Bruges!

If Disney’s Epcot added Belgium to their World Showcase I’m pretty sure it would be modeled after Bruges. That’s because Bruges is an extremely well preserved Gothic city that is entirely delightful from the minute you arrive. And the tourist area is less than one square mile and contained within a canal that is actually a former moat, making it literally impossible to get lost.  

We took a one hour train ride from Brussels and from the minute we left the train were treated to amazing architecture, canals and beautiful parks. 

From the train station we headed toward Market Square which was an easy 15 minute walk. Our first destination was the Bell Tower which overlooks the market. We waited in line about 30 or 40 minutes to get to buy a ticket to walk up the 366 steps past the bells to the tower, as they only allow a small number of people in at a time. As soon as we got our tickets and started the climb it became very clear why. The stairway is circular (because all stairways in Europe are circular) and so narrow it was definitely a one way route. If someone was coming down you had to flatten yourself against the wall and let them squeeze by you. So it was a bit of a slow go both ways, but a nice view of town from the top.  

Top left is a view straight up of the Bell Tower. Bottom right is a picture of the carillon bell system which was actually under repair when we visited, so we didn’t get to hear the concert which typically plays frequently. Other two pictures are of the view from the tower. 

We hadn’t really eaten breakfast since we discovered the coffee shops all open fairly late as compared to the US - some as late as 9AM, so headed to our restaurant of choice to see if we could have lunch. Lucky for us we scored a table without a reservation, but it was a really small place and once the tables were full everyone else was turned away. As I look back on all the great meals we had on the entire trip I would have to say this spot might have been my number one favorite! Took it right out of a recommendation from Rick Steves book on Belgium so thanks again Rick! A big thumbs up to Bistro den Amand! 

Julie had fettuccine with asparagus and shrimp. I had a vegetarian plate with hot and cold veggies and a mushroom protein patty that was phenomenal and not anything I have ever seen in the US.  The waiter described it as like tofu but made from mushrooms. The top right picture was of the little snacks that they brought us before the meal that were complimentary, and something we got in every restaurant we ate at in Belgium - a nice extra!

After lunch we did Rick Steves walking tour of Bruges. We hit all the main spots but decided to pass on a couple of museums since we just had one day and there were other things we wanted to see. 

City Hall on Burg Square. 

Pictures along the city walk. Canals, bridges, music, lots of people watching at sidewalk cafes. Every day must be a holiday in Bruges! 

We made a visit inside the Basilica of the Holy Blood. The entrance was tucked into a corner of the square and didn’t look like much until we got inside. Built in 1150 to house what they say are real drops of Christ’s blood we were shocked to get inside and actually get to see the vial up close. There was a line of people and a priest up on an altar holding the vial and we each got to file past and get a close look. Now that’s not something that happens every day! No pictures were allowed but pretty sure I won’t forget it.

The church was very ornate and the pulpit really caught my eye. It was carved from a single massive oak tree and was attached right to the wall.

Next stop was the Church of Our Lady. It is a beautiful Catholic Church that is most famous for the statue of the Madonna and Child by Michelangelo. It is said to be the only statue by Michelangelo to leave Italy in the artist’s lifetime. He worked on it at the same time he was chiseling his masterpiece David. 

A pretty walk over bridges to get to the church. 

Time for coffee or in my case hot chocolate on the square! 

We were energized after our caffeine drinks so decided to take another walk through a more residential area and hopefully get to the moat where supposedly there were a couple of real windmills.

Made it! I love all the beautiful buildings - some so narrow you can almost stretch your arms from one end to the other like the one in the middle top left.  

We walked back to town and stopped to pick up chocolates at Dumon which supposedly has the smoothest, creamiest chocolates in all of Bruges. Handmade daily by the owner Nathalie Dumon. 

Yep that’s Nathalie! She was a sweetheart and proud of her chocolates!

We had planned ahead and made a dinner reservation at another of Rick Steves suggested restaurants and were so glad we did. The restaurants are small and if they have a reservation at 8 PM for a table they won’t seat someone there before, because they don’t expect you to eat quickly and leave, and they would never try to rush you through your meal. So civilized and people really seem to slow down and enjoy each other’s company and the dining experience- noted! Bistro in den Wittenkop was excellent!

Both Julie and I had the sea bass and mashed potatoes. They brought us something before complimentary to snack on but don’t know exactly what it was. Some kind of a fish fritter in a delicious sauce. Such a nice touch!

Time to head back to the train station and our apartment in Brussels. What a great day! If you get a chance to go to Bruges DO IT!!! Next post - Antwerp😊

Belgium - First Stop Brussels!

 When most people think of Europe I don’t think Belgium is the first place that comes to mind. It’s a small country wedged in between France, Germany and the Netherlands, and is mainly known for beer, chocolate and French fries. And maybe lace! I was committed to seeing, doing and eating as much as possible in 5 days. It’s a very diverse country - in Brussels the main language spoken is French, while in the north it’s Dutch - with a good amount of Flemish which is the Belgian version of Dutch. Luckily for us lots of English spoken as well. Because of its location it has been a battleground all the way back to medieval times so lots of history, but also a definite feeling of embracing new trends. 

We based ourselves in Brussels because it is such a small country, from my research I knew that we could get anywhere on the train in an hour or less, and not having to schlep even our small amount of luggage around on the train seemed like a good idea. The train from Paris was excellent and fast. We took a Thalys train which is a private company and I was familiar with from my recent trip to Italy. It should have taken just an hour and a half direct from Paris, and took just a bit longer due to some kind of a delay, but all in all a cost effective, efficient and pleasant way to get to Brussels.

Made it to Brussels! 

Brussels is not just the capital of Belgium, but the headquarters of NATO and the seat of the European Union. It’s a great mix of old and new. It’s even divided into the Lower (Old) Town and the Upper (Upper crust area surrounding the Royal Palace and the EU) Town. Our Airbnb was perfectly located right where the two meet! And just two short blocks from the Central train station. This fact along with the great reviews as far as cleanliness, comfortable bed, quiet and amenities plus the really reasonable cost were all the reasons we chose it. 

Top left - our view of the Place Royale, Right - the street in front of our apartment, Bottom left - super cool wall art on the side of our building.

Rather then a minute by minute reconstruction of our days I’m just going to highlight some of the significant things we did in Brussels. In my opinion part of the real charm was walking through lots of fascinating and quirky neighborhoods, so we spent a considerable amount of time doing just that. It’s an easy city to navigate around, and we walked everywhere. 

Grand Place. Main square in the heart of Old Town. Always crowded and lots of places to eat and people watch. Impossible to get a picture that does it justice. Really beautiful old historic building with lots of statues that appear to be talking to each other. 

Lots going on in the Grand Place always. 

European Parliament - not in session but free audio guide tour after going through a screening process similar to getting on a plane. You must have your passport or drivers license to gain entry. No advance reservations but worth seeing for sure.  

St Michael’s Cathedral - a classic Gothic church build between 1200 and 1500. Bottom left is an incredible carved pulpit of Adam and Eve. Where royal weddings and funerals take place.

The Royal Museums Of Fine Arts. We spent Mother’s Day afternoon here and other than being with my children I can’t think of a better afternoon. Really amazing art with pieces by Bosch, Memling, Bruegel, Rubens and Rembrandt to name a few. Lovely!

The Mannekin-Pis, the mascot of Brussels. Yes it’s a 17th century statue of a little boy peeing. Sometimes he is wearing clothes which are sent to him from all over the world, and in fact are then housed in a museum dedicated to him. We didn’t hit the museum, got to save a few things for next time but this is serious stuff! His image is all over town and greatly loved.  

Moving on to food - and now might be a good time to go get a snack. This is guaranteed to make you hungry because we tried everything. And the food was amazing! 

La Villette - cheese croquettes for appetizer, lamb for Julie and cod and veggies for me. There’s the Mannekin-Pis on the sign!

Restaurant La Maree - Mussels for appetizer (that was one order split between the two of us!) Cod and frites for Julie, Monkfish with veggies for me. 

Lots of great coffee shops and saw many more really healthy choices then you might see in other countries. This place was called Tich and Julie had porridge with fruit and toast with almond butter and fruit for me. Great coffee and a super cool space. Maybe the only day I didn’t have a croissant! 

Mother’s Day brunch at Le Pain Quotidien. We have them in the US but not in as cool a space as this one was. And the original locations were in Belgium so they consider it a local restaurant. We ate in the garden and it was wonderful, and if Julie wants a bowl of coffee as big as her head she can have it!

Stopped at a cool coffee shop to share a dessert. Lots to choose from but we didn’t regret our choice. There are lots of awesome new coffee shops so I liked the fact that this one had been there forever. Really reminded me of the coffee shops in Vienna. 

Waffles! Where they have been making them since 1829. There are actually two different kinds of waffles sold. Julie went with the traditional square Brussels waffle with caramel and whipped cream. I tried the Liege-style waffle which is much denser and sweet. Just a dusting of powdered sugar was enough. Both delicious! You can buy them all over to go but we wanted them fresh and hot. 

Frites! They really are better because they are fried twice - once to cook them and the second time to brown them. And lots of dipping sauces but the mayo is tradition. Yumm!

So much chocolate! To say that every other door is a chocolate shop is not an exaggeration. We ate it, we brought it home, and we loved it! I’m sure the locals debate the merits of each like people in KC debate barbecue and people in Chicago debate pizza. It’s all great!

The missing category is beer. Belgium has more varieties and brands of beer than any other country - and they take it very seriously. Unfortunately neither Julie or I are beer drinkers, so can’t report back on that. So sorry! 

Last category worth mentioning is shopping! I’m not a big shopper but there were some unique categories in Belgium. For one - housewares. Who knew the Belgians were such homebodies?  

Our favorite! I bought knife holders to bring home. I didn’t even know what knife holders were before I saw them at this shop. Then I had to have them. Everything was adorable and really reasonable.

So many beautiful lace shops - much of it handmade. Looks like Julie found a few things she had to have. Such an incredibly intricate art form.

Galleries Royale St Hubert. Built in 1847 Europe’s oldest still-operating shopping mall. A gorgeous glass ceiling that inspired other galleries in Paris and London. No chain stores in here! Instead very expensive items that are typically made on the premises like hats, gloves, umbrellas etc. and food. We stopped for coffee and a waffle snack.  

Well that’s is for our time in Brussels! Next up Bruges. Check back soon and thanks for coming along😊 

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😊