PARIS

This is my last post!  We have just spent two wonderful weeks in Paris and are now at a hotel at the airport and our flight to the states leaves early in the morning.  It's hard to comprehend that this six month journey has come to an end.

It's been a fantastic trip and I can't think of a better way to cap it off than spending time in Paris.  We love Paris and it was great being able to spend enough time to really get to know it.

Our first sight upon driving into town was the Arc d'Triomphe.  We had to maneuver through the rotary that encircles this gigantic arc and it was quite the challenge.  There are no lanes - it's a free for all with cars whizzing in every direction.  It felt like being sucked into a tornado and then spit out.  I was a bit too busy trying to figure out where to tell Dale to exit to take a picture so here is one taken a few days later from the safety of the sidewalk.

Once we found our apartment and dropped off our luggage it was time to say goodbye to our faithful car.  Here's Dale giving it one last pat.  It was a great car and we racked up a little over 13,000 miles over the last five and a half months.  We covered a lot of ground.

Our apartment was in the 15th Arrondissement.  We had never stayed in this part of Paris before but wanted to get to know a non-touristy, true local neighborhood so choose it for our stay.  It's just below the 7th which is where the Eiffel Tower is and, boy, did we have a view.  This was taken sitting on the couch in our living room.  Not bad, huh?  We were also just below the 6th so a lot of what we wanted to see was within walking distance.  Paris, like London, is a walking city and we took full advantage covering an average of six miles a day.  If we got tired we could take the Metro home but that didn't happen very often.

So, here is a brief synopsis of our time in Paris.  We saw way too much to put it all in but here are the highlights.

Day One - We toured the Montparnasse area in the 14th Arrondissement, visiting the cemetery and happening on a great street market.  We then headed for Ile de Cite and Notre Dame Cathedral and Ile St. Louis in the 4th.  We ended the day with a walk through the 6th strolling along the Seine and stopping to see the famous Shakespeare Bookstore.

Day Two - Today was a Metro day as we traveled to the 18th Arrondissement in the northern part of the city for Les Puces Flea Market.  This is known as the largest antique market in Europe.  It was fun walking up and down the streets but somewhat frustrating as we weren't in the market to buy.

Day Three - Our destination today was the les Marais area.  This is a charming shopping district in the 4th Arrondissement.  It not only has cobblestone streets and lots of trees but great shops too.
We headed home by way of the Pont Neuf.

Day Four - It was the 9th Arrondissement today with a visit to the Montmartre District.  In addition to just meandering around the streets we took in the Basilique du Sacre-Couer where we caught the end of a mass being sung by the Abbesses.  Beautiful.  Then we cruised down Boulevard de Clichy where, along with the Moulin Rouge, all the sex shops are.  It was quite the transition.

Day Five - Today we went to our favorite museum, Musee d'Orsay, in the 7th to see all the fabulous Impressionist paintings.  The building itself is quite the masterpiece.  We never get tired of this place.  Afterward we headed over to St. Germain to have a late lunch at Le Deux Magots where Hemingway etc hung out.  It's definitely touristy but worth a visit particularly for their famous hot chocolate.  It really is to die for.

Day Six - Today we traveled through three Arrondissements.  First we visited another shopping street, Rue Montorgueil in the 1st.  Then it was on to Pere-LeChance Cemetery in the 11th to visit Chopin's and Jim Morrison's graves.  Finally we ended up at the Canal Saint Martin in the 4th where we had a great late Thai lunch.

Day Seven - Today we stayed closer to home in the 15th and shopped the Rue du Commerce.  This street, just two blocks from our apartment is considered the best local shopping street in Paris.  No pictures but here's one of the Hotel de France Invalides which was also just a couple of blocks from our place.

Day Eight - It was the Louvre (in the 1st) today.  A new thing for us was to see the Carousel shopping center under the pyramid and to see the new exhibit of the Medieval Louvre showing the walls of the moat and explaining the history of the Louvre.

Day Nine - Today, Sunday, we again stayed close to home because just down the street is the largest Market in Paris, Motte-Piquet/Grenelle Open Air Market.  It was amazing!

Day Ten - It was the Tuilleries and Musee l'Orangerie in the 1st today.  Unfortunately, the only exhibit open (which we didn't know) was Les Nympheas (the water lily murals) by Claud Monet.  That didn't take very long so we took a stroll up the Champs-Elysees to do some shopping and ended up at the movies.  We saw Rush which was fantastic!

Day Eleven - It's to the 8th and the Musee Jacquemart-Andres.  On the way we passed the Obelisque in the Place de la Concorde, the Palais-Royal and the Petit Palais.

Day Twelve - It's back to the 6th Arrondissement today as we haven't gotten our fill of St. Germain.  This is the area we stayed in the first time we came to Paris and after staying in and exploring other Arrondissements, it is still our favorite.  We just love it here.  On our way home we stopped in Bon Marche, the large department store of Paris.  It is not only huge but I think it surpasses Harrods - not only in fashion but also in the food court. Spectacular.

Day Thirteen - Our last day.  We've seen all that we came to see and we need to get ourselves organized to head to the airport tomorrow so no more exploring.

I do have another picture though and it's one of my favorites.  There is a small florist in St. Germain that was just around the corner from our hotel the first time we came to Paris.  We stopped here and bought one of their unique bouquets for our hotel room.  I have never seen another florist do this (in Paris or anywhere else) and I think it's so clever.  The cellophane wrapping actually doubles as the vase.  I mean how clever is that!

Anyway, it's been a great six months but we are anxious to get home to family and friends.  Thanks for coming along with us on our journey.  It's been a great experience and we will have fond memories of all that we did for many years to come.  See you soon!