Last full day in Paris, May 14

Today was another beautiful day - sunny and in the low 70s. Michael went out for pastries this morning and Mark and Barbara took a walk to get some Euros from the ATM. (The bank had locked our account by accident). The rate of exchange is so good that we want to take Euros home.

On our walk along the Left Bank

From there, we walked to Shakespeare and Company, a wonderful English language bookstore set in an old monastery from the 1600s. It is full of quirky, beamed rooms with reading areas and floor to ceiling with books. And a resident cat. 

Michael and Nancy also took a walk in the direction of the Pantheon.

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We all met at the St. Regis, a trip down Memory Lane for us as we ate there twice on our last visit here, once with Becky Cavanaugh and her baby. AIt was rather expensive as it's right in the thick of tourist central. Mark and Barbara had duck in a red sauce; Michael had French onion soup and Nancy had mushroom risotto. 

At the St Regis on Ile St. Louis

Then we all walked on the Ile St Louis doing some last-minute shopping. 

Mark and Barbara went back to the flat earlier than Mike and Nancy to do the on-line COVID tests. It was a little stressful with the technology, but it all worked well. Whew. Then we had the stress of not being able to download the boarding passes. We waited for 2 hours+ for Delta to call and then they were not able to solve it either. So, we went to bed hoping that we'd get them in the morning. But, we enjoyed our evening with Mike and Nancy with some paté. 

Tuileries, Shopping, Walking, May 13

We started the day, as usual, getting a baguette at Huré, a bakery in our neighborhood. It's an incredible 1.3 Euros, and so good.

Nancy and Mark sitting by a pond at the Tuileries

Tuileries

We got on the Metro at the Hotel de Ville and got off at the Tuileries. It was another gorgeous sunny day with temperatures in the high 60s, but it felt so much warmer. We strolled down memory lane with our visits here. We remembered Jecca on her first visit pushing a sailboat at the pond and falling in - quite traumatic for her at the time. We saw no evidence that sailboats are rented anymore - maybe in the summer. 

Happy Caffe for crepes and coffee

We walked to the Happy Caffe which Michael and Mark found as a good place to get crepes. We all had vegetarian crepes - spinach, tomatoes, cheese and an egg. We all really enjoyed them a lot and the waiter (maybe owner) was incredibly nice - he brought us all a free hot chocolate at the end of the meal. He is French-Indian.

We then walked back to the Tuileries and continued up to the Place de la Concorde where there a good views of the obelisk, the Arch de Triumph and the Eiffel Tower. From there, Michael and Nancy took off separately.

Joan of Arc

Obelisk with the Arch de Triumph in the background

We worked our way back toward the Marais in a kind of circuitous route choosing to avoid the big boulevardes and crowds. We took a few rests along the way as it was quite a long walk in the sun. We stopped for some gelato and a little sit-down. Miraculously, we upon the sock store and Barbara bought another pair of the cotton socks and picked up another pair of the pink silk socks that Nancy wanted. At that point, we racked up another 6 mile day.

The river views charmed us every day

Looking up toward the Opera

May 12 - Picasso, Claudia, Shopping

  

Maya Picasso by her father, Pabloe

 We started the day by walking into the Marais to the Picasso Museum. Nancy parted with the three of us there as she wanted to have some time to shop. Mark, Michael and Barbara spent about an hour and a half in the Picasso Museum. The museum is mostly the work that Picasso did when he lived near Cannes in a villa called La Californie. There was also an exhibit of his painting of his daughter, Maya, as well as some of her art work.

The building was interesting in itself. It was a house built around 1656 for a man who became rich collecting the gabelle or salt tax. It is considered to be on of the finest historic houses in the Marais.

At La Glue in Claudia's neighborhood

Claudia lives to the side of the Museum and her windows look down into the park there. She met us at the Museum. Michael took off to meet up with Nancy and we went with Claudia to a local restaurant, Le Glou. It was fantastic. We all started with a delicious fennel, arugala and orange salad in a creamy yogurt dressing. Mark had steak on a cauliflower puree and Swiss chard. Claudia and Barbara had hake also with a cauliflower puree. So so good. Mark vows to make the salad when we get home.

Then we went down the Rue de Vieille Temple and, amazingly, Michael and Nancy happened upon us sitting have a gelato on a bench. Nancy had tried on a dress she really wanted and was convinced to go back and buy it. It is a gorgeous, flowing, green dress, perfect for an upcoming birthday party in Miami. It is really a one of a kind. Then we all walked home together, first stopping to buy some sock. Nancy got some silk blends, Barbara got a pair of mostly cotton ones and Mark bought a pair, too.

Every evening, people gather for the sunset

Mark and Mike later went to get some Vietnamese food on the Right Bank and brought it home. 

We walked over 5 miles - again!

A Day with Claudia, May 11

  Today we tried a new bakery, Hulé in our neighborhood.  

At 11:00 we met Claudia Butler at Le Flor en L'ile on the Ile St Louis where we all had coffees. Then we walked via the Pantheon to Le Cafe de la Nouvelle Mairie.

It was a lovely French restaurant. We started with white asparagus with crushed pistachios. Barbara had a gazpacho. Mark and Michael both had sausages with lentils. And, Barbara and Nancy had white fish in a cream sauce. It was all very delicious.           

Claudia has been here for several months after doing a short course in perfumery in Grasse. She has an apartment in Paris near the Picasso Museum. She seems so happy here.

Wonderful lunch! Claudia in the reflection

After lunch we walked to the Luxembourg Gardens and shortly thereafter, Claudia went a separate way. We all walked down Boulevarde St Michel to the river doing a little window shopping and a little food shopping (Monoprix) along the way. 

Luxembourg Gardens

Later, we all walked to the BHV department store. Mike and Nancy stayed and Mark and Barbara left, not being very interested in shopping, especially with carry-on luggage to think about. We walked around the Ile St Louis and found where we rented 4 years ago and read the plaques about the people who have lived there from Marie Curie to Georges Pompidou.

Sunset over the Seine

Then we sat on a bench on a bridge and waited over an hour for the sun to set. It was very relaxing. Mike and Nancy went to the Eiffel Tower to see the sunset and to see it lit up. They took the Metro back.

May 10, Musee d'Orsay

   Michael and Barbara went for the morning's pastry at La Parisienne and got a bit lost en route, but found the bakery. 

Ile St. Louis

   We got on the Metro at the St. Michael stop and went to the Musee d'Orsay where we had tickets for 11:30.

What a wonderful museum. But, it was crowded which was a little alarming with Covid worries not behind us. We all kept our masks on, but lots of people did not.

   The couples split up and met for lunch at the Cafe on the fifth floor where we had a decent meal - Caesar salads, quiche for one of us and pasta for another. 

    We all enjoyed the Van Gogh exhibit a lot as well as all the Impressionists. So many Manets, Monets, Renoirs, Cezannes. Too many to list, but just wonderful and made better with the audio guide.

   We left at 4:30, so it was a very full day. Then we too the Metro back and walked over to the Ile St Louis and sat down at a cafe for some famous Bertillon ice cream. We had - salted carmel, dark chocolate and pistachio.  Then, we took our weary, but happy, bodies back to the flat around 7 p.m. 

Berthillon Ice Creams!

First full day in Paris, May 9

    

Salad at P'tit Bistro

Nancy, Michael and Barbara at Le P'tit Bistro

What a gorgeous and warm day today was! Mark and I went out to a bakery for pastries and baguettes in the morning. Michael and Nancy slept later because they are recovering from their journey. 

View from our room! 

    We had a leisurely day to get our bearings and let them acclimate. We walked to the other end of the Ile de la Cité and, from there, walked to a restaurant that Mark found, Le P'tit Bistro in the Marais area. The waiter moved tables and chairs so that we didn't have to sit in the sun. Nancy and Barbara had Salade Parisienne; Mark and Michael had hamburgers. From there, we strolled on the Rue de Rivoli past the Hotel de Ville and then sat for quite a while in a square by the Hotel de Nice and had coffee. (Expensive coffees, but we sat there for a long time and it was very relaxing.) Then we strolled back. We walked over 3 miles.

  Then - back for a rest!

  Mike and Nancy went out to catch the sunset; Mark and Barbara stayed in and got to bed early to read. Mike and Nancy got some French onion soup before coming back to the

Notre Dame under reconstruction

On our Balcony! 21 Quai aux Fleurs

Inside the apartment