Oh my goodness. I am so glad I came here to ask for your input and am delighted with all of your thoughtful responses. I have taken many notes.

I'm switching Versailles to Friday. We are definitely going to stop by Musee Rodin and L'Orangerie. And we got advance tickets for a river cruise. I can't wait. It feels impossible to get to everything on our list but I'm glad to have all these great options. I hope we strike the right balance of having a well-planned itinerary that allows some flexibility and serendipity along the way. Thank you SO much.

Now I'm struggling with our London itinerary (what horrible problems I have! so I may start another thread for that.

Hopefully I can return the favor with my own input and suggestions for other travelers someday...

The nicest thing is playing hooky from your schedule to just choose a crossroads "tabac" or brasserie off the large streets somewhere. And drink coffee for hours. Just a little unscheduled pleasure. Your sightseeing day: take public buses!

Try not to schedule too rigidly. Be ready to exchange day plans due to weather. The Ste Chapelle and Notre Dame need a sunny day for the stained glass. You don't want to walk around the grounds of Versailles in the rain. The Ste Chapelle and the Museum of the Middle Ages at Cluny can have concerts some days that you may want to check out. Consider taking a ride on the tethered balloon at the Parc Andre-Citroen (it goes as high as the Eiffel Tour). My three favorite Paris museums are the Rodin, Cluny, and Picasso (although I have not seen its new incarnation).

The Sunday open-air food market is held at Bastille

While that is a huge and wonderful market, we enjoy the smaller but very adequate Sunday morning market at Pl. Monge. The Metro comes up right in the middle of it!

We had a wonderful dinner at Au Piano Muet at 48 rue Mouffetard. It is a raclette/fondue restaurant with other offerings. Their house salad with chicken livers lives in my memory of greats. Very reasonable and pleasant service.