about four o'clock in
the afternoon
As I watched the passing scenery from the car window , it seemed too beautiful to be real . The bright-colored houses against the green background impressed me as the work of some idealistic painter . Before we arrived in Paris , there was awakened in my heart a love for France which continued to grow stronger , a love which to-day makes that country for me the one above all others to be desired . We rolled into the station Saint Lazare about four o'clock in the afternoon and drove immediately to the Hôtel Continental . My benefactor , humoring my curiosity and enthusiasm , which seemed to please him very much , suggested that we take a short walk before dinner . We stepped out of the hotel and turned to the right into the rue de Rivoli . When the vista of the Place de la Concorde and the Champs Élysées suddenly burst on me , I could hardly credit my own eyes .