OK. Before I explain this, let me first describe our day yesterday. It began with a return trip to Sainte Chapelle only to find out that it is connected to the Court House and the line up to get in due to security was super long. Decided to skip this church and moved on to Notre Dame. We returned to climb the 387 steps up the towers to see the view of Paris. This was tough. That is alot of steps in a tiny spiraling staircase. We are worn out and tired... visiting Paris is tough!
View from Notre Dame tower
Next, we headed to Place de la Concorde and began our walk down Les Champs Elysees. But we needed a little lunch break. If you ever find yourself on les Champs Elysees, keep in mind that a little lunch break consisting of a croque monsieur, a glass of wine and a coffee will cost you app. $70 for two! Anyways... we continued on to L'Arc de Triomphe where we watched the traffic zoom through and around it. Next stop... Laduree. Where can you spend app. $5 for 2 tiny little macarons? At Laduree! But this pastry shop is something else, something that I have never seen before and definitely worth $5 for the 2 most exquisite little bites of sweetness. I would have taken a picture but it not permitted! For the love of God! They let you take pictures of works of arts such as the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo but a counter full of pastry is a big no-no. Go figure the French!
Next stop, the Eiffel Tower. No visit to Paris would be complete without a stop here. Laure decided not to go up but I opted to. Once again, I've come all this distance! But as I always feel about any structure, they are much more impressive to look at them from below than it is to look out from above. We had a quick drink while we waited for nightfall so that we could see it lit up. What we didn't know what that 10 minutes evry hour, they turn on these glittering lights so that the tower appears to be shimmering. Then it turns into a solid blue. Quite spectacular to say the least!
Eiffel Tower's shadow from the top
We has promised ourselves one very fancy meal so this was the night. We picked this one restaurant, Les Bookinistes, owned by a renowned Parisian chef. We found it just fine but upon entering, the maitre d', without getting off his cell phone, motioned to us that it was full and basically escorted us out! The nerve! Anyway, we dined next door at Laperouse, dropped a hefty amount for a 5 course meal which included 6 different wines. By the time we left at 1AM, we were full and drunk! Funny part was, that after such a expensive and extravagant meal, we still took the Metro home!
Needless to say, it was not easy to get up this AM. We started our journey with a stop to Sacre Coeur. It was a beautiful, sunny day and we strolled though the streets of Montmatre. There was a wine festival going on but we didn't dare try any as we were still a little woozy from the night before. Anyway, our wonderful day took a turn for the worse when I noticed that my backpack was open. And, of course, all my money was gone. Yup, I was smart enough to clip my wallet inside the pack not stopping to think that a professional pickpocketer would just empty the wallet, leaving it empty for me. Big bummer as I still had quite a bit of cash. We ended up going to a police station to make a report as I know that I could make a insurance claim for such a thing. Anyways... these things happen!
We continued our journey with a quick stop at the Moulin Rouge for some pics and then it was back into the metro towards the Opera, Galerie Lafayette, Le Printemps and Fauchon. After some shopping in this area, we stopped for our ritual beer before heading off to meet Laure's cousin and wife for dinner.
Inside Galerie Lafayette
Madeleine
We are now back in our and have gathered our stuff. We leave tomorrow after breakfast. This journey is over. We must say goodbye to Paris but I am thrilled at the thought of seeing my 2 little precious daughters when we get home. Nothing is more exciting than that!
Vive la France!
Mommy in all her glory!
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