Rue de la Huchette

That’s the name of the street where our Paris apartment is located. Last summer when we walked out of our alley we’d see the Eiffel Tower; this summer when we walk out of our alley we see the Notre Dame Cathedral. The location is in an area frequented by tourists – lots of little restaurants and shops. This is great during the day and, well, not so great at night. We’ve adjusted our schedules accordingly, meaning that Emma’s been up past midnight every night since our arrival and we’ve been sleeping until around ten each morning. The loud noises begin to diminish around two am. In another interesting turn of events, Paris has hit record high temperatures this week. Now, I know it’s been over 100 degrees for most of you reading this, but when you sit in the comfort of your own homes it’s probably more like 77ish. WE HAVE NO AIR CONDITIONING!!! This is another reason for the schedule adjustment. At Emma’s normal bedtime it’s simply too hot to sleep. So, we sleep when it’s cool & roam around Paris when it’s not. The apartment itself is great. We have a bunk bed setup with double beds & the couch is a bed as well. It’s very clean & contains a well-equipped kitchen. However, with this heat we’re mostly eating cereal, yogurt, and sandwiches – who wants to cook???

During our late afternoon trip through Notre Dame, we noticed many who were inside to escape the heat – several carrying all their worldly possessions with them. Suddenly one week in a hot apartment didn’t look like such a burden. We’ve been through the cathedral many times together, but I’ve yet to walk through without being overwhelmed by the love the people who built it must have had for God. In an age of few machines, this construction took over 40 years. Emma asked to walk to the top and see the gargoyles up close, which we did last summer. However, since Diana freely acknowledges praying not to die for the first time in her life on that climb, and we’re definitely not in better shape this summer, we convinced her to admire them from afar.

In an effort to soothe the Parisians, most of whom do not have a/c, the city has set up a faux beach environment along the River Seine. On Thursday evening, we went for a stroll along the area where they’ve brought in grass, sand, beach chairs, misters, children’s climbing equipment, ice cream stands, etc. Emma loved walking under the misters and drinking from the fountains. I don’t think she understood why we would only let her drink from the spouts until she saw a woman washing her feet in the base!