We must face facts: Toby walks briskly.

He celebrates a palindromic, middle-aged birthday in only a few days (I leave it to you to figure out which one), and yet he has the springy steps of a man half his age. Usually, anyway. At present he is tethered to 5 men of similar age, but whose sip from the Fountain of Youth might be a tad overdue. And since Toby knows Paris better than all of us put together, he has continuously beckoned us forward on our walking tour of the city.

So Thursday, as we made our way along accordion-like (the group stretching apart in the blocks between intersections, then reconverging again before proceeding into the crosswalks), we have covered a great deal of Parisian territory. We began at the Rodin Museum, then moved quickly onward to the Musee d'Orsay. We spent a delightful hour or so viewing the impressionist and related art before we set off again, this time to climb the Arc de Triomphe (270+ steps from bottom to top, all without stopping). The views from the top were spectacular.

After disembarking from the Arc, so to speak, we boarded a bus to the Montmartre neighborhood and again climbed the steps to Sacré Coeur basilica, where another grand view greeted us.

Finally we dined at Chartier, a quintessential Parisian restaurant where we feasted on snails, duck, and profiteroles.

More later about today's adventures.