We took the subway out north to the 18th arrondissement for a morning meetup with “Paris Walks“, a 
guided walk through streets of the Montmartre section of upper Paris. We saw the streets where Van Gogh, Picasso, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, etc. all had studios and the absinthe cabaret bars where they hung out and mingled (including the Lapin Agile). The Moulin Rouge and other cabaret bars were all in this area. 
The tour ended at the brilliant white Sacre Coeur — it stays naturally clean by virtue of the travertine stone from which it was constructed in the 1880’s. After enjoying the panoramic view of the city from the hilltop (and the living statues on their pediments), we headed back down to the Abbesses metro station and had lunch at a tiny Tibetan restaurant on Rue de Abbesses.
We headed up from the subway to the Catacombes and immediately saw a HUGE line of people. Not only did we not get there in time to stand in this line before it closed, but the line was cut off two people ahead of us. Booooooo! 
We were really looking forward to this (having had a memorable visit to the Sedlec Ossuary outside Prague about a decade ago) so it was quite disappointing. Strike 1 on our medical oddities itinerary. Oh well, next time; move on!
We then headed back down to the subway and on to the cathedrals Notre Dame and Saint Chappelle, located 
on a little island (Ile-de-la-Cite) in the middle of the Seine, where Paris originated back with the Romans. Spectacular and outrageous, Notre Dame is just as done up and redonkulous as you’ve heard. Mmmmmm, buttressy.
Saint Chappelle is a little more subtle with only several thousand stained glass windows. We got there just before the sun set and had beautiful views of the mostly blue glass.
Chris insisted that we try to get to the Musee d’Orsay but Sharon resisted, saying an entire 
museum would take too much time out of their schedule and needed to be saved for another trip back. (The Louvre was out of the question for this trip.) Even though it was almost time for the d’Orsay to close we got there at 5:40, the guard shrugged and let us in for free. The museum is in a cavernous old train station, beautifully converted to house the national art treasures of France. 
Amazingly, we saw, in those 20 minutes (and the next 20 that it took to get all the other people to leave) a lot of great art. Manets, Monets, Degas, Millet, etc. We witnessed a near riot as the museum staff attempted to close the Picasso exhibit with a line of people waiting to get in.
We left the Orsay to go scout, only a few blocks away, the famed taxidermy and funky stuff store Deyrolle. It turned out to be closed for winter inventory. Again, Boooooooo! Strike 2.
For dinner we had the typical French fare: Steak frites! The other dish is a chopped beef burger topped with a fried egg, Simpsons’ style.
On to the Eiffel Tower. Lit up this evening in blue lights with huge gold stars on the sides, the tower really is an amazing architectural and engineering marvel. 
We should have just appreciated it from the ground. Many lines and 2 hours in the literally freezing weather with a couple thousand of our most annoying friends, and we were rewarded with a view at the top that left us … cold. Here’s a picture from under the tower. Finally got back to the hotel at 11pm or so, after some confusion on the RER transit line.