Weather is gorgeous...

10 February 2008- the weather has been outstanding. You should all note that we are no longer wearing our wool coats at least not this weekend. I even saw a woman in a sundress. The river banks and green areas have been covered in Parisians soaking up the sun. I saw a smart car with the top open, not down all the way. We are loving the sun too. Yesterday we went out to Sainte Chappelle and the Ile de St. Louis. Sainte Chappelle was made in 1260 to honor King and Saint Louis. It is comprised of two chapels on top of each other. One is richly painted and the other is walls of stained glass. So in this sunny weather Paris keeps having, the chapel is brillant with color. You could sit up there for hours finding all the bible references. A Greek sandwich and nutella crepe later, we headed home. Sorry no pictures. The blonde left the SD card in the reader at home. Oops. Oh well, first visitor comes, we'll go back loaded up right.
Today we ventured out in the sun to Montmarte (Mountain of martyrs) and the basillica Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart). Lots of others had the same idea. We hiked up all the stairs to the church. No pictures of the inside but we paid for the crypt and dome. Lots of scary spiral stairs later you find yourself at the key site in Paris. 360 degree views of Paris from the high point. Gorgeous except for the smog. No wind even to spoil the weather. A nutella crepe (sense the theme of Chad's urges) accompanied us to the church. A cop was up on the hill busting people for lying in the grass. She was hilarious. Whistling and pointing. Of course, she was out numbered but she gave it a good try. We stopped at the street level for a panini, lots of stairs climbed in a day. On our way home, we took a diversion to St. Germain des Pres church. Chad had never been inside. With all the sun, it looks totally different.
We have discovered lots of delicious types of cheese. the best so far is the Tomme noir. Not sure if the US carries it but if they do, buy it up. I also found vin chaud spices at the grocery store. We made our own hot spiced wine. I tell you, I love the way French cook. No wonder they love to cook. they have made it very easy and fresh and relatively inexpensive.
side note- our crepe stop from yesterday had an interesting theme. The guys running the place are brothers and experienced horse men. They decided to one day run the course with out the horses. Picture this, 3 men jumping over the barriers and other stuff typical to equestrian events. they claim to have a world record. I couldn't find anything online about them, yet. Was drinking involved? You be the judge...