June 9

On Tuesday morning, we all met on the ground floor and went to a cafe for breakfast. The breakfast at this cafe was a hot drink, a croissant, and a tartine. I drank hot chocolate. After breakfast, we went to the Invalides. We took the bus, but got off too early, so we walked quite a ways. Five years ago I went to the Musee de Plan-Relief in the Invalides; this time we were going to see Napoleon's tomb. The building is very pretty on the inside, but I'm not a fan of the golden dome. All around the tomb were pictures explaining how Napoleon bettered France.
After the Invalides, we went to Montmartre. We did a little bit of tourist shopping -- I bought postcards and magnets. Madame found a bookstore where she bought a Petit Nicolas book that I started to read later. After shopping, we found a small Italian restaurant. I had lasagna. We talked about songs that are very popular at the moment, but there weren't many that I had heard of, which isn't all that surprising.
Then we went to Sacre Coeur. Photos weren't allowed inside, but the photos of the outside are impressing enough.
The five of us (not Madame) went up into the dome of the basilica. I remembered what a hard climb it was -- twisty, narrow, steep...but I didn't quite remember how many spiral stairs there are. They go on forever, and then its still a long way to the top -- with another spiral staircase before you gets there. Up and down...down to go up? Yes. Those 294 steps are completely crazy. But once you get to the top, it's worth it, because you can see all of Paris, as if it never ends -- you can even see La Defense where all the skyscrapers are.
Then we shopped in the Montmartre area. I didn't shop, because I'd bought postcards and magnets earlier, which is essentially what I wanted to buy. (And I hadn't had any luck finding a gargoyle keychain, the other thing I was looking for, so I figured they would be more likely to be found near Notre Dame). So I sat in a cafe with Madame and read Petit Nicolas. Jeanne and Cate bought presents for their friends and family, finished pretty quickly, and went to find an ATM. Melissa bought a portrait. I have no idea what Stephanie bought.
After Montmartre, we went back to the hotel. Cate, Madame, and I got on the computer. Pierrot was on Facebook, so Madame and Cate talked with him. I looked up who had won the spelling bee -- Kavya did it! We all read our email, and a certain friend of mine wrote to me in German. I understood some of it, though not all...so I answered what I could.
For dinner, we went back to the St. Michel area because there are lots of restaurantst there that serve raclette and fondue. However, despite the fact that we were there for those specialties, everyone but Jeanne and I ordered off the menu. Jeanne just ordered chicken (she wasn't very hungry), and I got raclette. Yum. Cooking your own food is fun. I was given cheese (raclette cheese -- that's where the dish gets its name), some meats, and potatoes. And I'm pretty sure raclette is now my favorite French food.
Madame argued with the server about whether or not she had ordered off the menu. Madame had not said menu when she was ordering, but she had started to order her main dish after ordering her appetizer, and the server had stopped her. So they were both right, in a way -- Madame saying the waiter had stopped her when she tried to order her main dish, the waiter saying Madame had not told him she was ordering off the menu.
After supper we walked around the area. I did find a gargoyle keychain, which was good. We took pictures of Notre Dame and of the Seine. On the bank of the Seine an Italian film was being made.
We were very late getting back to the hotel. I'm not sure how many metros came through Dupleix after the one we got off of, actually. We got to the hotel at 12:40 or 12:50. Madame blogged, and Cate and I laughed some at Madame's way of phrasing things. Her blog made everything seem so perfect sometimes...it was ridiculous, but funny. We saw the Eiffel Tower dance at 1:00, which is when it closes and the base lights turn off, so it was just the white lights sparkling.