The boys were up around 8, so Ben and I groggily rolled out of bed and started to get ready for the day. We didn't leave the apartment until 9:30 and walked about 15 minutes to get to the metro. Vincennes is the last stop on Line 1 of the metro. It's a little bit outside of the city, but a very nice town with a large garden and chateau to visit if you have the time. I would definitely recommend it if you are driving from Germany or have kids because you can get a better bang for your buck with hotel rooms.

When we arrived at the metro station it took us a few minutes to figure out how to buy the tickets. Ben tried to find the information desk to buy a pass, but we ended up buying 2 packs of ten tickets called "carnets" from the machine (thanks to Rick Steves tip), for about 12 euro. That turned out to be plenty to get us through the weekend.

We dragged the boys, strollers, and backpack through the turnstiles and found our train. Since it was the end of the line, it was easy to get a seat and we rode comfortably all the way in to the main parts of the city. We got off at the Chatalet station and decided to take our chances walking to Notre Dame instead of hopping on Line 4 for one stop. We walked out of the station and tried to get our bearings. We knew we wanted to head in the direction of the river, but had no idea which direction that was, so we just guessed.

We walked a few blocks, then came to a nice square with fountain and a McDonalds. We were so excited to get the day started that we had forgotten to get coffee and I was dying of caffeine withdrawal, so Ben ran in to get some while I sat in the square with the boys. This was normally their morning playtime so they were full of it. They jumped out of their strollers and starting running around chasing birds and jumping over cracks in the sidewalk. I set the limits telling them they could no go past this corner or this crack, but it only took a few seconds before they started testing those limits. Ben finally made it back with the miniature coffees and we made the boys sit on the bench and snack on some cereal so we could drink in peace. Well, peace didn't last very long as Carson stuck his hand in bird poop and Maddox dropped his box of Apple Jacks all over the ground. We quickly washed Carson's hands, chugged our coffee, and left the Apple Jacks for the birds. The river was in the opposite direction, so we strapped the boys in the strollers and took off for Notre Dame.

When we found it the line was extremely long, wrapping all the way around the opposite side of the church, so we decided not to go in. The line for Sainte Chappelle was long and not moving as well, so we skipped it too and walked to the left back to get some great shots of the cathedral.

We walked past the old green stalls selling second hand books and posters. They are called Les Bouquinistes and have been a fixture in Paris since the 1500's. In 1557 they were tagged as thieves for selling forbidden Protistant pamphlets during the War of Religions. They first used wheelbarrows to sell their books, then eventually fastened trays to the wall. After the Revolution entire libraries were liberated from noblemen and clergies and were sold here, and in 1891 they were given permission to permanently attach their boxes to the wall. The sellers rent their spot on the wall for around 100 euro a year and they must be open at least 4 days a week. The best spots are granted based on seniority. At the end of the day they simply leave everything inside the cabinet and lock it up with a padlock. The waiting list to become a book seller is over 8 years long.

After wandering around the booksellers for a while we walked to the Luxembourg Garden. The gardens are 60 acres and the palace was built in 1615 for the widow of Henry IV, Marie de Medici. It was a recreation of her childhood home in Florence. When her son, Louis XIII, grew up he sent her away and exiled her to Germany. The gardens have specific rules that need to be followed for its use, one of which is no stepping on the grass. If only we had known that before hand!

After letting the boys play in the children's area for a while it started to rain, so we found the nearest metro and headed for the Eiffel Tower. It is huge! It is 1,063 feet tall (taller than the Chrysler Building), and covers 3.5 acres at its base. It is made of 7,300 tons of metal and 60 tons of paint. Bridge builder, Gustav Eiffel, built the bridge for the World's Fair in 1889. He personally financed it, his factory produced all the metal for it, his workers built it, and he was solely responsible if the project failed. The tower had no purpose but to demonstrate France's capability to build the tallest structure in the world (at the time). The plan was to tear it down as quickly as it went up, right after the fair, but it was kept by popular demand.

We walked past the tower in the rain, but didn't go up. We sat under an umbrella next to a food vendor and ate crepes and ice cream. Then we decided to get out of the rain and take a river boat cruise along the Seine. We almost missed the boat and ended up not getting a seat on the inside. We found a bench that was sheltered from the rain at the back of the boat. Although it was a little damp, chilly, and positioned directly above the boat's exhaust system, we got some great pictures from this spot. It turned out to be the perfect way to end a day of sightseeing in Paris.