It’s good to be back home in Texas, but we are going to miss Paris. What will we miss?
Dogs – everywhere, in restaurants, shops. Parisians take them everywhere they go!
The food…..
The street markets……..
The magnificence beauty of this city……
Thanks for viewing the blog and ‘traveling’ with us. Next year, Rome!
Today is our last day in Paris. Our flight from Charles De Gualle airport, scheduled to leave at 11am, was delayed until 2pm, so we weren’t rushed to be there on this last day.
We set out around 9am. We had purchased our train tickets the day before and planned to ride the RER B train from St. Michel station, near our apartment, all the way to Charles DeGualle. We walked to St.Michel, passing Notre Dame for the last time (sigh!).
Goodbye, Notre Dame!
Train station was packed!
We had an uneventful flight, the best kind, and arrived home safe and sound. We loved Paris, but it was good to be home!
Next post to conclude this trip blog – things we’ll miss about Paris.
Luxembourg Palace
Today was another slow travel day. I have come to appreciate the slow days because it allows you to soak up the feel of a place and really observe how people live.
View from apartment, looking south to left bank
View from apartment looking north towards right bank
We walked to Luxembourg Garden this morning. Luxembourg Garden is a 60 acre park located centrally in the St.Germain/Latin Quarter area. It was created in 1615 around the palace built by Marie de Medici. The palace is now the home of the French Senate.
On the walk to Luxembourg Garden we passed two more restaurants that were recommended. With just one more day in Paris, we won’t have time to eat there. So there’s another reason to come back!
Les Papilles
Le Comptoir
Once we reached Luxembourg Garden, I walked around the park discovering all the beautiful, tucked away paths where Parisians come to read, write, play and reflect.
Many practice tai chi in the morning
Students gather on the manicured lawns
Children playing in the sand lots
Gardener torching earlier plantings, making way for new plants. The gardens are changed out three times a year
The gardens are beautiful!
One shady, private area had animal sculptures
Statue of Liberty, by Bertholdi who designed the one in New York City
Sculpture of Parisian reading……oh wait, that’s Don!
It was such a beautiful day, that we decided to buy a sandwich and have lunch in the park. Here was the view from where we sat.
View while eating lunch
This was a great way to spend our last full day in Paris.
I’ll be looking for this chair design when I get home. Very comfortable!
Savoring our last full day in Paris.
Tomorrow – Going to the airport became an adventure!
Eiffel Tower at dusk
We ended the day by seeing the Eiffel Tower lit up at dusk. This is one of the most beautiful sights in Paris, in my opinion.
The day started with the goal of visiting the Jacquemart-Andre museum and Monceau park, just up the street from the museum. I took the bus, a great way to see the city. As we approached the Gare St.Lazare rail station, we sat in a big traffic jam for almost 30 minutes. The driver wouldn’t let us off in the middle of traffic even though many wanted off. I was content to just sit on the bus and watch the people passing. We finally moved forward and everyone had to get off at the rail station. I’m not sure why, but the driver stopped the route there even though he had about 10 more stops. So I found another bus that would take me to Jacquemart-Andre. By the time I got to the museum I realized I wouldn’t have time to see the museum and the park so I decided to go to the park instead. I did get a picture of the outside of the Museum. Now I have a reason to return to Paris – to see the Jacquemart-Andre museum. On second thought, I don’t need a reason to return to Paris!
Jacquemart-Andre Museum
Parc Monceau is a small, beautiful and elegant park. It was filled with small children with their moms and nannies. I enjoyed walking through the park before meeting Don for lunch.
Classical colonnade in Parc Monceau
We returned to Little Breizh in the Latin Quarter and enjoyed the delicious buckwheat crepes. We slowly made our way back to the apartment. I never tire of walking the streets of Paris.
Little Breizh Cola
Inside Little Breizh
We’ll miss Little Breizh!
That evening we went to see the Eiffel Tower. The atmosphere around the tower is very festive. It’s like New Year’s Eve every night there! As we approached the Pont d’lena bridge headed towards Trocadero Place to get a good view, we saw it was filled with hundreds of people all dressed in white, eating dinner.
Dinner in white
I asked one of the diners what was going on and she told me it was a wedding party. That sounded right, but we estimated about 1000 people were seated at tables on that bridge. But it’s Paris, so somehow it seemed fitting. After we saw the tower and were headed back to the apartment by bus, along the Seine, we saw that every bridge was filled with diners dressed in white. This couldn’t be another wedding, or could it? This morning I googled what we saw and found out that last night was the “Dinner in White,” a fundraising event for cancer research. Those participating are notified one hour before the location is revealed. They are required to bring a table for two, chairs and wine, are asked to leave by midnight, with no trash left behind. It was an amazing sight to see them all on the bridges dressed in white.
Dinner in White, Pont d’lena
Tomorrow, Lunch in Luxembourg Garden!
Club house
Today Don played golf at the Paris International Golf Course in Baillete-en-France. It was a beautiful and challenging course. It’s a Club Corp course, so he was able to play for just cart fees.
18th hole
View from dining room
Inside the club house
He took a train from Paris to the small town near the course and then called a cab to get to the course from the train station. Once you get outside of Paris and into the smaller towns that aren’t tourist attractions, hardly anyone speaks English. In French, he successfully called the taxi, told them where he needed to go and when he needed to return. Not bad!
I toured the Marmottan Museum, which has a large collection of Monet paintings and sketches as well as a large collection of Berthe Morisot’s paintings. Paul Marmottan (1856-1932) lived here and donated his art and possessions to a private trust. It’s a lovely setting for Impressionist paintings. Like the Orsay, no photographs were allowed inside.
Entrance to Marmottan Museum
After touring the museum, I cut through a park and strolled down Passy, a wealthy shopping area in the 16th arrondissement. The Passy street market looked shiny and polished compared to the other street markets we’d seen.
Passy park
Passy market
Texas BBQ Pringles in a Paris grocery store!
Look what I found in the local grocery store. Even Parisians appreciate Texas BBQ!
Tomorrow, Jacque-Marte Andre Museum, Monceau Park and San Francisco Bookstore!
Chartres Cathedral
Today we took the train to Chartres to see the cathedral and this charming little town. It’s about an hour away by train and a pleasant ride. On the way down we struck up a conversation with a couple from Pennsylvania, who brought their 15 year old grand daughter with them to see France. We shared travel tips and recommendations on good restaurants.
When we arrived in Chartres we walked about five minutes to get to the cathedral. It’s clearly the reason one would go to Chartres. It dominates this small town.
Chartres Cathedral is considered to be Europe’s best example of pure Gothic. It is at least the fourth church on this spot and is dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus. In 876 the Church acquired the torn gown or birthing veil Mary supposedly wore as she gave birth to Jesus. In 1194, a fire destroyed the church. When it was rebuilt it was considered to be a leading center of learning in the Middle Ages.
Rose window in Chartres Cathedral
Beautiful, story telling stained glass in Chartres Cathedral
To ‘read’ the stained glass you need binoculars. Some of the images are visible, but the fine detail is harder to see. It makes me wonder how people in the 1200’s, who weren’t wearing eyeglasses, were able to make sense of the panes.
The highlight of our visit was meeting Malcolm Miller, a resident expert on Chartres Cathedral. He gives cathedral tours and makes the place come alive. He has been conducting tours for 57 years and is 81 years old. He has devoted his life to the Chartres Cathedral. Most of the tour is conducted seated in the cathedral, while he tells the story related by the one of the many stained glass windows.
Malcolm Miller, 81, Chartres Cathedral expert
I found out about his tours in Rick Steves guidebook. I’m so glad I got to meet him and take his tour. He told me that Rick Steves is coming back in July with PBS to film him giving a tour. So I will definitely want to see that when it’s aired.
We walked around town and it was very charming and picturesque.
Tomorrow, Marmottan Museum for Linda and golf for Don!
Cluny Museum
Today we visited the Cluny Museum, which focuses on medieval art. When I think of medieval times, I think of grim times for many, but the art from that period was beautiful.
The highlights of the Museum included its sculptures, stained class and unicorn tapestries. In medieval lore, the unicorn could only be tamed by a virgin. They represented how man was drawn to his lady love. Religiously, the unicorn was a symbol of Christ – radiant, pure, and somewhat remote.
Sculpture of Adam
Cluny Museum stained glass, where each pane tells a story
Unicorn tapestry. The unicorn was highly symbolic during medieval times
After visiting the Cluny, we headed back to Little Breizh, one of our favorite restaurants, only to discover it was closed. Many restaurants were closed this day, as were the post offices. We found out it was a bank holiday, the second one since we’ve been here. Today was Whit Monday, or the Monday after Pentecost Sunday. Some interesting background on this holiday – Pentecost Monday, or Whit Monday, is the day after Pentecost. Pentecost Monday was a public holiday in France until 2005 and again from 2008. The holiday was reintroduced after about 15,000 elderly people died in a heatwave in the summer of 2003. The French government made a commitment to financially support the elderly and people with disabilities by deciding that Pentecost Monday would no longer be a public holiday from 2005 onwards.
The public holiday was replaced with the Day of Solidarity. On this day people worked for no pay. Their wages were collected to assist the elderly and persons with disabilities. However, there were demonstrations and Pentecost Monday became a public holiday again in 2008. The French government introduced other fiscal measures to raise money to support the elderly and persons with disabilities.
We did find Gladines open on St. Germain and had a great lunch.
Don had an omelet at Gladines, one of the few restaurants open on this bank holiday.
I continue to see great views of Notre Dame. This shot was taken from the park on the Left Bank, just across from the cathedral.
Roses with Notre Dame in background
While Don walked, I headed back to the Montmarte area near Sacre-Couer to do some shopping. This a gritty, lively area of Paris, with a different vibe than the more touristy areas around the Seine. Bargains can be found here, if you are willing to dig through boxes and bins of clothing and shoes. I found these shoes for €15, a real bargain in this city!
Paris shoes
We finished the day by having a light snack at one of our local sidewalk cafes, people and dog watching. Here’s one I’d like to take home.
Paris dogs well groomed !
Tomorrow, Chartres!
Pantheon
Early mornings are the best in Paris, as very few people are out. It looks deserted compared to the afternoons, when streets around popular sights are packed. This morning we visited the Pantheon, a mausoleum where 72 French men and only one woman, Marie Curie, are entombed.
We had the Pantheon almost entirely to ourselves. The Pantheon’s dome is currently under renovation, as you can see in the photo above.
Pantheon interior
Marie Curie’s crypt
Marie Curie is the only woman buried here. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the only person to win the award in two different fields, physics and chemistry. She is credited with discovering radium and developing x-rays.
Marie Curie
After visiting the Pantheon, we headed to Rue Raspian and cut through Luxembourg Garden. We happened upon a high school band from Michigan setting up to play. They performed at the 70th anniversary of D Day and played the same music they had played at Normandy. It was very moving and well done.
Horn section
Percussion section
Color guard
Band members that told us about their trip to Normandy
We continued throught Luxembourg, which reminded me of Central Park, but more formal.
Luxembourg Garden
Organized beds at Luxembourg
Long view of Luxembourg
We eventually made it to Rue Raspian market. There was so much packed into a 2-3 block strip!
This city has great dogs!
We had lunch at L’escritoire, a Rick Steves recommended restaurant. We really enjoyed the setting on a plaza by the Sorbonne. It was very quiet and peaceful. I had a salad, with all the ingredients from the Auvergne area of France and Don had a club sandwich.
L’escritoire near the Sorbonne
Our nice waiter took this picture.
That evening we watched the performers on the foot bridge between Ile St Louis and Ile de la Cite. This duo was especially good and playing along the banks of the Seine. It must have been quite an undertaking to get a piano to the river’s edge!
Piano and sax on the Seine
Tomorrow, Cluny Museum!
Today we explored more street markets and saw the Pompidou Center. On our way to the Montorgueil market, which our landlord Pascal recommended, we just happened upon this very small, local market.
Local market
No tourists here, just neighborhood Parisians out shopping for produce. We bought a roasted chicken and had it for a light dinner.
Roasted market chicken
Heading to Montorgueil, we passed a couple of women. One had a beautiful cocker spaniel. We see a lot of cockers here. She told us he had seen the Queen. So happens, Queen Elizabeth was in Paris today, having attended D Day ceremonies in Normandy on Friday. So, you’re looking at Bobeau, a dog who has seen the Queen. That’s as close as I’ll get to seeing her, I’m sure!
Bobeau and his family
Bobeau is special. He has seen the Queen.
Then we headed to the market on Montorgueil. It consists mainly of cafes and smaller stores selling cheese, bread and pastries. As usual, people brought their four legged family members. Another reason I love Paris is because Parisians love dogs!
Cumberland spaniel on market day
Lap dog with a newspaper blanket
We made another attempt to eat at Cafe Breizh, only to get there and find out that reservations are required on Saturday. We were offered a table, but told we had to finish our meal in 35 minutes, which we declined and headed back to Ile Saint Louis, where we had lunch at another creperie just across from Cafe Med.
While Don rested I headed to the George Pompidou Center, a modern art museum. It’s a stand out structure, as there is nothing even closely resembling it in Paris. I’m not a big fan of modern art, but thought these were interesting.
Pompidou Center
A chair attached to the wall. Yes, that’s modern art. Okey dokey……
We finished the evening having coffee at one of the sidewalk cafes on Ile Saint Louis, where we are becoming regulars.
Tomorrow, another market and Luxembourg Garden!
This was Carolyn and Mark’s last day in Paris. We decided to head to Montmarte and see Sacre-Coeur, located on the highest point in the city at 420 feet. It was a spectacular cloudless day, with highs in the low 80’s – a perfect day to see the view of Paris from Sacre-Coeur.
First, we met Carolyn and Mark at their hotel. While we waited we had coffee at Cafe Leonard, across the street. This day was the 70th anniversary of D Day and Don was reading a French newspaper that covered the events for that day at Normandy, where we had visited last week.
Reading about D Day in a French newspaper
Carolyn wanted to ride the bus to Sacre-Coeur, so that was an incentive for me to map our trip on the bus lines. We had been riding the metro or subway, which is easy to figure out. The bus line map doesn’t show exactly where bus stops are located or which street they’re on, so it’s much more challenging to figure out a journey. This one required two transfers. We did it successfully, but it took about an hour and a half to get there. It was also crowded and hot. None of the buses are air conditioned. We learned a lot and decided to stick to the metro. A bus is a good way to see the city, though, but better on a cooler day.
We finally arrived at Sacre-Coeur. According to “Rick Steves Paris 2014” guidebook, it was finished in 1919 by Parisians humiliated by German invaders. The Prussian army seized Paris in 1870 and things were so bad that the people were hunting dogs, cats and rats for food. France’s Catholics raised money to build the church as a “praise the Lord anyway” gesture. It took 44 years to build.
Sacre-Coeur bathed in sunlight
Sacre-Coeur with fantastic view in background
The whole gang at Sacre-Coeur
After seeing the church we meandered the back streets of the Montmarte area, which is very charming. There are hardly any tourists once you get a few blocks from the church. We ate at L’Ete en Pente Douce, a restaurant recommended by Rick Steves. The quiche was the best I have ever had – very light and fluffy.
The best quiche!
Both Mark and Don had the chef salad
Carolyn’s cheese and apple platter
Refueled and ready to head downhill
Carolyn’s fabric pick
I liked the bright plaids.
One of dozens of fabric shops in this three block strip in Montmarte
To wrap up the day, we had some drinks at a sidewalk cafe before saying good bye to our good friends from Texas. It was great having them here for the week!
Au revoir Carolyn and Mark!
lindafogg 