Last Tango in Paris

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Today is our last day in Paris. We are free to do what we want but the tour leader, Steve, is going to the Woodrow Wilson market and we decide to tag along. The bus drops us off and we cross the street into the market which is once again, on a boulevard.

The first stalls are selling seafood and the displays are gorgeous. Scallops still in the shell, prawns, octopus, dozens of fish varieties, mussels, clams, lobster and sea urchins. The list goes on and on. All fresh. All waiting to be someone's lunch.

The next stall has produce. The one after that has breads. Then nuts. Then olives. Then meats. Then scarves and sweaters. Then artwork. One after the other again and again. Prepared ethnic foods. Truffles. Spices. Flowers.

We buy a couple of items and head toward our waiting group. They decide to head off to the Trocadero and the onto the Eiffel Tower as two sister have their tickets for noon. Obviously, if you been following along, we've already seen it so we decide to catch a bus back to the hotel to drop off our purchases.

The bus drops us off at a stop so that we must cut through the Luxembourg Gardens to get to the hotel. As we walk through the gardens we realize that in just a few days they have begun to plant the enourmous flower beds with mums. They have also finished putting mums in all the urns along the railing. The urns have a black iron form on them which allows the mums to cascade down the front. It is a gorgeous display.

Saturday is family day at the park. While the weather is gorgeous, it is getting quite windy. Just perfect for renting a little push sailboat and putting it in the fountain! Small children are being helped by their parents and the bigger kids are pushing the boats out and then running with their sticks to push then again from wherever it lands.

There are people jogging, lounging, reading and strolling. Children run, laugh and scream. There are people playing sports like basketball and soccer while others are learning tai chi. Everyone, it seems, has come to the park on Saturday to spend time outdoors.

Then we notice the ponies! Evan loves riding the ponies around at the various fairs and festivals so Mom and I both gasp and get excited. As we walk toward then, we realize, they aren't tethered to anything. The children near them have helmets on and are waiting patiently for their turn. As we look around, we notice more children being led on ponies walking back toward us! The parent lead the ponies as their children ride. Wouldn't Evan love that?!

As we get back to the hotel, we realize we are both pretty wiped out. It's been a long week and we haven't had any sort of down time since we landed so we decide to relax in the room. Mom will read and I'll get a blog entry or two done.

Well, what is it they say about well laid plans? We both fell asleep! It was some of the best sleep I'd had all week and obviously needed!

Before we knew it, it was time to head downstairs for our farewell dinner with the group. We were eating just around the corner at a little restaurant called Polidor.

We got there right at 7pm and they had a long table waiting for us. The only gentleman on the trip sat across from me and once again, we decided to share a bottle of wine. He ordered duck on sauerkraut and Mom and I both ordered beef bourginon. The group toasted a successful trip and recalled favorite moments.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end. We walked back to the hotel, said our good byes, made plans to stay in touch and climbed the stairs to our rooms. Bon nuit, Paris!

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