Walking Paris, Part 2, March 25

 We had another walking day today. It started out cloudy, but the sun came out mid-day which was great.

  We strolled past Notre Dame first which was very crowded as it is Palm Sunday. Then, we strolled our way to the Luxembourg Gardens, a favorite from years ago. There were a few flowers in bloom and buds on the trees, so not as lush as summer. We sat in the sun and watched people enjoying the day - all ages, but a lot of students studying en plein air. There were quite a few boats in the fountain pushed by children and a few larger, more expensive boats. Most of the latter gave up quickly as there was not enough wind.
   From there, we strolled to find a Vietnamese restaurant we'd looked up. We circumnavigated the Pantheon where many French dignitaries and literary notables are buried, but chose not to go in. We did not find the restaurant and the Vietnamese restaurants we did see, we all closed. It did not matter as we enjoyed the stroll.

    We decided to treat ourselves to the St Regis Cafe back on Ile St. Louie where we ate yesterday. They did not have the lamb dish that Mark had liked, but he had thinly sliced chicken marinated in lemon and Barbara had the chicken Caesar salad again. We sat outside and chatted with 2 American mothers and 2 daughters (seniors in high school on their first trip to France) They gave us their untouched cheeses and the kind waiter boxed it and added 3 "ruined" croissants. (Breakfast tomorrow!)

    We stopped into the church in our neighborhood - very old.
    We also walked to the other end of "our" island and watched the river go past.
    A lovely day.