Pull up a chair and grab a Diet Coke, this one's a doozy! Paris take three

First things first, acquire breakfast pastry.  Check.

Second, begin another fabulous day in Paris.  Sainte Chapelle was a pretty great start to the day.  (Well, besides that pain au chocolate we ate for breakfast.)  This cathedral is lined wall to wall, top to bottom with ornate and breathtaking stained glass windows and colorful ornamentation.  It was built to house reliquary but I think it is a reliquary in itself.  It isn't large, it isn't as famous as a Notre Dame or Westminster Abby but it is definitely not humble in any other way.  I stood in awe, trying to imagine creating such elaborate and delicate structures at any time let alone in 1242.  They were doing some cleaning of the windows while we were there where they would remove each intricate piece of glass and clean it individually before replacing it and moving on.  This is a part of a restoration that has been happening since the 70's.  I love how precise and serious they are about their precious churches and cathedrals.  I would think it keeps them grounded and tied to their faith.  I am so happy we decided to see Sainte Chapelle during the day even though we would return the next evening.

taken from internet 

I have to admit I get a little "museum-ed out".  Yes, that is a term I coined myself, probably during this trip.  So this day it was nice to mix up the usual museum of "old stuff" with a little bit of "new stuff".  We headed to the Centre Pompidou and were quite surprised with some of the things people were paid big bucks to create.  But hey, it was interesting.  We didn't get to spend a lot of time there which I was actually sad about.  We were having fun being art critics and talking about how we could totally paint that red streak on that grey wall.  Or collect 12 different blank white canvases and hang them in a row and call it art.  Totally.

 We had to hurry so we could get to the Marathon Expo in time to pick up Ronnie's race packet.  

This is where the excitement starts to build for the race.  Ronnie is never really nervous, at least he never shows it.  He does however, like to walk around the expo with all the other crazy marathoners and catch the nervous excited vibe going on.  

That evening we headed back to our hotel to get ready for dinner with our Tehero friends.  But first we made the second of three stops at Laduree Bakery to aquire some famous Macaroons.  The first time we ate breakfast there but we had to go back for the macaroons.  Good thing it was near the Hotel.  They are pretty to look at and tasty to eat but they leave a big hole in your pocket.  Not sure they lived up to the hype but they scream French and well, when in Paris...

We hurried back to get ready for our double date.  We had big plans for a 7 course meal at a fancy shmancy restaurant called Verjus and it was definitely a highlight of our trip.  Yes, Ronnie and I do love to try new restaurants and experiment with food from all over the world but that is not why we loved this night so much.  It was four good hours of sitting and talking and relaxing with two of our most favorite people.  These Teheros are funny and sweet and have many interesting stories of their travels and living abroad.  Don't get me wrong, the food was incredible but hanging with the Teheros stole the spotlight.

The next day was the day before the Marathon.  Ronnie said we would "take it easy" since he didn't want to walk too much before he would run 26.2 miles.  Ha Ha Ha.  That's pretty funny.  Check this out...

We started the day at Notre Dame.  Again, blown away.  Such a gorgeous place.  We stood in line waiting to enter where Ronnie found a bench and I snapped 436 pictures.  I won't bore you AGAIN with the amazing architecture and spirit and famous dead people etc etc...  I will just blow your mind with these 387 pictures.  Don't worry, I narrowed it down.

 After searching and searching for the Hunchback, we were hungry.  We hopped on the subway and headed to one of our favorite areas, the Latin Quarter.  It is a neighborhood  near a University where we found a great little shop with delicious crepes both sweet and savory.  The owners were speaking Spanish which was actually a nice break from trying to decipher my broken french.  Right across the street we found my future business venture, a french fry restaurant.  All sorts of french fries with various toppings and sauces.  After filling our bellies we headed up to the Pantheon.

Yep, that right there is a Nutella and peanut butter Crepe in Paris France 

This Building is huge and gorgeous and sits at the end of a street atop a hill where you can sit on the steps and look out on the Latin Quarter.  Which we did, of course.  The Pantheon in Paris is modeled after the Roman Pantheon and was originally built as a church dedicated to St. Genevive.  It is still used for worship today but even more well known as a famous burial spot.  We saw Louis Brailles tomb and Victor Hugo among others.  

Finally I think we got the hang of taking it easy when we found a nice area on a canal off the Seine to sit and relax for a moment.  We waited for the Teheros to meet up with us and then we were off again.   

 We found a famous Ice cream store, Berthillon, where we enlisted Kayla to order for all 7 of us.  It was one of those wrap around the building type lines so we knew it would be good.  And it was.  Then we ventured into the Marais which is a neighborhood where Victor Hugo lived while writing Les Miserables.  He lived right on the Place de Vosges which is a beautiful plaza surrounding a bustling park.  Strangely I took zero pictures this evening but it looked something like this, just a bit more busy...

The day we went it was warm and sunny and everyone was out on their blankets relaxing in the sun.  We joined them and then walked a bit more in search of a carb loading dinner.  We settled on some pasta and pizza and then were off again.  See, Ronnie's idea of "taking it easy".

We said goodbye to the Teheros for the night and we booked it over to Sainte Chapelle again for a special concert of Vivaldi music.  Let me tell you, I had to pinch myself a few times.  It was just perfection.

 Photography was not allowed so I took this shot from the internet but really, no picture could do this experience justice.  It was so surreal to be sitting inside this magnificent chapel listening to Vivaldi's Four Seasons being played... in Paris.