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!