Paris - More Sites & Food!

We had a few additional days in Paris is see more sites, shop and eat. Mid week we moved to our second Airbnb which was in the Marais area - which is in the 3rd arrondissement - and one of my favorite areas. It’s very close to fun restaurants, boutiques, the Picasso Museum and has a real neighborhood local feel to it. This Airbnb was the same one I stayed in over the recent Christmas holiday so I knew it would be great. If you’re staying in the same city for more than 3 or 4 days I highly recommend switching lodging to get perspective on another area - even though I know it’s nice to settle in and feel comfortable. Push yourself for a new adventure!

I’ll start with food since that’s always an area everyone is interested in seeing. A new Airbnb means find a new boulangerie for breakfast. Done! Right around the corner was Chez Manon and they had an amazing spread of choices to start our day. We also wanted to try crepes so found a good spot over in St Germain (6th arrondissement) for lunch where for 8 euros you got a savory crepe, sweet crepe and drink. We took that deal! And you shouldn’t leave Paris without trying at least a few macarons from either Laduree or Hermès - vanilla and pistachio for me. 

We ate at Fulvio on my last trip and it sounded like another great idea. The owner swears it’s the best Italian in Paris and right now I would have to agree.

We shared the burrata appetizer and I can’t remember what kind of pasta dishes we had but they were both great! And the wine list is hand written in a little notebook. I love that!

A great lunch one day over in the Rue Cler area which is not far from the Eiffel Tower. There is a street called Rue Cler and on a nice day it’s a great little walk that has so many cute local shops with all the things you need and want to buy on a daily basis - wine, cheese, chocolate, bread etc. Unfortunately when we were starting the walk we got hailed on! So instead we made a mad dash for the restaurant we had picked for lunch. Oh well......next time.

A smoked salmon salad with white asparagus for Julie and my favorite French chicken and a potato in some kind of a pastry encasement. We did sit outside even though it was raining. Those awnings and heaters make it possible.

And our final night we checked out a recommendation from my friend Kim for Chez Janou in the Marais. We were surprised to get in without a reservation but were so happy - the food was wonderful and it was so cute. Forget what they say about French waiters being stuffy, these people were super nice and fun. 

We shared amazing mussels for an appetizer - then scallops and risotto for Julie and Sea Bass with mashed potato for me. Yumm!

A highlight of our stay in Paris for me was to finally make it to the Marmottan Museum. This museum is not covered on the Museum Pass, not in a touristy area of Paris, but totally worth the effort to get there if you are a fan of Claude Monet. It houses the best collection of his work with over 100 pieces including Impression Sunrise which began the Impressionist movement. I loved every minute!

The Marmottan housed in a beautiful mansion on the southwest fringe of urban Paris.

Another beautiful area to see is the Luxembourg Garden located in the St Germain area. It’s a 60 acre park dotted with fountains, statues and the Luxembourg Palace where the French Senate meets. Also an interesting side note the French Secret Service is headquartered underneath the gardens. Who knew? 

Luxembourg Palace

Parisians love to hang out in the gardens and even though it was a little chilly we saw lots of locals. The sailboats are for kids to rent and sail in the large pool behind the palace. They are not remote controlled. They push them with a long stick. 

Julie needs to take that new little grandson back to Paris to sail one of these boats!

And we did do a little shopping. It’s never the first thing on my list but I’m up for an hour or two here or there. 

A famous American bookstore on the left bank. A meeting place for Hemingway, James Joyce, George Bernard Shaw, Gertrude Stein and Ezra Pound. Worth a stop for sure!

An Hermès store. This is the inside. Interesting! And very expensive.

Printemps. A large department with fairly affordable prices.

My favorite is Galleries Lafayette. It has an incredible Tiffany ceiling, great restaurants and fun fashions. When I was there over Christmas they had a big Christmas tree that has now been replaced by a huge trampoline that people enter from the 4th level. No thanks!

That’s it for my time in Paris! We saw, we ate and we walked. I’m never ready to leave Paris and this time was no exception. But I was also really looking forward to exploring Belgium and that’s where we were headed. 

Gare Du Nord one of 6 large train stations in Paris and where our fast train to Brussels was leaving from. 

Whoops! Forgot to post this from the Marmottan! I can’t get enough Monet!

Top left is the painting that started the Impressionist movement - Sunrise.  

Check back soon to read about our adventures in Belgium - the land of waffles, fries, beer and chocolate😊 And some pretty cool other stuff!

Normandy

My favorite genre of reading is World War 2 historical fiction. So visiting the Normandy area to see for myself some of the key spots that changed the world almost exactly 75 years ago this June 6th seemed like a wonderful idea. When I approached Julie about it during a trip planning discussion she was all for it, and told me that in fact her dad was a medic in WW2 and landed on Omaha Beach 2 days after D Day. My dad also served in WW2 but spent his time fighting in Italy. So we were both excited about it and I started researching our best option for making it happen. We really wanted to make it a one day trip so renting a car seemed like a huge hassle and taking the train would take too long plus we would need to hire a guide once we got there, so I started looking at day trip options from Paris. I have had good success with a company called Viator and they offered a multitude of options to help us accomplish our goal. I have found it best to pay a little more and go with a small group versus a larger group on a big bus. I searched through many options carefully reading exactly what the trip included and read the reviews posted by customers and found one that was closest to what we wanted to do. It was going to be an early start out of Paris and a pretty long day but the reviews were good. Let me just say right now it exceeded our expectations. When I booked the tour it said we would have a maximum of 8 people in the group plus the guide, but when we met up at the assigned place it was just Julie and I and one other couple from the US - almost like a private tour! And our guide couldn’t have been better. His name was Fabrice and he spoke excellent English, could answer any question posed and was clearly committed to make sure our trip was as pleasant as possible. We all got in his very clean SUV and headed out of Paris. There was no traffic since it was 6:30 in the morning and Fabrice said that would guarantee us an early arrival to Normandy and help us beat the crowds. With the upcoming 75th Anniversary of D Day he said it has been busier than normal plus with the events being planned around the date there will be closures of the key areas for security reasons - so our timing to get there was great. This could be the last big anniversary where people that were there are alive to attend, so therefore it’s a bigger event than normal. Makes sense.

I haven’t ever really left Paris so was kind of surprised how quickly we were out of the city and into beautiful rolling countryside. The highway was in excellent condition and Fabrice said we would stop about halfway through our drive at a gas station to stretch our legs and get a snack if we wanted. Since Julie and I were getting desperate for coffee and a croissant that sounded great, especially when he assured us that the gas stations along the highway are very clean and nice with excellent food. The drive from Paris to Normandy is roughly 2 and a half to 3 hours depending on traffic.  

We saw lots of beautiful canola fields the whole way to Normandy. Canola as in canola oil. Two harvests - one in June and one in September. Beautiful but Fabrice said right before harvest they smell horrible! Who knew?

Totally correct on the gas station stop. My cappuccino and croissant were as good as in Paris! Our first stop was at Pointe du Hoc, where the US Rangers succeeded in achieving the incredible exploit of scaling the cliffs in mere minutes despite the very slippery rock face, wet ropes and the enemy fire from the very powerful artillery the Germans had in place there, after being transported to the site in barges. 

Point du Hoc

We were actually seeing Pointe du Hoc from the vantage point the Germans had, and I was amazed at how intact the site still is 75 years later. Also at the level of infrastructure that the Germans had built. The guide said the Germans had been creating this fortress for over 2 years with forced labor from the locals, which helped explain how detailed the buildings and artillery areas were. He also said that the locals did their very best to make it look like they were building things according to the design but in fact make the construction as shoddy as possible. 

Top left - a lunar like landscape, Top right - the Blockhouse where there was a gun, ammunition’s storage and a tiered structure which helped prevent from shrapnel, Bottom left - looking out from where the gun was set, Bottom right - another shelter. 

The memorial on the edge of the cliff symbolizes the dagger the Rangers stabbed into the German Atlantic Wall defenses.

Top right is basically a gun turntable. Allowed them to move the gun and shoot at a wider range. 

Next we headed to Omaha Beach but passed what was the original first American cemetery before they built what is now the permanent American cemetery. It was jarring to see the stone monument commemorating the site right in the backyard of a home. The guide explained that there was a lot of discussion about how to handle people returning to their towns and homes after the war, and still pay respect to the thousands of people - French, American, Canadian and British that had lost their lives there. It was decided that they would preserve the areas of most importance but that the reason for the war was to maintain freedom and that to not allow life to return for the locals would in fact be an injustice to the many that gave their life for freedom.

First American Cemetery 

We were able to walk on Omaha Beach. We were there late morning and it appeared to me that the tide was pretty high, as the beach was pretty small from water to the end of the sand. There is a large memorial on the beach. I had never watched the movie “Saving Private Ryan” because while I like to read historical fiction actually seeing movies about war is not of interest to me. But prior to making this trip I was told repeatedly that I absolutely HAD to watch it, so I forced myself to watch the whole movie. I was especially convinced when in one of the history books I was reading it specifically stated that that movie is a very factual depiction of what actually happened on June 6, 1944. So after seeing that and reading about the events it was kind of a surreal experience to actually be there. And yes it absolutely made me teary. The bravery of those men is beyond my comprehension. Still mind boggling to understand how they were successful in what clearly appeared to be impossible. They saved the world - that’s pretty much what I believe.

Omaha Beach Memorial

Our next stop was the American Cemetery. It was dedicated in 1956 and encompasses 172.5 acres. There are 9,380 buried and 1,557 Missing In Action that are acknowledged on the Wall of the Missing Memorial. It is maintained by the US Government, and they do an amazing job. 

Bottom left is a chapel, Bottom right is the memorial. 

The memorial consists of a semicircular colonnade with a loggia at each end containing large maps of military operations. The center bronze statue is called “Spirit of American Youth Rising From the Waves.”

One of the inscriptions on the wall of the chapel. 

As you walk past the Statue in the memorial you come to the Wall of the Missing where all the names are inscribed. There were lots of people, mostly Americans and lots of Veterans at the cemetery but it was very quiet. 

Our guide then took us to a nice little local restaurant where we had lunch, and then on to a fairly small local museum. The guide explained that all the museums are locally owned basically just by people who have collected things, so it was somewhat interesting seeing tanks, uniforms, an actual replica of the barges that brought in the troops and other memorabilia.  

Bottom right is an American tank.  

Our last stop was in the town of Arromanches which was part of Gold Beach (a British landing zone) just really to stretch our legs and buy a few souvenirs. It has a cute waterfront and sea wall. 

Lots of Americans around. We met lots of people from Oklahoma, Nebraska, Indiana etc.  

We headed back to Paris and made it back in time to have a glass of wine and watch the sun set on the Seine.

Julie and I both were so glad we took this little excursion up to Normandy, but you could definitely make it a 3 or 4 day stop if you want a more in depth experience seeing all of the D Day beaches and towns. Plus another great place I’ve heard to visit in that general vicinity is Mont St-Michel, and I do hope to get there on my next trip. But if you only have one day this post is meant to help you accomplish that goal, and it’s well worth your time.  

Thanks for coming along! One more Paris post coming with some of the other things we did and ate in Paris. Check back soon! 

Paris Museums

Can you go to Paris and skip all the museums? Of course you can but I doubt if I ever will. It’s one of the reasons I love Paris so much, along with the great food, quaint streets and fun shopping. If you are going to see museums I strongly recommend you purchase the Museum Pass. You can purchase a 2 day pass for 48 Euros, 4 day for 62 Euros, or 6 day for 74 Euros. I usually buy the 2 day pass right at the airport when I’m buying my train ticket, and it isn’t activated until you go to your first Museum. There are at least 30 sites covered by the pass, and if you’re planning on seeing at least 4 on the list you are already money ahead. The other thing it saves you is time. Without the pass you usually have to wait in two lines everywhere you go. A line to buy your ticket and then a line for admittance through security. If you already have the pass many times you can just walk in through security and that is almost always the shorter line. You need to be strategic once you activate your pass to maximize its use - research ahead of time when the museums you want to see are open, the hours they are open because some have evening hours certain days, and also location so you’re grouping museums that are close to each other together. 

In addition to the museums that I love in Paris I also love getting up and having coffee and a pastry at the neighborhood patisserie or boulangerie. What’s the difference? A patisserie specializes in pastry and a boulangerie specializes in bread. But a boulangerie will also have croissants because that is considered a bread. A very delicious bread. And you rarely have to walk more than a block to find one. We had a great one right at the end of our street. 

An artisan Boulanger means it is baked on the premises. Eric Kayser won a contest in France for the best bread! And has three locations in New York City called Madison Kayser and numerous spots in Paris called Eric Kayser. Almond croissant for me and chocolate for Julie. What a great start to our day!

First stop Musee de l’Orangerie - perhaps my most favorite museum in Paris. It’s located right at Place de la Concorde and the Tuileries. The museum was built specifically to showcase 8 of Monet’s Water Lilies. That alone is reason enough to visit, but the lower level has well over 100 Impressionist paintings that are not to be missed. 

Two rooms each housing 4 Water Lilies. You feel like you’re actually in the water! 

You can easily spend a few hours there, but now we’re heading across The Seine to visit the Musee d’Orsay - another favorite of mine. This museum houses French art of the 1800’s and early 1900’s picking up where the Louvre’s art collection leaves off. The building is a renovated train station and it’s absolutely stunning.

You find locks on most all the bridges that cross the Seine. Locks of Love! Except the bridges don’t love them. Too heavy so periodically they are removed. 

A spectacular ceiling - and incredible paintings and furniture.  

We had worked up an appetite so we headed just down the street to find a restaurant. It’s not hard to find delicious food in Paris and sure enough just a block or two away we decided to give Mucha Cafe a try. It had started to rain so we opted to eat inside, although even in the rain often the French opt for dining Al Fresco. (there are still lots of smokers there so that may be why).

Nicoise salad for Julie and chicken and salad for me. And wine😊 

We had one more museum on our list for the day so headed to Musee Rodin. I had never been to Rodin and I wasn’t disappointed. If you’re pressed for time just focus on the garden. The house is interesting but the garden is where the majority of his most famous pieces are located. 

Bottom right is the very famous Thinker. There are 29 other authorized copies of this statue so you might have seen one of those in another museum. Bottom left is The Burghers of Calais, 6 city fathers trudging to their execution. The facial expressions are incredible.

We felt the need to check out one of the famous department stores next so off to Bon Marche we went. Bon Marche means inexpensive, but that is not really the case anymore. It’s the oldest department store in Paris and has a gorgeous atrium. We browsed a bit and landed in the cafe for tea and dessert. Sorry I forgot to take a picture but as I recall it was a delicious slice of chocolate banana bread. 

Bon Marche. Located in the 6th Arrondissement. Lots of great shops in the area.

We browsed a bit, not sure if Julie made a purchase but I know I didn’t, and then started working our way back to the apartment looking for a spot to have dinner. Julie really wanted to eat outside and even though it was a little chilly almost all the restaurants have outside heaters, so we picked Cafe Belloy. She was waiting for a FaceTime call from her son and daughter in law to do a gender reveal across the ocean - so sitting outside and taking that call seemed like the best plan.  

We had stopped at a children’s boutique after lunch and Julie bought  a pair of pink baby socks and a pair of blue - so she would be covered either way. Blue it is! A salmon pizza for Julie and another Croque Monsieur for me. I ordered a salad and they brought what appeared to be an entire head of lettuce! And wine😊

That was the end of our first day with the museum pass. Three places is decent and we had 4 on our list for day 2 of our passes. 

First stop the next day was brunch. We slept in a bit to recover from the time change and headed to my favorite breakfast/brunch restaurant on the Ile St Louis, the smaller of the two islands in the Seine River. Notre Dame is on the other larger island called Ile de la Cite. The Cafe St Regis is very close to Notre Dame, and appears to have been in business forever. The waiters wear long white aprons and the food is excellent.

Eggs Benedict for Julie and omelette for me. Excellent coffee too.

We had to at least walk by Notre Dame so Julie could see it. Makes me so sad but I know they will rebuild. You can’t get very close to it as there is lots of scaffolding. They are still quite concerned about the flying buttresses on the right side not being very stable, so of course taking every precaution. Lots of people there to see it and take pictures. 

It could have been so much worse so glad to see it’s still standing. 

We were off to Saint-Chapelle! This is a must see site if you are in Paris. A Gothic church built in the 13th century to house the Crown of Thorns. (The Crown Of Thorns is now kept at Notre Dame and with the fire currently at the Louvre) The stained glass windows on the second floor just take your breath away with over 1,100 Bible scenes.

There are guides available in various languages to help you decipher the windows. Or you can just enjoy them especially on a sunny day (which we did not have) but beautiful with any weather. 

We had to at least make a stop in the Louvre. Julie had to see the Mona Lisa and a couple of the other destination pieces. While I’ve been to the Louvre a number of times I haven’t really checked out many other areas so this time made a point to find out if they had any pieces by the artist Caravaggio. He was an Italian painter from the 1500’s and I’m a big fan of his work. Lo and behold they have three of his paintings so we found them and I was excited about that.

Top left - Winged Victory, Top right - Mona and her paparazzi, Bottom left - Venus de Milo and Julie (goddesses of love) and Bottom right - just one of many beautiful ceilings in the Louvre.

One of the Caravaggio paintings.

Next we are on to Napoleons Tomb. They just had a big exhibit about Napoleon here in Kansas City at the art museum, so I was compelled to stop at the tomb. The building is beautiful and our US Capital is modeled after it. It started to rain quite hard so I wasn’t able to take a good picture of the outside. I had been there before and it’s usually pretty quiet, so was surprised when we arrived to see a huge crowd of people entering. They kept pouring in, and it became apparent that they were all locals and didn’t speak much English. We were quite confused. I kept trying to find out what was going on but all people would say is Napoleon! Well we all know he’s in the tomb so finally I found someone who in very broken English told me that it was the anniversary of his death and there was going to be a ceremony with his descendants in attendance. So we stayed and it was quite a show. Lots of military and pomp and circumstance. A bonus event!

You look down through the rotunda onto the tomb and it’s huge. Inside the tomb is an oak coffin, then an ebony coffin, two lead coffins, then mahogany and finally tinplate. And then Napoleon!

The building also houses several other tombs of his family members. 

The rotunda ceiling is gorgeous.

We had several restaurants on our list but discovered that many are closed in Paris on Sunday - good for them! We just walked around and checked out menus of those that were open and ended up having a very nice meal but there was scaffolding on the building so I can’t even tell you the name.

It is white asparagus season and it was on every menu. So we opted to share that as an appetizer and it was excellent. Then a steak for Julie and Cod with lots of green beans for me. We shared a slice of apple tart for dessert. And wine😊 

Our last stop on our last day of the museum pass was to walk up to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. We purposely wanted to do it in the evening to see the lights. Plus it is a lot less crowded at night so we got right in. I had never gotten to do this on my previous visits so I was excited. The walk up isn’t that tough. Another spiral staircase which we were getting very used to, and 284 steps to the top.   

You can walk 360 degrees around the entire top so a great view of the entire city. Seeing the Eiffel Tower twinkle on the hour never gets old. Top right is the Champs-Elysees.

On the second day we made 4 stops with the museum pass so definitely got our moneys worth. We had some rain but nothing that deterred us from our plan, and the evening view was spectacular. Another great couple of days in Paris! Check back soon because I have lots more to share😊

Paris - Montmartre and Eiffel Tower

I divide travel into three parts - planning the trip, taking the trip, and recapping the trip with my blog. I really enjoy each part so I’m excited to get to relive it all while sharing it with you here! I just returned from about two weeks in Europe - Paris (again!), the Normandy area and Belgium. I traveled with my good friend Julie, and it was her first time in each of these places. We had a wonderful time in spite of less than perfect weather, and got along great. We have similar interests, energy levels and eating and sleeping habits - all super important when traveling together. We planned to be in France half the time, so ended up staying in two different Airbnb’s. That worked out really well because I picked two entirely different areas of the city which gave us a chance to get to know two areas better than if we had spent the entire time in one spot. Highly recommend this if you’re traveling for at least 6 or 7 days in one place. We stayed first in the 16th arrondissement which is right by the Arc De Triomphe and then moved to the Marais which is in the 3rd. They both turned out to be excellent - exactly what we expected, very clean and no problems at all. 

Most flights arriving in Paris from the US arrive early in the morning, and if you’re staying in an Airbnb or VRBO this can present a problem with your luggage. Usually you can’t check into your accommodations until later in the day, so what do you do with your luggage? I always travel light - just a carryon and a personal item, but it’s still more than you can comfortably deal with especially in light of the world we live in now where there are security checks even entering department stores. So I started looking into our options for our arrival day - so that we wouldn’t lose a day of site seeing sitting in a cafe waiting to get into our apartment. I found a great service that worked our perfectly! It is called Eelway, and it’s kind of like Uber for luggage. We arranged for one of their staff to meet us at the airport in Paris right in the terminal, they sealed our luggage with a tamper proof cord and we were on our way into Paris. You can even have them store your luggage for multiple days, but we scheduled delivery to our Airbnb between 5 and 6PM - or rather 17 to 18😊 Their website says they are available in other major cities but everything I read referenced Paris but worth checking into as it worked out great. Their website is www.eelway.com They have a nice live chat option that I found to be very helpful and they willingly answered all my questions in real time. 

Off to Paris! I’m a huge fan of the public transportation system in Paris. It’s cheap and so efficient. We bought our tickets for the RER and it dropped us off really close to the area we were starting in which was Montmartre. Since the fire at Notre Dame I thought the Sacré-Cœur which is a beautiful white basilica situated on the highest point in Paris would give Julie a similar view as from the towers of Notre Dame. But first we must stop for coffee and croissants! 

I love the sign in the window! All the coffee and croissants in France are great! Still true!

Previously I hadn’t spent much time in Montmartre. It’s a bit out of the central area of Paris and known for its cabaret nightlife and bohemian artists. The crown jewel is definitely Sacré Cœur and worth the climb up all those stairs to get there. Sacré Cœur is only 130 years old so fairly new by European standards - but still very impressive.

The church itself is free but it’s 6 euros to climb up to the dome. Worth it!

The line to climb to the dome was pretty short so we made that our first stop. It was the first of many spiral staircases we encountered in both France and Belgium.  

A great view of the Eiffel Tower! 

Next we took the metro to Place de la Concorde, the cities largest square and the start of the Champs-Elysées. The transportation system in Paris is the best I’ve ever seen. It’s so well marked and easy to navigate we easily got from one area to another quickly and cheaply. My recommendation is to buy a carnet which is 10 tickets. You can divide them up between multiple people and only costs 14.90 euros so roughly 1.50 per ride. And Google maps or Apple maps will tell you exactly how to get where you’re going. Sweet! We didn’t get lost once.

We walked down the Champs-Elysées and I pointed out the various sites to Julie. One thing I couldn’t explain was why there was a huge line of people standing outside the Louis Vuitton store and it looked like it was going to rain any minute.  

We’re going to charge you a lot of money but first we’re going to make you stand out in the rain and wait a long time before we take your money. Really people? Pretty sure you can just order online!

The rain held off and it actually started to clear up. Yeah! The whole time we were in Paris it was unseasonably chilly and rainy, but we discovered that Paris is always beautiful- even in the rain. And it didn’t stop us from doing everything we wanted - and even eating outside! Our next stop was the Arc de Triomphe. In my opinion it’s best to see the area under the Arc during the day, but come back and go to the top at night when you can see the city all lit up, so that’s what we did. Climbing to the top is included in the Museum Pass and since we weren’t ready to activate our passes we’ll save that for another day. So much history in the Arc.

I never travel without Rick Steves. Sometimes it gets a little heavy but worth it. Rick tells you everything you need to know about the details of the Arc.

Our first Airbnb was just a few blocks from the Arc so we decided to check it out. It was super cute, clean and easy to find. The owner had left us some info on recommendations for food so since we were starving we headed down the street to have our first French meal. Croque Monsieur with salad please. And a nice glass of local wine.

Make that 2! Le Touring! Delicious!

We made it back to the apartment right on time for our luggage delivery from Eelway. That worked out so great! What to do with our first night in Paris? Head to the Eiffel Tower! I tried to buy tickets in advance for the Eiffel Tower, but that proved to be challenging. They open up the dates randomly and even though I was stalking the website everyday when it finally opened up for the dates we would be there, between 11 PM and 7 AM all the tickets for the entire month of May were sold out. Seriously?! I suspect the tour companies get the inside track on when the site will open and they buy up all the tickets and then sell them for 4 times the cost as part of a tour. Just guessing! So since it was starting to get cloudy we decided to give it a shot since Rick Steves says if it rains the lines for same day tickets dwindle rapidly, and he’s pretty much never wrong. This worked perfectly and before we knew it we were up in the Eiffel Tower! I have been up in it twice before but it’s been awhile, and for me it’s always a thrill. I think the graceful metal curves which give it an appearance of lightness are just beautiful. And from any angle.

Our view from Place du Trocadero. Many would say the perfect vantage point. 

The Eiffel Tower was built for the World Expo in 1889 and was for decades the tallest structure in the world. While that is not still the case it is still the most visited monument and offers an incredible view of Paris. The best view is actually not from the highest point because all you can see then are the roofs. The second level is really the better view.  

That’s a great view of Montmartre and Sacré Cœur! 

Who says you can’t improve on perfection? In the year 2000 for the millennium they added twinkling lights to the Eiffel Tower, and when it’s dark exactly on the hour the Tower twinkles in silver and gold for 5 minutes. It’s incredible! So our last stop was to the Peninsula Hotel for a drink on the roof to watch the Tower twinkle. It was the worst glass of wine I’ve ever had for the ungodly cost of 26 euros but worth it for the view.

We don’t look too bad for being up for like 36 hours! 

A great first day. Check back for post #2 soon😊 

Kansas City is the coolest!

Well I’ve been saying that for awhile, but now you can see for yourself by watching Season 3 of Queer Eye on Netflix. What a great feel good show! The entire Season 3 was shot in Kansas City, and much of it right in my neighborhood. Prior to this season I had never watched the show, but then it’s all everyone is talking about here so I binge watched the whole season, and it was so good I think I will watch the first two seasons shot in Atlanta. I’m adding group hug from the Fab 5 to my bucket list. I love them all! 

Tan, Antoni and Jonathon riding the bus in KC.  

Outside of my little trip to NYC in February you might be wondering what I’ve been up to. Well I’ve been enjoying much of what KC has to offer, which currently is a lot! At least a lot of what I love. Museums, theater, restaurants, coffee shops, and catching up with all my great friends! Plus I’ve been doing a little free lance work for a friend of mine in the bookkeeping/accounting area. More spending money is almost always a good thing right? And for me that means more money for my travel budget!  After being gone for almost half of 2018 I was looking forward to letting my passport cool a little and reacquainting myself with my own city - but now it’s almost time for me to get back on the road and in the air!

So just a sampling of all the fun I’ve been having in Kansas City, and even if you don’t live here I really encourage you to get out in your own town and support the things you love and want to make sure will continue to be available. 

Food! 

Ragazza has finally re-opened in their new space. One of my favorite restaurants in KC and they have been closed for 6 months moving and renovating a new larger space. Incredible Italian food and right on the corner of Main and 43rd. Reservations necessary. Welcome back!

Another spot that is more casual that has quickly become a favorite is Parlor. Best description I have heard for it is an upscale food court. Located at 17th and Locust in the East Crossroads it is two levels with a huge bar on each level, 6 awesome unique restaurants, and lots of cool areas to visit with friends and watch sports etc. Open from 11 AM till late so give it a try! 

Lots of healthy options too! 

I love a good crepe and Seven Swans even makes vegan options. Really a food truck but for the winter was located in a warehouse Thursday to Sunday. This is their last weekend in the warehouse because thank goodness it looks like spring is here. Look for them when you see foodtrucks and give it a try!

Lastly I’ll highlight the opening on the Plaza of True Food Kitchen. It just opened 2 days ago so I have a reservation to eat there tomorrow night, but I have eaten at the one in Phoenix. I have been so looking forward to their opening here as it is a restaurant focused on healthy delicious food - much of it plant based. Since the start of the new year I have been following a predominantly plant based diet and I feel great, but sometimes eating out can be a little challenging so this will be a welcome addition to the food scene here. 

Museums! 

The museum scene is strong in Kansas City, so I had some catching up to do. The fantastic Nelson Atkins Museum of Art hosted an incredible special exhibit of Napoleons riches. I saw it three times! 

So sorry if you missed it. It’s on its way back to France now. 

The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art has a cool exhibit currently by Polly Apfelbaum that is bright and fun. And as always totally free.

I didn’t really understand it but it just made me happy to see it. 

I finally made it to the Thomas Hart Benton Home and Studio located on Belleview. Considered to be one of the great American painters he was born in Neosho MO and trained in New York. He moved to KC in 1935 and lived and painted here till the day he died in 1975. His home was given to the state by his heirs and you can tour the home and studio for $5. Everything is totally as he left it the day he died. 

Thomas Hart Benton was the first artist ever to appear on the cover of Time Magazine.  

I love the Missouri Repertory Theater and went to see both shows they have done so far this year, Pride and Prejudice and School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play. Both excellent! If you’ve never been to the MO Rep you are missing out. Professional theater at an affordable cost. 

In addition to seeing more great ballet and symphony then I deserve by ushering at the Kauffman Center, a group of my good friends and I had a fabulous time hearing the symphony and enjoying wine together a fun night in January. Luckily there was no blizzard that night so everyone was able to attend. 

Cheers! 

A special treat for me - my kids got me tickets to Cirque du Soleil Crystal when it was here in Kansas City. I love any and all Cirque du Soleil shows and this one was all on ice! Fantastic! Thanks Tom, Keeley, Matt and Anna!

Last but not least lots of stops at fun coffeeshops! And every once in a while I go rogue from my plant based diet and have a special treat! Mildred’s is my current favorite spot. 

I can never remember what this little nugget of deliciousness is called but it’s great!  

I have a few more weeks to keep enjoying the sweet life in KC and then I’m dusting off my passport and taking off! Check back soon!