Up early to the bells of the nearby church and the sun streaming in our bedroom windows! After a quick breakfast of cereal and coffee, we headed over to Gare du Nord to meet Karen Ciejek, who was arriving on the Eurostar from London at 10:59 AM. Karen’s train was only 1 minute late and we headed back to the apartment to leave her bag.
Mike prepared lunch and we chatted to catch up. I glanced out the window and caught sight of a hot air balloon soaring over the rooftops. After lunch, we walked over to the Eiffel Tower, walked along the Seine, crossed over the Alexander III bridge and went into Tuilleries gardens. The gardens are still full of summer flowers (some quite faded) but much fuller than we usually see them in February. It was almost 70 degrees and sunny so the park was full of people, tourists and residents alike. We stopped at the terrace café in the park and had a glass of wine, people-watched and enjoyed the sun.