We%26#39;re in the home stretch...
Thursday (June 29th) was our Louvre day. Really, this wasn%26#39;t high on my list of things to see, but it%26#39;s almost like you MUST go to the Louvre if you%26#39;re in Paris. We arrived there fairly early in the morning - about 9:30 and it took less than 5 minutes to get through the security check at the Pyramid entrance. I was pleasantly surprised. As many others do, we decided to hit the %26quot;Big 3%26quot; first, then pick one other area that we wanted to see as well. Up first, Winged Victory. I really like this sculpture a lot. Because of that, it was destined that the half dozen pictures I took of it all came out blurry. Of course I didn%26#39;t realize that until after the fact. The Mona Lisa was up next and it actually wasn%26#39;t that crowded and I was able to get up close - no pictures though. We just spent a minute there, then it was off to find the Venus de Milo. We did perusse some of the other artwork in the Denon wing on our way there. It was a little to God heavy for me. I can only take so many pictures of baby Jesus. I really liked the Venus de Milo sculpture as well, and of course that%26#39;s why both pictures that I took of it came out blurry. Oh well....
After that we decided to pick one other area to check out so we went to the Egyptian area. They definitely had a lot of beautiful artifacts. We also found our way to the Middle Ages area and checked out some castle remnants. We didn%26#39;t stay at the Louvre too long, mainly because we knew that there was just too much to see, and just the thought of it was exhausting to us. After a few hours we ventured out into the Tulieries (sp?) and had a picnic with baguette sandwiches next to one of the fountains and engaged in our favorite activity - people watching. After an hour or so, we lined up for ice cream. My husband wanted melon sorbet like he had gotten there a few days earlier, but alas, they had no melon so he had to settle for chocolate again.
We took a long stroll around the gardens and then headed down into a tunnel which I thought may somehow lead us to a metro. To my pleasant surprise we found the shopping mall! I won%26#39;t bore you with specific details, but two hours later we emerged from the mall with many bags of wonderful stuff. At this point we had to go back to our apartment and drop off all of our goodies. On the way there, we stopped at a bakery on our street to pick up a baguette for a snack. They were temporarily sold out and we were told that it would be a couple of minutes. Boy, was it worth the wait. More baguettes came out and they were wonderful and hot, right out of the oven. We practically ran the rest of the way home to grab the butter and start eating. So good. That%26#39;s really all I can say. There aren%26#39;t sufficient words to describe how good fresh baguettes are (those and pain chocolat - SO GOOD!).
So, after our baguette break it was off to the Rodin museum. Unfortunately, we were a little pressed for time and arrived there only about an hour before closing. Still, we were able to stroll through the house (which needs a bit of TLC) and see some wonderful sculptures. Then we took a walk through the garden. This was not as enjoyable as it could have been since they were setting up for some private event. They had the center of the garden roped off and were stacking wine glasses up. It looked like it was going to be quite the party. I think it had something to do with polo (the sport) because I saw a couple of poster type things with polo players on them. Nonetheless, the gardens are really beautiful and make an excellent picnic spot. Since things were starting to close down we headed for the exit.
On the way back home we stopped on Rue Cler to pick up some items for our picnic dinner on the Champ du Mars. We got some wonderful pesto ravioli and one other antipasto type dish. We stopped at another place and picked up a rotisserie chicken and some fruit. That and a bottle of red wine and we were good to go. Our picnic started out well, but then it the midst we were nearly overtaken by the pigeons. They have no fear whatsoever. The annoying people sitting near us decided that it would be fun for them to feed the pigeons so there were about 500 of them swarming around. After the feeding frenzy ended, we could relax again and enjoy the sights. The wine did us in a little bit so we called it an early night and headed back to our apartment.
Friday was more shopping and Monmarte day. We spent the morning walking around our neighborhood and Rue Cler buying little goodies for ourselves and friends. Oliviers %26amp; Co. on Rue Cler is a really nice shop and we got several nice gifts there. After dropping off our haul, we jumped on the metro and headed to Monmarte. We got there just fine and headed towards the funicular, since there was no way we%26#39;d be able to walk the entire way up the hill. And yes, we were accosted by men who wanted to tie a string on us or whatever. We politely waved them off and didn%26#39;t have a problem. Once at the top, I was really stunned by Sacre Coeur. The sky was bright blue that day and the place was practically glowing. We walked around inside, and really, this is one of the most beautiful churches I%26#39;ve been in. It was amazing. We went outside and decided to take a stroll around the neighborhood to take in the sights. Now, this was like running the guantlet. I swear, we were approached by at least a dozen peddlers, artists, weirdos cutting paper and everything else within a half block walk. It was really off putting. After a while, it really felt like harassment. Anyhow, we managed to make it through without buying anything, then looked hard for quiet streets with no peddlers on them so that we could have a nice walk. Fortunately, we did manage to find that, although it took a little while. After that, we picked up some post cards and decided to mail them at La Poste that was next to the metro stop. I have to say, mailing a post card in Paris was easier than mailing a post card in the US. They have these self service kiosks which are wonderful, and totally self explanatory. After mailing our stuff, we took another stroll around and found a nice gift for my son. It was this little music box type thing that played %26quot;Hey Jude%26quot; by the Beatles. He%26#39;s a huge fan so this was perfect for him.
We jumped back on the metro and headed towards home. We had decided that we would try and have an early dinner this night so that we could take our boat cruise, since it was our last night in Paris. Since I had heard good things about it, we decided to go to Pizza Tina on Avenue Bosquet. We arrived around 7:30 and got a nice seat outside. Not too long afterwards, most of the seats were filled. Our dinner was excellent. I had the spaghetti with seafood, and my husband had something (maybe veal) with cheese and spinach that was delicious. We then split a fabulous dessert of a creme brulee ice cream sundae. The only low point of dinner was that they started to rush us at the end. This was surprising since European dinners are very leisurely, and you have to ask for the check. The table next to us got up to leave and I heard a woman (who may have been the owner) say %26quot;thank you, I need the table.%26quot; A couple of minutes after that the waitress walked by our table and asked if we wanted our check (il conto?). Fortunately we were finished eating and we did have somewhere to go, otherwise I might have been annoyed. I really would have liked 10 more minutes or so just to sit and digest. Oh well.
So we made it over to Bateaux Mouches in plenty of time to catch the 10:30 boat. We sat next to a very nice older couple from Sweden. The cruise was nice, but as we sailed along the river, I couldn%26#39;t help but feel slightly bad for the people who had these wonderful apartments overlooking the river. They have to deal with a CONSTANT parade of boats cruising by with loadspeakers and shining spotlights in their windows. That must be very annoying. Although I imagine it would be a bit quieter in the winter. In any event, the cruise was a nice relaxing way to end our last night in Paris.
The next day we were picked up by a prearranged taxi and we got to the airport within 30 minutes. We were too early to check in for our flight! Better to be too early than too late I guess. Once again we were flying AirFrance business class and check in was quick and painless. Although I noticed that some people were getting pulled aside in the line and having their bags opened up and searched. Going through security was amazingly easy. There was basically no line and we just put our bags on the conveyor and walked through. My husband didn%26#39;t have to take his shoes off or anything. This was in sharp contrast to a previous experience I had at CDG when I almost missed my connection to Rome. Boarding the plane was a bit slow, since we had to do the whole bussing thing again. We wound up leaving about an hour late. Then we got stuck with not one, but two screaming kids within a couple of rows of us. My husband and I joked that they shouldn%26#39;t allow screaming children in business class. After a couple hours of screaming, I was actually starting to think that should really be the case. Nonetheless I just put on my headphones and tried to drown out the sounds. It was a sad flight. Leaving Paris was the absolute last thing we wanted to do. It is such a wonderful place. We%26#39;re already trying to figure out when we can go back again. Soon I hope.
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DeMilo-
Thanks for your reports, I enjoyed them! I am glad you had a great trip! I too visited the Rue Cler and shopped at those same stores to put together a great picnic on the Champ du Mars(sans the pigeon attack). What a wonderful view.
I did not get to sample to melon sorbet, but agree that I was not that impressed by Berthillon, I much prefer the Amorino gelato!
And why is it that not only are you sadly returning, but you end up getting stuck with the screaming kids! In my case it was about 6 kids all playing the %26quot;I don%26#39;t want to sit next to him/her, I want to sit next to Mom/Dad %26quot; game for the entire flight!!!
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I%26#39;m so glad that you finally got to take your Seine cruise. For a while I was worried that you had missed it.
Thank you for your reports - They made my morning coffee taste even better than it usually does.
Now that you%26#39;re no longer newlyweds, I hope you%26#39;re enjoying life as an old married couple.
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