I don't think I've yet published many photos of what we can see from our balcony (other than the wedding) so here's a look at our everyday view of Paris:
The top of the Protestant church where the wedding was held.
I think those nets are pigeon crap protectors.
When there aren't events, two homeless guys and a dog sleep here. Michael has given them baguettes and fruit. Yesterday, when we got home they waved to us.
Looking Left Down Rue St. Honore.
We were starting to get really tired from running around, although we have managed to visit quite a few sights there is a biggie practically next door that we hadn't yet explored - the Musee du Louvre. We got there shortly after 9am and immediately headed for the Mona Lisa. Well, what can I say except it was really small, covered by glass, and surrounded by a million tourists. Afterwards, we spent some time looking at some of the Italian and French paintings, and then headed over to see The Winged Victory of Samothrace (which we called "The Wing Thing") and the Venus de Milo. Although these "biggies" are probably at the top of everyone's list when they visit the Louvre, I was far more impressed with the vast collection of Etruscan, Roman, and Greek antiquities.
Although there are limits on what can be photographed in the Louvre, we did take a few good photos:
Hermaphrodite has male parts and female parts. :)
The reception area.
Near the Carrousel Louvre Shopping Area.
After the Louvre, we hopped over to the Latin Quarter again - we had visited there early Sunday morning and really liked it, but a lot of the shops and restaurants were closed. After some shopping, we stopped in for a really expensive beer and light bite at the legendary "Les Deux Magots" on Boulevard St. Germain - one of Hemingway's hang outs during his Paris period.
Price for two beers, one bottle of water, one croque monsieur, and
one cup of gazpacho? About $46 U.S. Ouch!
We strolled down Boulevard St. Germain, and came across a crepe stand where they make them fresh (so much better than the reheated crepes found at some of the super-touristy areas). I was still hungry - my $10 cup of gazpacho notwithstanding - and bought a sugar and banana crepe. This was the single most delicious thing I have eaten in Paris:
Mmmmmmm ... crepes ...
Michael had one with butter and sugar only, and agreed it was the best meal so far. Sometimes the simplest things are just the best.
After a quick stop back at the apartment to clean up, we walked all the way to Place des Vosges and sat on a park bench for a little while watching people. We then made our way across the Seine to the quiet little island of Ile Saint- Louis and stopped at the legendary ice-creamery Berthillion for a scoop of their sinfully delicious glace'. Michael had pistachio and I had burnt sugar caramel - it was absolutely the most incredible ice cream I've ever had - it tasted just like the ice cream version of the crunchy part of Almond Roca.
We then walked back across the Seine to the Right Bank to go to a restaurant we had spotted on the way back from Le Marais the night before. It was called Au Bourgignon and was on a very scenic little corner. We sat at a table outside and Michael ordered Steak Au Poivre and Frites, and even though he ordered medium, the steak was still mooing - no way I would have eaten that but he managed to and proclaimed it the best meal in Paris. I had a penne pasta with chorizo and tomato creme fraiche - the flavors were so clean and bright, I felt like crying right there at the table! We lingered for a couple of hours enjoying the scene and then made our way to pack, clean up, and get ready for our train ride to London.
Goodbye Paris, I will miss you - you sexy, well-planned metropolis with friendly waiters (really!). See you again in a few years.
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¶ 11:12 PM 1 comments
Up around 8 to enjoy our breakfast of french press coffee, baguettes, and pastry from the nearby boulangerie. We left our apartment around 9:30 and caught the city bus over to Champs de Mars to meet our Segway tour guides at the base of the Eiffel Tower.
For those of you who are not familiar with the Segway, it's sort of like a battery powered scooter that you stand on. You lean forward to go forward, lean backwards to go backwards, and twist a handle on the left handlebar to go left or right. Once you get the feel of it, it's really easy, a lot of fun and a great way to see a city like a walker would, but at a faster pace:
Michael Gets His Segway Orientation From Our Tour Leader, Stacy
Stacy Doing The Tour Highlights - I'm The Dork in the Green Shirt
We're Having Fun and Looking Dorky
Our Lunch Stop at the Tuileries
We had a great group - everybody was really fun and had no major problems with the Segway. Our tour took nearly 4 hours (including our stop for lunch at Tuileries) and it was probably the most fun we've had in Paris. I'm even more excited now for our Segway tour coming up in Amsterdam!
After the rush of the Segway tour, we stopped for a quick bite at a nearby cafe, and then headed back towards the Eiffel Tower to pick up the L'Open Tour bus. Our legs were killing us from standing on the Segway all morning and so a sit-down activity seemed like the perfect thing to do. On our way there, we walked through Champs-de-Mars and watched some groups of men playing boules.
I also snapped this great shot of the Eiffel as I approached it's base:
We stayed on the bus for over an hour which took us along the Seine and down to Bastille. We hopped off the bus and took the Metro back home, where we cleaned up and took the Metro over to Le Marais for dinner at Les Vins de Pyrenees - a small restaurant specializing in wines bought from small producers throughout France. We split a bottle of Domaine Les Demoiselles Rose' from Provence, and it wasn't terrible. Neither Michael nor I really get the whole wine thing, and it's a struggle to choke it down sometimes, so we feel we're doing well when we can actually drink it without gagging. Anyway, the rose' was actually pretty good and it complemented my salmon and his chicken cassoulet. After dinner, we decided to walk home instead of taking the Metro, and took in the Seine at night with a brief stop at Pont Neuf - a popular place for those young and young at heart. We made it home around 11:30pm and I went to sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. ¶ 2:02 PM 0 comments
Monday, September 4 - Somebody's Got a Case of the Mondays
As usual, neither one of us was able to sleep very well.
We kicked off our day with a visit to the Palais Royal, which is just blocks from our apartment. The Palais Royal has been home to various luminaries over the centuries but now houses the Council of State and Ministry of culture:
Palais Royal and Courtyard
Gardens at Palais Royal
How Many Cheryle's Can You Spot?
Since we were still tired from the flight over and two days of playing tourist, we decided we'd take the "open top" bus tour - which we have found is a a great way to get an overview of a new city and see what you'd like to explore more in depth later on. But by the time we emerged from the OperaMetro station to pick up our tickets at the L'Open Tour office, it was raining. So much for that idea! We ducked into a nearby Starbucks - the nicest one I've ever seen - and talked about what to do next.
Poor Michael was suffering the most, as I think he got even less sleep than me. I had spied a Mango department store across the street (my radar for good shopping is spot-on) and I popped into the storeand found so many things I could have bought, if I was on an unlimited budget. However, even though everything was fitting and looking really cute, I managed to restrain myself and got just a few items.
After my shopping spree I went back to the Starbucks and Michael was still not feeling very well. However, since we were in the area we decided to go check out the Galeries Lafayette - it felt a bit like Harrod's although the prices were more accessible. The interior of the store was really the main attraction, as you can from the photos here:
By this time, we were starving and so enjoyed a nice meal in the Galeries Lafayette Cafe on the sixth floor, featuring a view of the Eiffel Tower. However, after lunch the effects of sleep deprivation were really starting to kick in, and so we headed back to the apartment for yet another three hour nap.
We woke up just in time to catch the last run of the L'Open Tour bus and rode it around until they kicked everyone off at the Champs-Elysees. We weren't that far from home though, so decided to just hoof it through the Tuileries - pretty, but not as nice as the Jardin du Luxembourg.
Later that evening, I wanted to catch up on blogging duties and do some ironing, and so Michael took the Metro out to La Defense - one of Paris'biggest business districts.He used a tripod to capture these absolutely amazing photos of the Grande Arche and surrounding area:
He then took some night photos of the Arc de Triomphe, and this is my favorite:
I was still dead tired and so I think we both turned in by 1am. We were feeling kind of low at this point, like we didn't do much, but were excited for Tuesday's main activitiy - a Segway Tour of Paris!
