Happy Easter from Paris!

In spite of no Easter Bunny coming to the hostel, it turned out to be a great Easter in Paris. Nikki, Eldon, and I went to Notre Dame cathedral for Mass this morning. It was completely packed with people sitting and standing, with not even room for everyone to enter who wanted to, but it was neat to see so many people celebrating Easter Mass at once. Notre Dame was beautiful, especially the gardens outside of it. All of the flowers here are in full bloom, and the colors are just magnificent! I can definitely see now why people flock to Paris for Easter. After Mass we went for a picnic in a big park not far from our hostel. It turns out we had the right idea as far a picnic on Easter, as the park was just packed with Parisans enjoying picnics and strolls. When I go back to the States I will definitely miss the European habit of taking long leisurely strolls and relaxing in public parks on weekends. After our picnic we went to the Montemarte district of Paris, which is an area where many artists live and there are lots of little cafes. Lots of people were out and about in this area as well, and we followed the crowds and ended up on some steps that look out over the whole city of Paris. There were a couple guys singing and playing guitar on the steps. They were performing popular American acoustic songs, and they were really good! I am definitely worn out from the day, but it was a great day. Tomorrow night I leave Paris and head for Florence to meet my mom and brother. I probably won't have wireless for a while after this, but I will update you all when I have the chance.