the adventures of dos tortas

Watching Notre Dame burn in 2019 was heartbreaking. The entire world was horrified. When Lisa and I saw the news this week of the completed renovation and pending reopening, it sparked memories of our trip to Paris in March 2024.

I know that the French get a bad rep, especially from entitled American tourists. Maybe the unfriendliness is true away from the city, but Paris was a delight for us. We stayed in a quaint boutique hotel behind the Louvre. The ancient “lift” took us to within two floors of our attic hideaway. The view was of the surrounding buildings, nothing to write home about but we enjoyed it immensely. The best part of the hotel stay, for me, was the daily warm baguettes for breakfast! I was in heaven.

We are not foodies but enjoyed the waitstaff at every restaurant. They were multilingual, friendly and happy. One time we shared a table with a young couple from Mexico. They were living abroad for work and happy to speak Spanish.

One of our stops was of course Notre Dame. We sat on the bleachers behind a plywood barrier, gazing upward at the scaffolding and the very busy workers. It was a gray day but we sat for a long time taking in both the sadness and the hope. It’s hard to believe it’s finished.

I guess we’ll have to go back. Of the five cities we visited on our whirlwind tour, London, Amsterdam, Paris, Munich and Salzburg, Paris was my favorite. And there’s so much we missed.

DOS TORTAS

PS Forgive my stock photos. All my pictures were stolen in my phone.

Tags: expat living in Mexico, Inspiration, Notre Dame, Paris, retire mexico, travel