Paris day 1

I checked the weather forecast before we came. Rain on Thursday, +8 = bring rainboots. Rest of the week, temp hovering around 0. I forgot that 0 still means winter even though it's a warmer winter than in Sweden. One day, I'll learn and dress appropriately, so other than being cold, here's how today went:
* This is Elizabeth's 16th birthday trip.
* My parents surprised the kids by appearing at the hotel when we arrived. Andrew, the king of understatement, looks right at my mom, says "oh, hi Gran" completely deadpan like of course she'd be here. Looz was more surprised.
* First stop - lunch because we'd been up before 4am. Peter picked a charming place just across the river from Notre Dame. Quiche, salad, croque monsieur, omelette - something for everyone.
* Next stop - Notre Dame herself. We wandered about in awe of the height of her ceiling and of the recruiting posters (join the priesthood? why not!)(I kid you not), but chose not to line up to go up the bell tower. We're going to do that first thing tomorrow morning, hoping to beat the line
* Next - Arc de Triomphe and the metro. My mother is an experienced Metro strategizer, so she got us from A to B. We walked up to the Hotel de Ville, past the skating rink in its forecourt and the double decker (!) carousel. Peter had a short list of what he wanted to see in Paris. About the only thing was Arc de Triomphe. He was very impressed by it. I've been to Paris a few times, but I don't remember crossing under the street to actually stand under it before. Neat.
* Fika (afternoon snack) on the Champs Elysees
* walk down the Champs Elysees, past the Christmas stands, the petit et grand palais, ending up at Place de la Concorde just as the lights turned on - pure magic!
* dinner, a nice prix fixe for 18 euros, across from Notre Dame herself
Bon et heureux debut de notre sejour a Paris.