Paris

France, to me, was a country of contradictions: ugly, beautiful (Paris both), expensive (coffee, food), and inexpensive (bread, public transportation). People were polite (country) and rude (Paris). Although to be honest, not all in either place. The light was often extraordinary and the architecture quite often beautiful.
The restaurants closed for lunch, and dinner was after 7:30; most everything was closed on Sundays. Sometimes a coffee place or bar was to be found, but only for a few hours. And Mondays were a crapshoot as to when places would open, if at all. Toilets could be a hole in the floor, or, most often, without a seat or lid, even in nice places in Paris. The bread was fantastic! Lots of bare women's breasts on the newsstands and in the ads in the store windows. Not a complaint here, mind you. A country to be experienced for sure.
I heard that France is the most visited country in the world, with over 75 million visitors a year. I think they were all in Paris when we were there. Long, long, long lines to everything, so we did not venture in anywhere we visited. I will save that for another time. Notre Dame was a surprise as I was expecting it to be more majestic. York Minster was way more impressive, but I didn't go inside, so there is that.

Apparently this is an important place to visit, considering there were about a million people here waiting to go to the top.

7 floors up in the hotel we stayed in (The Tiqueton).

View from the hotel room. The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Paris, commonly known as Sacré-Cœur Basilica, is in the background. A popular landmark, the basilica is located at the summit of the butte Montmarte the highest point in the city.

 The Centre Georges Pompidou. It houses a vast public library, the Musée National d'Art Moderne which is the largest museum for modern art in Europe, and IRCAM, a centre for music and acoustic research.

 Other side of the Pompidou.

The Jardins De Tuilleries.

Cooling my heels.

View towards the Musée d'Orsay

Musée du Louvre

 Arc de Triomphe
The detail is very impressive!

The Obelisk in the Place de la Concorde, the largest square in Paris.

View from the banks of the Seine.

The Hotel d'Ville and no rooms were available. :)

Notre Dame de Paris

 The Musée d'Orsay again. It is a former railway station, the Gare d'Orsay.

Rats in the window!

Au Revoir Paris! Off to London via the high-speed train under the English Channel. You know: fish, chips, cup o tea, bad food, worse weather, Mary f'in Poppins... LONDON. (from the movie Snatch) :)

Peace to you all my friends!