Tuesday, May 3rd - Paris day 7

 Well, it's been a really long day of exploring and tonight my feet and legs are feeling everyone one of the 20,000 plus steps I did today! My fitbit at one point told me I'd been active for 9 hours. Yep, seems about right, and we were still out walking!

We were up early to get down to some serious sight seeing. I had booked us a hop on - hop off boat tour on the Seinne. We found our way to the river via a stop at Notre Dame. I showed Patti and Meghan the beautiful garden on the opposite bank from the cathedral, only to learn it was the same area where we had toured the Christmas market back in December. I had absolutely no idea it was the same space. 

Across from Notre Dame is a very famous book store called Shakespeare and Company, an English bookstore. I guess I'd forgotten an important fact about it until Patti reminded me. Back in the days that Julia Child first came to Paris she was wanting to learn to cook french food but couldn't find any french recipe books written in English. She would come here frequently in search of something she could learn from. It's a really interesting old shop that seems to go on forever. If you purchase something, they stamp the inside with a label that it's from their store. 

I looked at several things but ended up finding a huge book on French Patisserie. The thing weighs a ton and Patti very graciously volunteered to carry it around for me for the rest of the day. I'm looking forward to going home and trying my hand at some of the recipes. They look amazing.

Once we were done there, it was onward to the boat. We got on at the Notre Dame stop and got off at the Muse d'Orsay, that I had tried to visit on Sunday when things were closed. 

We had a specific time to visit the museum and we were early so we walked around to find somewhere to have some lunch. We settled on one of the many little restaurants and sat at a little table outside in the sun. Very french! Meg ordered a caesar salad that came loaded with large pieces of really tasty chicken and big chunky pieces of walnuts. It was delicious. Patti ordered a salad with ham and grilled goat cheese on top, equally delicious. I was thrilled to see carpaccio on the menu. It came with paper thin slices of beef arranged in a circle around the plate and topped with a beautiful salad. Also very delicious. Of course a large basket of bread accompanied everything.

Now that our energy level had been recharged, it was off to the museum. We had purchased our tickets early online so we didn't have to wait very long to get in but the line to purchase tickets was quite long.

I'm the first to admit I know absolutely nothing about art, but I'm picking up bits and pieces from Meghan as she's studying all the great artists in school.

After soaking in as much as we could, we got back onto the boat and floated down the river to the Eiffel Tower. We toured around there so Meghan could get the obligatory photos, as this was her first time to visit Paris.

Then it was off to find the right trains to get us back home. But first another stop to get something to eat for dinner. This time Patti ordered Salmon, which she really enjoyed, Meghan had a steak that came with the most amazing roasted tiny potatoes, and I was once again doing the very french thing and ordered the beef tartar. Two of my most favorite beef dishes in one day was just too amazing. It came with a small salad and some really great fries. 

The french really do know what to do with a potato. Just over a block or so from the restaurant was a gluten free bakery so we had picked up some things there for Meg to have when we got home. 

We had determined that it wasn't very far to get home so we opted to walk instead of taking the metro. After the meal I'd just eaten, that was a good choice. I've been amazed at the size of the portions. I expected them to be much smaller so we certainly got our euro's worth at each meal.

Finally arrived home, having taken a bit of a scenic route, tired but happy. It had been an amazing day for all. 

Tomorrow, off to Versailles...

Sunday, May 1st - Paris day 5 - aka May day aka labour day in Paris so everything is closed!

 I thought I had a great plan for today. It's the first Sunday of the month and entrance to the museums is free. I hoped to visit two of them - Musee d'Orsay and the Orangerie, both quite close to the Louvre.

I left here with written directions in hand that were retrieved off of Google maps. Usually this works but not so much today. I failed to make note of which bus I was to take after coming out of the metro. Ended up going the wrong way a couple of times but I did eventually make it to my destination.

There were dozens of people milling about but the doors were all locked. No signs or anything to indicate just why that was, and of course we were all tourists and most didn't speak french. Finally a young woman standing close to me looked up online what the issue was, only to inform us that it was indeed a public holiday. I guess if you live there, you already know that!

But the outside area is quite the sight to see as well. Next time.

I then walked over to the Orangerie, which is another museum on the same grounds as the Louvre. 

The walk there takes you over the river  and another bridge, but this one was loaded with the locks. There is even someone positioned on the bridge selling locks. The idea is to put both your names on the lock and then throw the key into the river. I can't begin to imagine how much metal is sitting at the bottom of the waterway.

On the opposite bank of the river, you enter the gardens at the Louvre. What a beautiful spot. There were loads of people out and about enjoying the area.  There are even ample chairs along the way for folks to just sit and relax and people watch.

 Leaving the grounds around the Louvre, is something  I did the other day on my walking tour. But this time I came out at a different exit. I was looking for the metro station I took last time but made a wrong turn (seemed to be the theme for the day!)

While I wasn't on des Champs - Elysees, you would have thought it was close by. When Patti and I were here in December we walked down there and saw all the high end shops. Apparently  I ended up on another one of those streets.

I found it interesting that the shops (which were all closed for the day) had beautiful window displays. In the corner of the windows were little signs listing the prices of each item. 

I'm guessing it's to keep the riff raff like us, out. As they say, if you have to ask the price, you can't afford it.  Saves all of us some from looking downright silly.

From there I found my way back to the metro and back to my starting point. I got off at the stop before my usual one, that brings you out to a lovely huge square. 

It was packed with people, lively music and the smell of various ethnic foods wafting through the air. Various groups were there looking for support for various causes. It was a very festive atmosphere and everyone seemed to be enjoying the day.  What a great sight to happen upon by accident.

After touring around there, I headed home. Time to sit back and put my feet up and enjoy a beverage. 

The rest of my afternoon was pretty low key. Started reading a new book and did some tidying up as company's coming tomorrow!   Patti and Meghan should be landing at the airport around 8:30 in the morning. ✈

Saturday, April 30th - Paris Day 4

 I have to admit, today was a pretty quiet day. 

There's a really large ( I mean REALLY large) flea market on the outskirts of the city. They have over 2,000 vendors. It only runs Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Unfortunately Patti and Meghan aren't going to get here till Monday morning. But this flea market has been on Patti's radar for quite some time so she has bravely suggested that she will power through when she gets here and we will take the Metro out to said location.

I had read that there was another one but much smaller somewhere in the city that only runs on Saturday and Sunday. So I found out the location and determined how to get there and off I went (after my coffee and croissant, of course). 

They say this one is very small but it seemed to just go on forever taking over the sidewalk areas of many, many blocks. I never did get to the end of it before I'd had enough. They had just about anything you could possibly imagine. I did find the prices to be very steep though. I asked about a couple of small items I saw and both were the same price, although different vendors. It appears that 30 euros is the starting point for pretty much anything. Needless to say I didn't buy much. But it was a lovely sunny day and it was great to be outdoors (although you did need a jacket this morning)

By the time I returned home it was after lunch. The sun had warmed up my balcony so I was able to sit out there and have something to eat.  Then I finished up the last few pages of a book I was reading and it was time for a little nap.

Later in the afternoon I made a trip out to check up on the location of another grocery store. I've now visited all 3 local ones and have my favorite. I was also out of wine so I needed to replenish my stock. I went all out this time. The bottle I bought this time round was 3 euros and 75 cents. The last one I purchased was 2 euros and 95 cents and I have to say I really enjoyed it. 

Nothing else to add tonight. My steps for today are not so great - at this point I'm only at 9,248. I should really go for one last spin around the block but it's almost 9:00 as I'm writing this so it's just starting to get a little dusk outside so best to stay put.