Sparrows landing on our hands outside Notre-Dame, a slightly starstruck hello to the Mona Lisa at the Louvre, and a balcony view over Paris rooftops.
Paris is the city everyone has already photographed, so we stopped fighting it and did the classics properly: the cathedral, the museum, and a balcony above a long straight street. No regrets on any count.
Outside Notre-Dame the sparrows work the crowd. Hold out a hand with something edible in it and you are suddenly very popular.Obligatory Louvre selfie angle: the Mona Lisa, the glass, the audio guide. She is smaller than you expect. You still queue.Up on the balcony, with the whole street laid out below: cream stone, iron railings, trees still bare.
From Paris the trains fan out nicely: Lille and Calais to the north, Brussels a little further on. We took our time leaving.
