Last Days in Paris

Sunday was the day we planned to take a train to Giverny, the home of the great French artist, Claude Monet.  I have loved Monet's paintings since my college days, and was looking forward to the side trip.  However, I didn't feel well on Sunday morning.  (I like to think it was due to lack of sleep, but perhaps it had to do with all the wine and rich food I consumed the night before.)  In any case, the weather had also turned cold with the threat of rain, and we decided to skip the all-day trip and get some badly needed rest.  After a lazy morning in our hotel, we took the subway to the Montmarte neighborhood.  We both love this area of Paris, and had just started exploring it when the rains came.  What started out as a drizzle soon became a hard, cold rain.  Fortunately, we did have time to climb up to the beautiful Sacre Coeur church,  which was reached after climbing steep hills and many stairs.  There is a tram that will take you to the church, but we chose to skip the long line.  The climb was well rewarded with beautiful views.  Since I still wasn't feeling well, we made our way down the hill and took a bus back to our Rue Cler neighborhood for a late lunch of crepes.

Monday was a new day, and we had to make up for lost time on Sunday!  I felt much better, the sun was out and it was our last full day in Paris!    Previous breakfasts in Paris consisted of coffee. pastries and fruit in our room.  But on this, our last day here, we walked to a neighborhood cafe that we remembered visiting in 2012.  During breakfast we discussed our priorities for the day.  What a day it was!  We started out with a subway ride back to the Montmarte neighborhood for some strolling and shopping.  Then we walked to the Paris Opera House, one of the most beautiful buildings I've seen.  Be sure to go inside if you're ever in Paris!  We never had a bad meal in Paris, and lunch this day was superb--including some great French wine.    We purchased dessert to "take away" (a term the French use for our "takeout")--almond pastries!   We still were a distance from our hotel, but we decided to continue to walk in the sunshine rather than take the bus or subway.  By the time we returned to our hotel, we had been out for over six hours, most of it walking.  If I walked this much at home, I could probably lose the extra weight I've been carrying around!

After a short afternoon nap, we ended our last day in Paris with a romantic dinner and a stroll to the Eiffel Tower.  Two things I will definitely do if we return is to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower and visit Giverny!  But now I must look ahead to our stay in the Loire Valley.

Until tomorrow, au revoir!

Paris in the Springtime

Saturday was a beautiful spring day in Paris!  We decided to use public transportation, which included the bus and the metro (subway).  The bus, while slower, is actually more interesting, as you can see the city.  Before we headed out though, John went out in search of breakfast goodies, and returned with lattes, a bagette with raspberry jam, and croissants!  Quite the (un)healthy meal!

Our exploration of the city began with a ride on the #69 bus.  Rick Steves recommends this bus ride as an excellent way to get a general tour of the city.  We started at the Eiffel tower, passing Les Invalides, the Louvre, Notre Dame and the Bastille monument.  Getting off at Place Bastille, we walked to Place des Vosges, the first planned square in France--a beautiful park surrounded with classic buildings, including the home of Victor Hugo.  We continued to wander through the Le Marais neighborhood, past the Holocaust Memorial, noting the presence of police security.  After a delicious lunch at a lovely street cafe, we walked to Notre Dame and its surrounds before catching the #69 bus back to our hotel.

John and I like to get up early even on vacation, and we have discovered on this trip that there is nothing better than an afternoon nap!  Then we are refreshed and ready for a late dinner and an evening of fun.  Well, "fun" by our standards is still pretty conservative!  On this particular evening we took the Metro subway to the Latin Quarter, which was close to the restaurant John wanted to try.  I liked the Latin Quarter more than John did, although I agree with him that it was perhaps a little too crowded with tourists and tourist traps.  Here is an excerpt from John's journal:  "Blvd. St. Germain was crowded, tacky, filled with overly touristy bars ('happy hour', 'margaritas', hot dog').  Man, it sucked."  So we wandered to the beautiful Luxembourg Park, and then attempted to find the little restaurant John had read about and so wanted to try.  It took a little searching, but soon we found the street, at which point I became a little apprehensive.   The street was a little sketchy, but Le Bistro du Perigord was one of the best restaurants I have ever visited.  Run by two very personable brothers, the atmosphere and food were excellent.  We ended the meal with an apple pastry with caramel sauce!  The owner called us a cab, and we returned to our hotel full and happy.

All in all, it was a busy but wonderful spring day in Paris!!  How I love this city!!!