[A Paris portait session at the Louvre and Palais Royal.]

Agressive little birds nibbled the croissant sitting on the table; shards of pastry sprinkled about. There isn’t a much better end to a cold April morning than a good cup of hot chocolate to warm cold hands.

We met, bright and early (the best time, in my opinion), to head to the Louvre. As you can imagine, there are usually tourists milling about and all around…but at 7:30 a.m., we found only a few who had also managed to pull themselves out of bed.

Although it is spring in Paris, the mornings (and days) are still chilly. Alessa braved the cold in a cheerful floral dress and a lovely coat, and I shouldered our bags as we meandered (or more so scurried) from the Louvre to Palais Royal. Both are two of my favorite places for photographs in Paris.

Walk into the gardens and find a bench — they are a lovely (if not a bit hard) spot to sit and read; sit and people watch (Alessa enjoys people-watching); or sit and read the poetry engraved into the wood. The trees were overflowing with green, and the last of the magnolias lingered, petals dropping one by one.

At Place Colette, we stopped for a light breakfast — if hot chocolate and croissants comprises a proper breakfast — in view of the Louvre and Rue de Rivoli, watching cars zip by a little faster than they should have. The birds, though tiny, were bold, dipping in for crumbs. They, too, seemed unable to resist a good croissant.

It was lovely to meet you, Alessa — thank you for braving the cold. I hope that your stay in Paris is everything you are hoping for and more, filled with plenty of adventures and discovery.