The beaches of Paris...you didn't know they existed???

Today I was mistaken for a Parisian for the first time, and I must admit, it was slightly exhilarating. Around 1pm today Marie looked at me and said, "you must go to lunch now, go to see how beautiful the notre dame is and come back by 2:30." I swear, that was a direct quote!
So I grabbed my Carnet (booklet of metro tickets) and walked out the door. Honestly I was a little scared that I would get lost and end up in Belgium and be late for my return to the office, but i just imagined that i was in washington dc and on my way to the smithsonian or something, just with more complicated names.

On the metro and once i knew i was traveling in the right direction down the line of stops, I had a rush of Parisian snobbish confidence and i guess it came out through my facial expression. A woman grabbed her husband and squeamishly asked if this was the stop for the louvre (in english)...she looked tired qnd dirty like I was yesterday so I decided to crack my faux Parisian exterior qnd throw her a proverbial bone. "You need to get off at Palais Royale, its three more stops." This lady was so happy i spoke english she almost hugged me. They were from Baltimore and their flight had landed this morning - doing the time change push through, I can relate.

The cathredal of Notre Dame was in fact amazing, but I was much more intrigued by something nearby. Something called Paris Plages - the beach has come to paris!! Tons of sand were hauled in along the Seine and lawn chairs were set up in a long strip. I guess President Sarkozy took pity on the poor people that can't take month long vacations and brought the beach to the city!!! I must say, I wish Bev Perdue would do the same thing for Raleigh...