paris - day one, part one

I'm home. 

One of my favorite things about going on trips, no matter how great the place or time, is coming home. 
I love Home.

But I tell you.  Paris is fabulous.  Fab-u-lous!!!

We got there Thursday morning bright and early.  It was 6:30 am Paris time which meant we were feeling 11:30 pm home time.  7 hour difference.  So not too sleepy, yet. 

We got to our Hotel and couldn't check in until 3:00 in the afternoon so we checked our luggage with the bellhop and headed out on our first Paris adventure.  The subway. 

Their Metro is fantastic and will get you anywhere you need to go.  I really like it and feel so smart and empowered when I navigate it properly.

Our first destination was to the beautiful Sacre Coeur.  A beautiful Roman Catholic basilica on the highest point of the city.  So it commands a great view of Paris.

These are one set of steps going up to the church.  They are in a park I hadn't seen before. 

It was neat to approach the basilica from a new direction.

This is a view from the steps.

Here is our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower.

And here is the church!  Isn't it pretty? 

Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the city from here...

I think we were starting to feel the "home time" about now. 

We went in the church and got to hear some nuns singing.  It was pretty.

I'll fill you in on the rest of our day later. 

Right now, I need to go make my children some dinner

and make plans for our day off from school tomorrow.