Blogs from Paris, Île-de-France, France, Europe - page 7

We’ll always have Paris - Humphrey Bogart to Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca Today was our last day in Paris - tomorrow morning we fly back home. I can’t believe we will be home tomorrow at this time. After 25 days of travelling, first to Morocco and then to Paris, it’s going to be quite an adjustment being back at home. I’m happy to return to the comforts of home, but sad too, that this trip is finished. But now, back to today. We finished the last of our breakfast supplies, and headed off to the metro for our short trip to Notre-Dame. We got off at the Cité stop, and planned to go to Notre-Dame first, but suddenly as we walked down the street we came across Sainte-Chapelle. Ok, great, we’ll to to Sainte-Chapelle first. After ... read more

We had my favourite Parisien breakfast this morning of pain au chocolat and cafe creme (strong coffee with hot milk) at a little bakery a few doors down. We enjoyed it at a sidewalk table, in the chilly morning air. Paris, or this area of Paris, seems to wake up slowly. Even a restaurant that serves breakfast didn’t open until 9:30. It was a lovely breakfast and exactly what I had in mind when I thought of Paris when we were planning the trip. We headed to our now familiar metro station and hopped on line 11 to Chaletet Les Halles, as usual, and transferred there to the RER B train just one stop to St Michel-Notre Dame, then transferred to the RER C train to Versailles. We were on the correct platform, but we must ... read more

Travel brings power and love back into your life- Rumi We have had a very fun first full day in Paris, doing a full day Urban Adventures walking tour (a combination of their morning tour called Secret Paris and their afternoon tour called Gourmet Marais). Raphael was an excellent guide, and we ate lots of food and drank lots of wine! But first, back to this morning. We slept well in the apartment, although there is lots of noise from the street in our room (in the front). Mom has the quiet room in the back. We wore our ear plugs and it was ok. We had a light breakfast in the apartment (yogurt and toast with peanut butter and marmalade, coffee and orange juice). Then we confidently headed out to the nearest metro station, Rambuteau. ... read more

There seem to be two types of people in the world. Ones that enjoy the comfort and security of an established routine and those that desire difference and change and are always seeking something unique. When choosing a restaurant, the former will always know a great restaurant with a favorite dish that they enjoy immensely every time they have it. The latter will always seek a different flavor or preparation from what they have chosen before. When picking a radio station, the former probably have their favorites set in memory. The latter pushes the seek button and only stops when they hear something that suits their current mood. I imagine these two types of people probably also pick travel destinations in the same way. Some love their tried and true spots and return as often as ... read more

Jess and I hit the shops and the nearby bakery that Ute had taken us to yesterday, to buy food for breakfast. Back at the apartment we prepared everything and had a lovely spread on the table by the time the birthday girl and Ferris and Con joined us. What a lovely way to start the day! After breakfast the four of them went off to browse the nearby markets as they were going to buy some goodies to take to the picnic lunch we were planning in the nearby Luxembourg gardens. I decided to spend some time sorting my stuff out before heading out to explore some of Paris myself. I first headed to the Arabic Uni/Library building that Ute had told us has a great view from the 9th floor and was free to ... read more