Today was our second to last day, so we had to start to make decisions: what MUST we still do? And what in the world will we buy as souvenirs?

Finally hit the Marais, a twisty-street neighborhood full of shops, restaurants and art — in galleries, and on walls.  I love fun graffiti.  Paris is full of it — especially the pac-mans you see high up on street corners.

Started with a cappucino at the Place des Vosges, considered one of the prettiest squares in Europe.  Have to say I agree!

Had brunch at a recommended crepe place — Cafe Breizh (https://breizhcafe.com/fr/).  Guess others read the same guidebook, as it was packed minutes after opening with English speakers.  But it wasn’t touristy, and I would say my first buckwheat crepe was a success.

We were going to visit the Musee Picasso, but it was Monday so it was closed.  Which reminded us: the Louvre is closed Tuesdays, so we revamped our itinerary and added it to the afternoon plans. Enjoyed meeting a few dogs, including these Westies who seemed a little confused at seeing mirror images of one another, and this darling shop dog who greeted us so happily:

Headed to the Ile de Cite, to finally see the inside of Notre Dame, which did not disappoint.

Kudos to this guy, who had the unofficial job of rearranging all the offering candles at Notre Dame:

Wanted to head up the tower, but couldn’t get a spot for hours, so decided to tack that on to the Tuesday plan, ans metro-ed to the Louvre, which was way more crowded than the last time we went.  And hot.  And poorly planned — exit signs are rather arbitrary, we found.  And the women’s bathroom was planned with chaos in mind.  But hey: it’s the Louvre, so everything is at least cool to look at!

Back home for a rest and shower, then headed back to Ile de Cite for a stunning Seine river cruise on Vedettes du Pont Neuf (http://www.vedettesdupontneuf.com/home/).  If we had done the cruise 30 minutes prior we would’ve watched the sunset, but being there for the first evening’s lighting of the Eiffel Tower was a great trade off.  First time we’d been cold however: got windy on that top deck.  Heartily recommend book-ending this trip like we did: bike tour up front, and river cruise at the end.  Helped us both plan and remember everything.

Dinner afterwards in the Latin Quarter.  Had French Onion Soup and Beef Bourgingnon at Chex Fernand (http://www.chezfernand-guisarde.com/), then metro-ed home, exhausted. Tomorrow is our last day… and we still haven’t bought a thing.