I've dreamed of visiting Paris pretty much my entire life, so this was an important trip for me. I only had 48 hours tacked on to the end of a fairly long business trip to Oslo, so I made a list of things I absolutely *had* to see in Paris, and stuck with it.

After the flight and settling into my hotel, I walked eight or nine blocks to Notre Dame. It had been raining all morning, but as I approached, the sun came out -- literally and emotionally. I had been kind of numb with all the traveling, but Notre Dame just overwhelmed ... (more)