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Au Revoir, Paris
Our last day was here, sadly. We had a plan to see all that we had left to see, and we were going to make it happen.
Hopped a la metro to Notre Dame to finally climb the towers (fyi: no hunchbacks in sight, but lots of fallen arches…). It didn’t cost us anything, thanks to our Musee Pass, but we did have to sign up for a tour. Had about 90 minutes to kill, so we wandered over to Ile St Louis, which we really hadn’t explored yet. Saw lots of cute shops (still no souvenirs), and had espresso and a crepe (just butter and sugar — sublime) at La Chaumiere (no website), right in the other side of the bridge. Weather was gorgeous: finally we were in shirt sleeves!
Trekked back to the cathedral and started climbing. Strategically placed myself in front of someone older than me so I wouldn’t slow them down — I was done. We had put in a lot of miles on this trip (more on that later). The views of Paris were amazing. Once again it was awesome being able to point out where we had been. Up there we realized that although it felt like we had seen a lot, we really hadn’t scratched the surface of Paris (guess we have to go back).
We went up farther still, seeing inside the bell tower (those suckers are big):
HWSNBN had heard something about the oldest tree in the world, and it turns out it it was right below us, so we went over. It’s really NOT the oldest tree, but it was planted in 1600, which is pretty darn cool.
From above in the towers we noticed a super cute little building which happened to be around the corner form the tree. That led us to a fun shop full of things made by artisans and available nowhere else, called Pays De Poche (https://www.yelp.com/biz/pays-de-poche-paris). Really cool shop with one of the kind things — found some souvenirs, and the great shopkeeper directed us over to the famous Shakespeare and Company bookstore (https://shakespeareandcompany.com/) where we were successful once again!
Now it was time to hop back onto the metro to head to Montmartre and Sacre Coeur. Wandered a bit when we arrived to find some lunch. Most places were closing (many restaurants close at 2 then reopen for dinner), but nabbed a table at Coquelicot (http://www.coquelicot-montmartre.com/en/), a bakery/cafe which was only open for breakfast and lunch. Sat outside in the sun and actually got HOT, which was wonderful.
This part of Montmartre we liked. The rest was too crowded and touristy. I took the funicular up to Sacre Coeur, while HWSNBN didn’t want to wait. I was fine waiting if it didn’t mean any more stairs! The church was pretty, the view terrific. But I think we were burning out at this point. I had to use the bathroom, so we stopped at the super touristy Place de Tertre square. Grabbed a beer then got out of there.
To further the touristy feel, we hiked over for the obligatory photo of Moulin Rouge. Lovely sex shops everywhere, who seemed to cater to middle eastern and German patrons. Odd.
Metroed home to pack a bit, shower then head out for our last night. I wanted to get near the Eiffel Tower one last time. We decided to take a chance, and whaddya know: no line, and we got to go up finally! Champagne and views, lights and love. Kinda perfect.
Starving, we decided to uber back to our neighborhood hopingto find a restauarnt still serving food at midnight on a Tuesday. We tried the Montogueil, a cool area blocks from our house (https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187147-d208054-Reviews-Rue_Montorgueil-Paris_Ile_de_France.html). We’d been there a few times already, and always found something interesting. There was one place left open: Bianco (https://www.yelp.com/biz/bianco-paris-2). Poured me a huge glass of wine, HWSNBN a G and T, and we settled in to recap our week.
We tried to keep it going, knowing that when we left we had to go home and pack. But we had done Paris, and Paris had done us. Au Revoir, City of Lights! Thank you for dispelling the myths that Parisians are all rude, hate Americans and smoke incessantly. We will be back.
Side note:
according to my fitbit, during our trip we climber 281.05 floors, an walked 70.04 miles or 170, 136 steps. Yes. We were tired.
The Heat (and hunt) Is On
Today was our second to last day, so we had to start to make decisions: what MUST we still do? And what in the world will we buy as souvenirs?
Finally hit the Marais, a twisty-street neighborhood full of shops, restaurants and art — in galleries, and on walls. I love fun graffiti. Paris is full of it — especially the pac-mans you see high up on street corners.
Started with a cappucino at the Place des Vosges, considered one of the prettiest squares in Europe. Have to say I agree!
Had brunch at a recommended crepe place — Cafe Breizh (https://breizhcafe.com/fr/). Guess others read the same guidebook, as it was packed minutes after opening with English speakers. But it wasn’t touristy, and I would say my first buckwheat crepe was a success.
We were going to visit the Musee Picasso, but it was Monday so it was closed. Which reminded us: the Louvre is closed Tuesdays, so we revamped our itinerary and added it to the afternoon plans. Enjoyed meeting a few dogs, including these Westies who seemed a little confused at seeing mirror images of one another, and this darling shop dog who greeted us so happily:
Headed to the Ile de Cite, to finally see the inside of Notre Dame, which did not disappoint.
Kudos to this guy, who had the unofficial job of rearranging all the offering candles at Notre Dame:
Wanted to head up the tower, but couldn’t get a spot for hours, so decided to tack that on to the Tuesday plan, ans metro-ed to the Louvre, which was way more crowded than the last time we went. And hot. And poorly planned — exit signs are rather arbitrary, we found. And the women’s bathroom was planned with chaos in mind. But hey: it’s the Louvre, so everything is at least cool to look at!
Back home for a rest and shower, then headed back to Ile de Cite for a stunning Seine river cruise on Vedettes du Pont Neuf (http://www.vedettesdupontneuf.com/home/). If we had done the cruise 30 minutes prior we would’ve watched the sunset, but being there for the first evening’s lighting of the Eiffel Tower was a great trade off. First time we’d been cold however: got windy on that top deck. Heartily recommend book-ending this trip like we did: bike tour up front, and river cruise at the end. Helped us both plan and remember everything.
Dinner afterwards in the Latin Quarter. Had French Onion Soup and Beef Bourgingnon at Chex Fernand (http://www.chezfernand-guisarde.com/), then metro-ed home, exhausted. Tomorrow is our last day… and we still haven’t bought a thing.
A little Ado About Everything 