a copy of the flame at the Statue of Liberty, covered in copper. It' been there a long time and  it's positioned near the bridge at the exit of the Pont de L'Alma tunnel, where Princess Diana died.  It's probably exactly over site in the tunnel since it's set back from the edge.  There are writings with Sharpies about Diana & Dodi's death and the date.  This has become the unofficial memorial to Princess Diana and was covered with flowers after her death.  There are still flowers being placed there.  We sat there probably aan hour, it was peaceful in spite of all the traffic. There was a boat trip down the Seine, and we were there as it got dark and the lights of Paris came to life.  It's beautiful.  So even though there's horrible traffic, and crowds of people everyplace, there's no place like it in the world.  Who would have ever thought.....the city where Picasso, Cocteau, Pound, Ernst, Diego Rivera, Rousseau, Miro, Degas, Beckett, Matisse, Modigliani, Hemmingway, Fitzgerald, and yes, Hull, has been.  Photos in separate blog.