President Barack Obama took time out from diplomacy Saturday, whipping the family off for a private tour of the famed Notre Dame cathedral, followed by dinner in a traditional century-old bistrot, La Fontaine de Mars.
Just back from a D-Day commemoration on the site of the Allied landing, Obama and his family received a hero's welcome in Paris as crowds swarmed outside the city's Notre Dame cathedral and a restaurant in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.
Crowds of Parisians wait to catch a glimpse of The Obama Family.
Thousands of cheering Parisians lined bridges over the River Seine as the motorcade swept from the cathedral to the restaurant, desperate for a glimpse of Obama, his wife Michelle, 10-year-old Malia and seven-year-old Sasha. Sasha turns eight on Sunday, and earlier that day they had another tourist stop on the calendar, a visit to the Pompidou Centre of modern art in Paris before it opened to visitors.
La Fontaine de Mars dates back to 1908 and specializes in rustic dishes from France's southwest region of Bordeaux Perigord and the Basque. Foie gras, duck and cassoulet are on the menu, although the White House has not said what the president and first lady chose.
The Obamas shared the restaurant with other diners, and other restaurants on the winding Rue St. Dominique were filled. Police, some in riot gear, lined the street. Crowds pressed behind barriers at the end of the street to glimpse the first couple, and about 100 people gathered there burst into applause as the Obamas left the restaurant. Clusters of people at street corners held up cell phones and cameras to snap pictures.
After dinner and a ride along the quai on the Left Bank of the Seine River, the Obamas returned to the U.S. ambassador's residence, where first daughters Sasha and Malia awaited them. Earlier in the day, Sasha and Malia joined their parents on a visit to Notre Dame Cathedral, where a children's choir sang and the president lit a candle. They climbed the stairs for a view of the city from the roof of the 12th century Gothic church. The cathedral was closed to the public during the first family's visit.
The first family's motorcade traveled to the cathedral along the Boulevard St. Germain, where hundreds lined the street hoping to see them.
0 comments:
Post a Comment