Day four, Christmas Eve with Quasi

It was a bit rough juggling what to see over the holiday because of closures, but a few sights were open at least in the first part of Christmas Eve. After a chilly jog to the Eiffel Tower, we took off for the Arc de Triomphe and the Louvre, which is so big it warranted a second visit.

Even though we don't go running all that early (we usually get out by 7:30am), it remains dark nearly the entire run. This doesn't make for the best photos.

Finally, a little light!

Arc de Triomphe

The view from the top!

Return visit to the Louvre

For dinner we went out to the only area that was still hopping, the faux-grungy Latin Quarter. This part of town is known for lower-cost dining options with annoying hosts who try to get you to step inside their restaurant. After being pushed around so much in Italian restaurants, we were taking our chances. However, the place we chose was PACKED, the food was really fantastic, and best of all, the bill came out to what we were expecting. A Christmas miracle!

Paris at night

Dinner at Le Harpe started with classic escargot. Seth asked the waiter how to use the little tools to pull them out of their shells; the waiter demonstrated then insisted on feeding the extracted snail to me. It had the consistency of calamari, though Seth claims it is more like eating periwinkles, whatever those are.
After dinner we hustled to Notre-Dame for the midnight mass. We arrived by 10pm but by then the center isle was already filled, leaving us near the front but behind gigantic columns. We couldn't see the action in person, but at least they had TV monitors along the side isles so we could at least watch those. They showed a DVD on the history of the cathedral, then at 11pm their choir performed carols; I think I only recognized one or two. Midnight was the lengthy high mass we had been waiting for. Everything was interesting yet fairly solemn which made it hard to keep awake at times!

The altar

The organ at the back

We made it back to the hotel by 2am then feasted on Christmas treats and a glass of that really nice bordeaux. Baby Jesus was happy.

Oh yes, our tower of canned lunches