Day 22 - Giverny💕

I have wanted to see Giverny for years - so saying today was a dream come true is so accurate. I love the Impressionists and Claude Monet is my absolute favorite, so one of the things I wanted to do more than anything with having the extended time in Paris was to take the train out to see the home and gardens where he painted so profusely. With the weather forecast being for rain every day I finally decided that I was going rain or shine as my days to do it are running out. Monet painted in all weather conditions so surely it would be beautiful even in the rain right?

I left the hotel at 7:30 and caught the Metro to the Gare St Lazare station where the trains to Normandy leave from, and was on the 8:19 to Vernon easily. It turned out to be a gorgeous day! Sunny and just a slight chill in the air. From my research I know it’s a mob scene there May through August, so while October might not be quite as lush it wasn’t crowded at all. It was spectacular and I took at least 100 pictures. Luckily for you I’m not going to post them all. But if you want more just email me and I’ll be happy to share with you.

Your admission ticket gives you full access to his home and both gardens. Monet first planted the Walled Garden in front of his home with a profusion of gorgeous flowers and trellis’s, and then added the Water Garden across the street accessed by an underground walkway.

Monet home which is quite large.

Walled Garden

Arches which are full of roses in season. Still beautiful even in the fall.

Water Garden with the water lilies. Japanese bridge at the far end.

Bottom left the boats he painted so often.

From inside the home. Top and bottom on the left the views of the walled garden from windows. How beautiful to see from inside the home. All the rooms were painted wonderful colors - just like the beautiful colors in the paintings! It made me so happy!

I was lucky to stay for a few hours enjoying the beauty and then headed back via bus to the town of Vernon where the train to Paris picks you up. Vernon isn’t very large but it’s a pretty typical town in Normandy and I had time to eat lunch and walk a bit.

Found this great boulangerie/patisserie where it seemed every person that lived there was in line for a baguette. Bought a ham and cheese sandwich that was huge and delicious and ate every bite. Unfortunately I didn’t leave room for an amazing pastry of which they had many. Poor planning☹️

In my walk around the historic area I came across Collegiate Church Norte Dame and stopped inside. The church dates back to the 14th century and had some original stained glass and an amazing organ.

Bottom left the organ. I was treated to music by someone practicing - bonus!

The house across the street from the church called The House of Past Times because it’s one of the oldest houses in Vernon and was spared the bombing of World War Two. The corner post is decorated with a carving of the Annunciation where the Angel Gabriel announced the coming of Christ to the Virgin Mary.

The House of Past Times.

Back to Paris via train and met up with Julie for an amazing dinner at Le Bistrot Paul Bert. Both Julie and I had heard of it as it was recommended because Anthony Bourdain featured it on one of his shows. It did not disappoint. We both had the prix fixe option which is common in Paris for dinner - a set price for a starter, entree and dessert. The menu is on a chalkboard only as it changes every day based on what they get that is the freshest. We both had the tomato salad to start which was incredible, brill fish with spinach for the entree, and custard with caramel sauce for Julie and Grand Mariner soufflé for me. We shared the desserts and both agreed the soufflé was exquisite!

What a fantastic meal!

I had to get a close up of the soufflé. Can one ever see too many pictures of dessert?

I will remember this day forever💕 Thanks for coming along!

Day 21 - Raining in Paris

What do you do in Paris when it rains? Exactly what you were planning! Rain doesn’t stop anyone or anything here - you just go. We planned a pretty relaxing day as we’ve been keeping ourselves on the go and covering a lot of ground. Raincoat ✅ Umbrella✅ Off we go!

We started walking down toward the Seine with a potential destination of the Louvre and the Tuileries. We browsed in shops and got a little shopping done - never a terrible idea in Paris. There are so many great shops for anyone and everything. I’m not a big shopper but it was fun.

I love this picture! Another example of the old and the new totally working.

We stopped for lunch at a cute cafe called La Favorite that had been recommended to us and it was wonderful. It was right across the street from a beautiful church I had been in over my Christmas trip where we heard a wonderful holiday concert of Vivaldi.

Eglise Saint Paul Saint Louis

Avocado toast for Julie and a Croque Madame for me. Delicious!

We sat at the cafe for awhile and just people watched. Lots of great umbrellas and we discussed whether or not you can tell a lot about a person based on their umbrella😊

Time to move on so we headed over to see the Louvre. No plans to go inside but such a beautiful building.

With the rain it wasn’t that busy outside so I had to jump up on one of the boxes and do it😊

We meandered down through the Tuileries which are gorgeous gardens that sit between the Louvre and Place de la Concorde. With all the rain Paris has been having the flowers are still gorgeous and the grass is so green!

The Tuileries

The day we arrived in Paris a new sculpture was unveiled in the Garden of the Petit Palace which is an art gallery along the Champs-Elysees. It is a gift from the American artist Jeff Koons that is meant to symbolize love as a tribute to the 130 people that were killed in the November 2015 terror attacks and bombings that occurred here. The sculpture is 40 feet high and we found it. It’s supposed to be tulips but looks more like marshmallows to me, but still cool. The hand is unbelievably realistic looking.

Jeff Koons Tulip sculpture in the garden of the Petit Palace.

The Arc de Triomph. So iconic.

Planning a BiG day for tomorrow so that’s it for now! Check back soon😊

Day 20 - New Places in Paris

Another beautiful day in Paris! We had tickets for Atelier Des Lumières which is new and comes highly recommended. It is described as an immersive experience blending art, music and technology. Kind of a museum where you stand and it comes to you. It was similar technology to the event we went to at the Popes Palace in Avignon. The current exhibition is on Van Gogh so right up my alley having just visited Arles, and a cool Japanese exhibit. It was recommended to get tickets in advance on line as it routinely sells out and the website says they don’t sell tickets onsite. Located in the 11th arrondissement. These seem to be the new thing so something similar might be coming soon to your city so check it out!

Top right picture gives an idea of the screens all around you and one image melting into another. Very cool!

We headed to the Rue Cler area which is in the 7th arrondissement via Metro, and found a great cafe to have a light lunch. Rue Cler is considered to be the most famous market street in Paris with great little cheese shops, patisseries, boulangeries, restaurants and clothing shops. Also quite close to the Eiffel Tower.

Niçoise salad for me and a Caesar for Julie. We can’t stop eating the never ending bread basket!

Is it really a trip to Paris unless you at least visit the Eiffel Tower? So that’s what we did. We had no intention of going up as we’ve both done it a couple of times and good thing because since it was a beautiful day the lines were huge. The best place to get a perfect picture of the Eiffel Tower is from Place du Trocadero right across the river. We saw no less then 4 bridal couples taking pictures there and it was a Monday!

It never gets old!

We took the train quite a ways out of the main area of Paris to visit the new Foundation Louis Vuitton Museum. Totally mind blowing! It opened in 2014 after years of construction and the building alone is worth the price of admission. They have different exhibits to display a wide array of cultural experiences, and the current exhibit is on Charlotte Perriand. Born in 1903 she was way ahead of her time. Architecture, painting, sculpture, photography- her goal was was to profoundly improve daily life. She has a new fan in me. If you are going to Paris I really think this is a must see!

Foundation Louis Vuitton Museum. What does it look like to you?

Top left - view of the old from the new. Bottom right - an amazing waterfall that flows into pools around the base of the building.

Does this seem like Paris to you? A view of the modern area from the Frank Gehry roof - spectacular! 📷 credit to Julie!

I’m going to keep coming back to Paris until I’ve eaten at every one of these!

Finished our day with a great meal at Chez Janou. Sea bass for me and scallops with risotto for Julie. We resisted dessert - a first!

Loving every day here! Pinch me💕

Day 19 - Sunny Paris

A beautiful day in Paris! Finally the sun came out after our first couple of cloudy days here, and since it was Sunday the streets were full of families enjoying the day. So many adorable kids on scooters!😊

First up we headed to the Pompidou Center. That’s a huge Modern Art Museum here in an inside-out awesome building. The good news is that a number of the museums here are free entry the first Sunday of the month - including the Pompidou. The bad news is that the lines to get in are quite long- but we were patient and made it in in 45 minutes. Worth it!

I love the juxtaposition of the very old and very new across from each other. Pompidou on the left, Old Paris on the right.

The front of the Pompidou. Bottom left - Picasso. Lots of great interesting art inside.

Next up lunch at a cute place in the Marais.

Best quiche I’ve ever had!

Something that has been on my list to visit here but never had the time to get to is the Pere Lachaise Cemetery. It’s in the 11th arrondissement so a bit away from the central historic core most visitors spend their time in, but is the permanent home to over 70,000 Parisians including many famous ones. So we hopped on the Metro and headed there to find some of the famous graves. Is it weird to say a cemetery was awesome? I thought it was! It’s surrounded by this cool stone wall and has cobblestone walkways between the numbered districts. Lots of beautiful trees, park benches, a chapel and crematorium. They have a large listing of the “famous” people buried there, and it’s kind of like a scavenger hunt to find them in the 100 acre cemetery. They are still “accepting” new residents, but I can’t imagine where, as the graves are right on top of each other. But we did see new ones wedged in so it is possible.

One of the main entrances.

Most of the gravestones were huge! Top left just one example of what we saw. Quite dramatic! Bottom right one of the new modern additions.

One of the most famous and sought out graves is Jim Morrison of the Doors. There is a fence around his site but people obviously jump over it to leave their gifts. Note the whisky bottle and half filled glass!

Lots of gifts for Chopin too.

The Impressionist artist Seurat.

Many cobblestone walkways. Lots of people there but still so peaceful.

We took our time walking back from the cemetery and enjoyed the nice weather. Another action packed day coming up so check back soon!

Day 18 - More Paris!

Have I mentioned that I love Paris? I pinch myself every time I’m here that’s it’s real. Walking the streets and looking at all the amazing and historic buildings never gets old. We are here for 8 days and since Julie and I have both been here a number of times and seen all the most popular sites like the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Versailles etc - our goal is to see the things we haven’t seen that you just can’t fit in on a 3 or even 4 day visit. And my personal goal is to slow down and enjoy more of the delicious food - which means taking the time to make dinner reservations at the great small local restaurants versus just grabbing a bite at a brasserie or cafe when I’m hungry. Those places are fun too and sitting outside offers wonderful people watching. So we have a plan for our time here but we’re keeping our options open and staying flexible.

In Nice, Avignon and Lyon we stayed in Airbnb’s, but in Paris we are in a small boutique hotel in the Marais. A nice benefit of being in a hotel is that breakfast is included, but since one of my favorite things in France is starting the day with a cappuccino and great croissant that I normally run out to the neighborhood boulangerie to pick up, I was apprehensive that it would be a disappointment. So you can imagine my delight when I came down to the breakfast the first morning and saw an incredible array of amazing items including perfect croissants and a coffee machine I would cut off my arm to have in my loft! The coffee machine first grinds the beans and then makes whatever you want. Espresso, cappuccino, latte, you can add extra hot milk, an extra shot of espresso etc. Fresh squeezed orange juice is also very big in France so they have a machine that does that as well. Meats, cheeses, muffins, regular croissants, chocolate croissants, even macarons - because it’s never too early to start eating cookies here😊

Good morning Paris!

Our hotel is conveniently less then a block away from 2 different Metro trains which makes it so easy for us to get anywhere in the city. Paris has one of the best if not the best public transportation systems in Europe, and as Rick Steves says - learn to use it! Plus it’s really inexpensive. Best to buy a carnet which is 10 individual tickets each good for a ride on a bus or the metro train. Easy to share with a companion as the tickets are all individual. Costs about 15 euros which makes each ride about 1.5 euros. If you buy the tickets individually they are 1.9 euros. So much cheaper then Uber or a taxi and much faster to get where you want.

Our first stop was the Cluny Museum. The Cluny is Middle Ages art in a very cool very old building in the 6th arrondissement that was a Roman bathhouse. It contains fine goldsmithing and ivory carvings from the 13th century along with stained glass windows from Saint-Chapelle and exquisite tapestries. Part of the museum is under renovation so it only cost 5 euros for entry and was well worth it.

Bottom left was from a collection of what they call caskets. Amazing handmade wooden boxes that had secret compartments in the lid. Many had beautiful art work decorating the insides. Middle pic is stained glass from Sainte-Chapelle.

From a set of 6 tapestries called “Lady and the Unicorn”

Next up a little shopping. We headed in the direction of one of the most beautiful department stores called Galleries Lafayette. Along the way we just happened to walk past Norte Dame and Saints-Chapelle, and I realized I had never seen Sainte-Chapelle from the outside. I’ve been inside a number of times to see the beautiful stained glass, but always been in such a hurry to get to the next site had never looked up to see the outside. It is surrounded by other buildings so you have to be in just the right spot to see it. The beauty of having extra time😊

Sainte-Chapelle is a Must See when in Paris!

Galleries Lafayette is a huge gorgeous department store that you could spend an entire day exploring. I’m not a huge shopper but it’s fun to browse, grab a delicious meal in their great cafeteria, and people watch.

The most beautiful Tiffany glass ceiling is over the enormous cosmetic department, and they added a clear walkway accessible from the 3rd floor to walk into the center of the dome and have a perfect view up and down. The line is quite long to do it as they only allow so many people on it at a time. They have bars, coffee shops and dessert places on every floor. Herme macaron anyone? I’ll take a caramel!

Next up after a stop at the hotel to freshen up - dinner at Cafe Des Musees. Suggested by a friend I had made dinner reservations here and it was as good as the recommendation. I can’t even tell you the last time I had beef to eat, but the menu said they had the best beef bourguignon in Paris - so we had to try it. Amazing! And the mashed potatoes were to die for. We called them whipped butter with a little potatoes thrown in - because that’s how they tasted. It was so warm and inviting inside, and the staff was so friendly and helpful. Don’t believe it when someone tells you the French are not friendly. We have had the total opposite experience.

The dessert tray was all so tempting we couldn’t decide. The 4 French people at the table next to us willingly gave us their opinion. Another example of how friendly the French really are😊

And the winner is…….lemon meringue to share! Magnifique!

A leisurely walk back to the hotel and another great day in the books. Pinch me! I’m really here💕