I know this is not a not an original thought - but: Paris is a really beautiful and endlessly enchanting city.
No doubt this stunningly beautiful weather helps (I really don’t believe that in its entire history - which is long- Paris has ever seen a prettier day than today!). But, I would venture that even on a cold, dark rainy day, it is still beautiful. However, we did not have to be the judge of that today - because the weather was simply AMAZING!
We started the day with a bus tour to the highlights of Paris, including the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Élysée. 
(I’m pretty happy with the picture of La Défense through the Arch, and the sun rise …). 
Our guide, Pascal, was full of knowledge and interesting tidbits, and is seen here with the statue of General De Gaulle - somewhere on the way to the Champs Elysees
I wish I had the time to walk the Chanps Élysée, but that will have to be for another time…
Instead, we drove to City hall - with its prominent “liberty, Égalité, Fraternity” sign - such a nice sentiment, somehow made a bit poignant by the homeless people living almost under it.
From there, we walked to Notre dame Cathedral: It is still under construction after the devastating fire of 2019, so we could not get close to it. But it was interesting to see the work and progress going on.
Joe continued on the bus tour, while I decided to walk back to the boat, taking in the sights as I went.
Right next to the cathedral, I walked to the Marche aux fleurs, and crossed the river again
to the Pompidou center and its funky fountain. I loved seeing children sitting there, painting the sites.
to to 
The neighborhood is a cool mix of old and new.
Walked back by the Louvre and the beautiful Jardins des Tuileries, designed under Louis the 14th by Le Notre (the inventor of French style Gardens). How I wish I had more time to roam thought this beautiful place, with all the flowers still in bloom, it’s beautiful alleys and fountains!. I could have spent the entire day day there…..
But I had to get back to the boat, so roamed along the Quais, taking in the “Kunst Tulips” (which are indeed incongruous and weird),
and the many bridges and passerelles - amongst them was the famous one where people used to put locks as a symbols of their love. So many of them were attached to the bridge that it threatened to fall down and they were removed. Still, people keep putting locks all over Paris, wherever they can - the locals think that’s odd, because locks have never been a sign of of love in France … 
What is fabulous about Paris is that, everywhere you turn, there is just something delightful to look at. 
In the afternoon, Joe and I took the "Food tour” through St Germain des pres. First, I had never gone through this wonderful old neighborhood, full of beautiful outdoor cafes, and also the place where the guillotine was first tested!!!!
It is extremely pretty and charming, and we got to try all kind of treats - macarons, pastries, olive oils, tapenades, cheeses and wine…..
It was very pleasant - and you’d think that we would not have had any appetite for diner - but you’d be wrong!
We had a hard time making it back to the ship because traffic is HORRENDOUS!!!!!!! The place de la Concorde has been taken over by some Rugby word cup thing (which apparently is VERY important), there are a lot of cops, but none of them cares about traffic - it is hard to convey how bad it was- but let me just say that our large tour bus did a U-turn on some avenue - that's how bad it was!
(Only part of the problem is the World Cup thing, the other one is that literally every street in Paris is under construction and every building is being renovated in preparation for next year’s Olympics. I can’t even imagine how the traffic will be then)
As our boat took off toward the West, we had a delightful dinner on the deck, watching the Seine flow by, the locks open for us, and the sun set, as well as the unusual sight of the Eiffel tower and the Statue of liberty, in the same shot. 
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