Touchdown in Paris! After a long flight delay in Los Angeles, I finally arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport and hopped on the Air France bus to the Gare de Lyon. I arrived at the hotel with barely an hour before the opening tour meeting. Our guide, Patrick Vidal greeted us at 5:00 p.m. in the wine-cellar-like breakfast room of our hotel, St. Louis Bastille. Following a short orientation we began our 17-day sojourn with a neighborhood walk and a get-acquainted dinner, featuring creative contemporary French cuisine.

Despite jet lag, a few of us dashed off to see the glittering lights of the Eiffel Tower. I have seen a zillion photos and other images of Le Tour Eiffel, but as we exited the Metro and turned the corner, I gasped out loud at my first site of this stupendous structure. Though made entirely of steel, it has a delicacy and grace that is entirely unexpected. Hundreds of people of all ages were gathered to watch the show of millions of twinkling lights. For a 360° QuickTime VR close-up from under Le Tour Eiffel, click here. (Get free QuickTime plug-in.) Walking beneath the Tower with our necks craned upward, we dodged the many buskers hawking neon flashing plastic souvenir Towers. We walked along the Champ de Mars, and caught the Metro back to the hotel. Little did we know that we had passed just a couple blocks from Rue Cler!

Croissants and café au lait for breakfast and our group was off for Patrick's lesson on navigating the Metro. We exited at the Palais Royal - Musée du Louvre stop, which took us directly into the Entresol by an underground passageway, where we met our local art historian guide, Muguet. In addition to describing the historical and artistic aspects of the Louvre's highlights — the Venus de Milo, the Victory of Samothrace (Winged Victory), La Joconde (Mona Lisa), and other works by Leonardo da Vinci and Caravaggio — Muguet expressed her passion for preserving the Louvre as an epicenter for art history research. (Take a 360° QTVR tour of the Louvre's Place du carrousel and a 360° QTVR tour of several Louvre galleries.)

After lunch on our own it was on to the heart center of Paris — Ile de la Cité — to visit Sainte-Chapelle and Notre Dame de Paris. No description I could write would equal standing where we stood, in front of the facade, or going inside the cathedral during Mass, or looking out over Paris as a gargoyle would, so click these links and then drag each image for a 360° view.

The lower chapel of Sainte-Chapelle was where the common people prayed; we passed quickly through to the stairs leading to the Royal chapel, where the King prayed. Even on an overcast day, the curtain of stained glass in the Royal chapel awed us into a respectful and inspired silence. We sat for a while, listening to the soft music and absorbing the ethereal beauty that was all around us. To share this experience in 360° minus the music, click here.

The path back to the hotel took us through the peaceful Place des Vosges, where Parisians relaxed after work — a young family tossing a ball, a juggler with knitted brows deep in concentration, Frisbee tossers, and laughing teenagers — then on through the Marais, past medieval churches standing next to trendy modern boutiques and cafés.

An early-morning walk through the Jardin des Tuileries, a former tile works, led to the Pont de la Concorde and a stunning view of the Seine River. Across the bridge, on the Rive Gauche, the train station turned Musée d'Orsay and home of French Impressionism beckoned us onward. I stood in front of Renoir's La Moulin de la Galette for a long time, seeing details I had not noticed before. A free afternoon left the door open for endless possibilities to enjoy the many enticing arrondisements, monuments, museums, cafés, and shops of La Ville Lumière. We wandered dreamily through Saint-Sulpice, past the charming shops and the mysterious Place Furstenberg in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, and the seemingly endless Jardin du Luxembourg. We couldn't resist stopping for hot chocolate at Le Café de Flore, former haunt of artists, writers, and intellectuals.

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