Our Marais (pronounced Ma-re) Small Group Pastry, Wine, and Cheese tour was to meet under the Charlemagne statue in front of the Notre Dame cathedral at 2 p.m.

On the tour with me were two couples from Vancouver and a woman from Calgary. Our tour guide is in the middle holding an Urban Adventures bag.

I think her name was Emily and she is Irish and has been living in Paris for a number of years. She also plays in a band.

She first walked us past Notre Dame and pointed out very interesting things on the cathedral's facade which you can easily miss seeing or understanding.

Seen on our walk from Notre Dame heading to the Pont d'Arcole.

Who could resist these dogs? I couldn't and donated to their care.

The Pont d'Arcole which connects the Ile de la Cite on which Notre Dame is located to the Hotel de Ville across the Seine River.

Engraved locks on the bridge on a sign indicating to call someone in case of emergency, such as someone jumping.

The Hotel de Ville, which is the Paris City Hall and the residence and offices of the Mayor of Paris. It was completed in 1357, expanded in 1533, and reconstructed in 1873.

The Hotel de Ville.

The Etienne Marcel statue on the side of the Hotel de Ville. Marcel was the provost of the merchants of Paris under King John II in the first half of the 14th century. He defened craftsmen and guildsmen who made up most of the Paris population at that time.

Security and lions at a door on the side of Hotel de Ville.

We should be now in the Marias area of Paris. Before the French Revolution, it was the area where the rich lived. After the Revolution, it became bohemian and also was once the largest Jewish community in Europe, though 75% of the Jewish population died in concentration camps during World War II.

Le Mar des Justes. It is the Wall of the Righteous and bears the names of 3,900 men and women who risked their lives to help rescue the Jews in France during World War II.

The wall is extensive.

Close-up of the wall. Names are continually being added to the wall.

A Paris drinking fountain, one of many that you see in various places in Paris.

Water bottles can be filled from the drip in the fountain and the water is free and pure.

A bottle garden. Look up, there are many things to see in the Marais.

The Marias has more pre-revolutionary buildings and streets than anywhere else in Paris. It escaped Napoleon's remaking of the city.

Close-up of the building that doesn't look like it should still be standing.

Our first pastry stop: at Aux Merveilleus de Fred. These are meringues in the window, with the window reflecting the buildings across from it.

These are meringue cakes. The sign says they are "incroyable"--"incredible." Each 3.30 euros.

The counterperson asking each of us which incroyable meringue cakes we wanted.

Close of the painting on the wall. I do not have an interpretation of it.

I chose the Le Merveilleux chocolate meringue cake.

Yes, it definitely was incroyable.

Our next pastry stop was at Pierre Herme, one of the best if not the best macaron makers in all of Paris. I chose an apricot and pistachio one . . .

out of many flavors available. Very good. Later in my trip, I was going to buy macarons for presents but was told that freshly made ones are only good for three to five days. You can buy ones in made in Belgium at the Paris airport duty-free shop that will last much longer.

A church that we passed.

One of the narrow Marais streets.

Marais wall art.

Marais wall art.

Marais wall art.

Marais wall art.

A side street, one of many in the Marais area.

More wall art.

A Marais corner.

Bride and groom in a window.

There are many Jewish restaurants, patisseries (bakeries specializing in pastries), and boulangeries (bakeries specializing in bread) in the Marais area.

Also, shops selling Middle Eastern food. The l'AS du Falafel in considered to have the best falafels in all of Paris.

A boulangerie.

Figures for your Christmas tree handing in a window.

Our last pastry shop: the Maison Georges Larnicol, which sells candy, pastry, and cookies from Brittany.

A tin of Breton cookies.

A chocolate flower.

A chocolate frog.

A large assortments of chocolates.

Our treat, kouignettes, a Breton butter cake coming in such flavors as salted butter caramel, almond, chocolate, and pistacho. I had the last one--buttery, gooey, and very good.

We are now on the Rue St. Antoine.

Church on the Rue St. Antoine.

Close-up of the Baroque-style Saint-Paul Saint-Louis Jesuit-built church.

Up a side street from the Rue St. Antoine was the Le musee d'art et d'histoire du Judaisme (the Museum of Jewish Art and History) in a 17th-century mansion.

Bas reliefs on the museum.

We walked through a passage in the museum to this colonnade.

And to the Place des Vosges which was built by Henry IV and which was one of the most exclusive areas to live in Paris. Victor Hugo lived here.

The park of Place des Vosges.

Back on another street heading to the wine shop where we would have wine and cheese. However, either I forgot to take photos of our visit there or else the photos I did take disappeared so I don't know the name of the shop. The Marias has numerous wine shops where you can have wine and snacks. This was the end of our tour.