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Published: June 27th 2019
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Our last day in Paris! We split up for the first time, with Todd, Maggie and Sean getting up and out early to head to see San Chapelle, an ancient church with gorgeous stained glass. Marcia, Tommy and Billy met up with them at Shakespeare & Company, the quaint, fairy-talesque book store that Maggie had discovered on her student trip to Paris a couple of years ago. It sits almost directly across the river from Notre Dame, which unfortunately we could not get too close to as they have closed off most of the area after the fire in April.
We strolled around the left bank, souvenir shopping and with Billy looking for enormous fish in the Siene, which we later learned were Wels Catfish. We meandered through many shops and picturesque Paris cobblestone streets, finally finding a sandwich shop where we were able to grab an actual quick (and affordable) bite to eat, which just happened to be next door to the most wonderful chocolatier! I went a little crazy with selecting (but also then sharing) some delicious chocolate pieces, which of course had to be eaten quickly lest the melt instantaneously in the heat.
We were making
our way to a pastry shop where we met our delightful food tour guide, Michelle. We had booked a 2 1/2 hour walking tour of various pastry and sweet shops, as we figured the boys in particular would appreciate that sort of activity. It was such fun! Michelle was friendly, knowledgeable and entertaining. She shared historical facts, recipes, photos of famous chefs she had met, and just a fount of interesting and engaging tidbits about Paris, the food, the culture, the history, and even an app similar to Pokemon Go. Our stops included tastings at chocolate shops, patisseries, a cheese and meat market, bakery, macaroon shops, tea store and more. Everyone enjoyed our time so much, that before we knew it over 4 hours had passed! It was definitely one of the highlights of our stay, and we would highly recommend booking her tour to anyone who may be visiting Paris in the future.
Amazingly, as we were sitting in an alley at a picnic table toward the end of our tour with Michelle, Maggie's friend Brooke Tanner (one of her companions for her senior project road trip) strolled by and stopped with her family! Needless to say we
were all astounded by the fact that the two of them found each other in Paris in this out-of-the-way alley with no idea that the other would be there. This seems to happen to Maggie a lot - she does indeed lead a charmed life!
After saying goodbye to Brook and Michelle, we caught a ride to our final excursion - a dinner cruise on the Siene on a glass enclosed riverboat. This was the perfect way to end our stay, as we rode up and down the river, catching glimpses of all the famous spots, while dining on delicious French cuisine. The kids tried some champagne (and hated it), and we relaxed while watching with amusement the sheer number of people sitting on both sides of the river just enjoying a picnic, bottle of wine, or waving to the passing boats. Truly a Parisian experience!
After the boat ride, we walked back to the Eiffel Tower in search of street vendors selling a particular souvenir we wanted to be sure to bring home, before finally catching a bus back to our apartment. Arriving at about midnight, we thankfully double checked our flight time for the next morning
which I had mistakenly thought was 11:15 only to find departure was scheduled for 9:15, which meant we had to leave the apartment by about 6:30 am. Needless to say, frantic packing ensued, stress levels soared, and we only managed to get about 4 hours of sleep. Thankfully, we were able to get another 6-person Uber van for the airport ride and made it to our flight to Italy on time and none the worse for wear. So, c'est la vie in Paris!
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