At the end of our journey down the Rhone we planned a two-day stopover in Paris  to celebrate an anniversary of sorts. When she graduated high school 20 years ago I treated her to the “city of lights” and her first trip over the Atlantic.  It helped that I worked for an airline at the time and was even able to get us in first class. Feeling confident of my prowess as a new travel specialist, I made all the necessary bookings (with Rick Steves’ help).  We stayed at a delightful little hotel called Champs du Mars with our tiny room overlooking the street. Since she was already a vegetarian we made good use of the epicurean delights on Rue Cler eating a daily lunch of bread, a variety of cheeses and some wine.  At night we’d usually step out for pomme frites.

We had a fabulous time doing all the tourist stuff: walking, museums and the boat ride down the Seine. Every time we got lost having a young beautiful 18-year-old asking directions usually meant that we were escorted back to where we needed to be.