What is with this rain?

Not that it really matters if we're going to be lollygagging around the flat all morning, beaten down by jet lag. But it rained a lot again today. Anna took a beautiful picture of this Sun God statute by Niki de Saint Phalle at the Stravinsky Fountain. We have been hoping for some sun all day.

We started the day by getting up at a leisurely pace (which means really really slow - except for Sophie, who read her book for 2 hours waiting for Mom and Anna). We walked to the market down the street and bought the sweetest imaginable strawberries and raspberries, as well as some scrumptious pastries from the boulangerie.

After brunch and another nap, we took a nice walk to Notre Dame (in the rain). It was very crowded but very beautiful. Sophie really enjoyed the choir singing. Anna was very impressed by the Crown of Thorns thought to be worn by Christ (which is encased in gold and jewels). While Mom stumbled through a description of the life of Jesus, Sophie asked the insightful question, "Why don't we do more church things?" The answer is so complex that Mom made the executive decision to try and address it later on.

After Notre Dame, we took a break in front of the Pompidou and the Sun God. That's when Sophie (whose stye has been healing nicely, thank you) had a piece of dirt fly into her eye. Through teary eyes, she finished off the chocolate mousse. We tried everything to clean her eye, including pouring a bottle of Evian on it. Finally, there was nothing to do but take it out with our bare hands! Mom had this particular honor. We are all better now. Much better.

For a visual play-by-play, you can see a slideshow of the girls' pictures here. Take a look at the last picture closely. We found the street named for Nicolas Flamel on the way home. (Do you know who that is??? Don't you read Harry Potter? Well, hurry up!)

Au revoir til tomorrow.