Paris, Day 2

Day 2 in Paris was Easter Sunday. We lined up to attend Mass at Notre Dame. I forgot my black pants and was a little self concious about wearing jeans until we got there and there were people in quite casual clothes, some rolling their suitcases behind them. I needn't have given it a second thought. It was very cool to hear the bells ring to announce the service. I will post some video.
Inside it was packed and there were flat screen TVs so everyone could "see" the altar. After about 15 minutes, Eliot was done. (I was impressed he made it that far.) So, we lit some candles, as is now our custom in churches, and left. It was a great experience to hear beautiful organ music and singing on Easter Day at Notre Dame cathedral, which has been in existence since around 1200. Before that there was a different cathedral or worship site (my reading on Paris history has faded rapidly from my mind) in the same spot. I found it inspiring to think of the centuries of people who had celebrated Easter (although probably in a much more disciplined and serious way than we do today) in that very location, the voices that had echoed off those walls. In summary, I like thinking about all the people who have come before me when I visit places with such rich history, and Easter was a great time to do that.

After church, we headed to the eastern side of Paris to a big park that houses a lot of museums. Sort of the Paris museum campus to make a Chicago analogy. I wanted to go for this playground that Eliot did love. Video of the trampolines to come.
We walked and walked all day and had this nice sunset view of the Eiffel Tower on our walk home. Many more photos are on the web album I will post. In general, this trip was more about experiencing the city than visiting the museums and historical sites. Chris and I were lucky to do that a few years ago. Now we just wanted to take Eliot to parks and walk around during his naps, which the weather graciously let us do.