Paris: Days 7 and 8

Tuesday was our final full day in Paris.  I was sad to leave and still had more shopping I wanted to do.  So I got up before the others and headed back to the Flower Market to get a few other gifts.  As it turned out, the place opened later than I anticipated (remember, the Parisians don't get up early!), so I had some time to stroll around on the Islands and to take in some time at Notre Dame. Then I was back at the Flower Market so I could buy some lavender and herbs de provence before I met with my family for breakfast.

Afterwards, we had a very nice breakfast at a nearby cafe. 

The plan for the day was to take in the grands magasins - the major shopping complexes in Paris - at our leisure.  I thought I knew what a department store was, until I went to these!  First stop was Au Printemps.

Seven or more floors, with different buildings for ladies, home, men, and children's things. They have two floors of gourmet foodstuffs!  Unbelievable!  We had fun gawking at all the things to buy.  Au Printemps was a little high-end though, so we actually didn't buy anything there.

God bless him, Ramy wasn't quite as interested in shopping as my mom and I were.  So around lunchtime, he decided to take off with Rebecca so they could pal around in Paris while we shopped.  Fine by us!  Incidentally, I had the best croque madame ever at a street cafe on Hausmann Boulevard that day.

After lunch, we were recharged and ready to take on Galleries Layfayette.  I just knew that the bag of my dreams would be waiting there on me, and I wasn't disappointed!  I bought a red leather Lancaster bag that I adored.  We decided to stop by BHV on the way home, so we took a cab from the 7th to the 4th (you see how good I was at navigating by this time?).  BHV was so cool.  You can buy a Longchamps purse on the main level, a Skil saw in the basement, Bic pens on the 3rd, and Karl Lagerfeld on the 7th floor.  I picked up a couple of last minute gifts, and then we walked back to the apartment, stopping to buy some chocolate for gifts on our way (and I think also for a pastry somewhere too).

After we did most of our packing at the apartment, we dressed up for one last night on the town.  Of course, Rebecca had to pose for us.



We headed back across the river and stopped for a few last pictures in front of Notre Dame.

We strolled over the Seine and stopped to take in the sunset before moving on into the Latin Quarter in search of a good place for our final night's dinner. 

I decided I needed some fondue before leaving Paris, and I wasn't disappointed!  We ended up choosing a place that was right across from St. Severin's Church, which was a place I had wanted to see but wasn't high enough on the list to make a special trip.  So it was nice to get to see it and all its gargoyles as well. 

We took the bus back "home" after leaving the restaurant, and as it would have it, it took us across the river at a place where we could see the Eiffel Tower one last time, twinkling goodbye to us.

We quickly finished up packing that night and got up early on Tuesday morning.  I was a bit nervous about the shuttle company I'd reserved, as I had heard horror stories from other travelers using all the major shuttles and them not showing up to take them to the airport.  Except for the fact that we were traveling with a child who needed to be in a carseat, we'd have done a cab.  To my dismay, he was late, and I got a bit ugly on the phone.  Just as I was warning them I was calling a cab, he showed up.  As it turned out, I had allowed wayyyyy more time than necessary (I had built in extra time in case I needed to call for a cab) and we got to the airport with about 3 hours before we needed to be boarding.  That was fine and good though; we got through security and to our gate.  Then we realized there were no bathrooms on our side of the last security.  To go to the bathroom or to get something to eat, we had to go back through security again!  So we did so in shifts.  Our flight home was unremarkable, which is exactly the way we prefer flights to be!  We laid over again in Charlotte and arrived back in Huntsville in time for dinner at the Cracker Barrell.  Fortunately, I don't think any of us had any difficulties with jetlag, and we came home with wonderful souvenirs and memories.

Thanks for an amazing trip, Mom/Grammy!

Paris: Day 6

Monday was one of my favorite days in Paris. The morning was gray and overcast, much like the images of Paris in the fall that I had conjured up.

We woke up and enjoyed a leisurely stroll from the Marais, through St. Paul square, over the bridge, and to the Ile de St. Louis. I had an amazing nutella crepe for breakfast. Next we hit several fabulous little shops, including one that sold the most gorgeous Parisian scarves. We brought back a lot of gifts from there!

After we walked and shopped a bit, it began sprinkling rain, so we retreated to the Berthillon cafe to relax and have a morning snack. A nice hot tea and a croissant for me. A hot tea and an apple tart for mother. A cappucino for Ramy. Rebecca napped. Nowhere we had to be, all the must-see sights had been seen. It was lovely to just sit and be a part of Paris.

Our rest was rather short, however, and then we were walking again! We visited the Shoah shrine and deportation monuments recognizing all the Parisians who were victims of the Holocaust, rounded up not by the Gestapo but by their own people. We walked over the bridge between the Iles of St. Louis and de la Cite so gaze at Notre Dame from another view. Seeing it from the back is the best way to really view the stunning flying buttresses.

We stopped to admire all the lover's padlocks on the Pont des Artes bridge over to the Left Bank. Neither Ramy nor I had a padlock, so we didn't partake in this ritual. Interestingly, I read an article that Paris is going to be removing all of these signs of eternal love. What's up with that for the city that proclaims itself to be the city of romance?

We walked and walked and walked on Monday! We walked through a different part of the Latin Quarter than we had enjoyed before. Then we strolled into St. Germain de Pres and finally into the Luxembourg Quarter. We really enjoyed just strolling, taking in the many storefronts, darting into cute little shops that we fancied, and stopping for something to eat whenever we felt like it!

We briefly checked out the Sorbonne before deciding that we would head on over to visit St. Sulpice. (I did love The Da Vinci Code). This required some serious navigational skills, of which I am lacking. We also had to decide where to eat lunch. Ramy and I consulted and determined that we were on the right street to get us to St. Sulpice. To celebrate, we stopped and had an amazing Italian lunch!

Ramy and I laughed and thought this was a great name for a bar!

Indeed, we managed to find St. Sulpice. It's so dank and run down and so lacking in grandeur when compared to Notre Dame, even though it isn't too much smaller. The famous works by Delacroix and its magnificent pipe organ are in a pretty sad state. But there was something about this church that I found captivating. One of the interesting pieces of history from this church is that there is a calendaring system inlaid in the floor, where the sun strikes the brass line of an obelisk on the winter solstice and then touches an oval plate of copper at the vernal and autumnal equinoxes. This helped them figure out when Easter would be celebrated. Apparently, this saved St. Sulpice during the French Revolution.

Apparently St. Sulpice was overwhelmed by the visitors that resulted from the Da Vinci Code. There is a

notice posted that refutes the book's claims about the church's involvement with the Priory of Sion and denying it was part of the Rose Line.

I loved this church and stayed for a long time (too long, according to my dear husband who had had his fill of French churches).

We left St. Sulpice and decided that we needed a completely secular experience to counteract the time we spent in the church. This was our chance to visit Le Bon Marche, which is probably Paris' chicest department store. Knowing she was in the midst of haute couture, Rebecca took the opportunity to do a bit of modeling in the LBM cafe! I thought that in this outfit, she looked like she was channeling a little Coco Chanel!

Speaking of the cafe, it was home to the best pastry I ever dreamed of. Millefeuille. How do you pronounce it? "Heaven."

Le Bon Marche was a shopper's dream. Every luxurious brand is there. I drooled over Longchamps, Le Baggerie, Gucci, Pucci, Isabel Marant, Jerome Dreyfuss, Cartier, Chanel, Caron, de Beers...

We had walked so much, and we knew that all means of public transportation would mean at least one transfer, so we decided to take a cab back to the apartment! After we got there, Ramy and I decided to walk up to Bazaar Hotel de Ville and did a bit of shopping there too. That night, we strolled through some of the fabulous little cobblestone streets of the Marais. Ramy ended up eating Chinese food, and we had pizza! Of course, we couldn't end the night without some yummy Berthillon ice cream for Rebecca and another apple tart for the apple tart connoisseur! I think that was the night that Ramy and I had some really amazing chocolate mousse, but it could also have been the night of the creme brulee or the chocolate eclair. I think there might have even been a midnight snack of croissants beurre and cherry jam. Lord help us, it was a good thing we walked so much. We shouldn't have taken the cab!

Paris: Day 5 (continued)

After we had our fill of vulgarity in Pigalle, we were conveniently located near the Abesses metro station. This was on the same line that would take us to L'Etoile. (Of course, this was carefully planned by myself. The rest of my party had no idea how much planning it took to get us to all the sites in a somewhat orderly and timely fashion! Not to pat myself on the back or anything, but I think I'm a pretty good travel agent).

We'd been able to see the Arc de Triomphe from the Eiffel Tower. Remember this?

But we still didn't have a good awareness of how massive that thing is until we went to see it up close and personal. I also didn't really have much of a sense that what makes it the Star is the fact that there are a bunch of major traffic thoroughfares that radiate out from it. One would certainly take their life in their hands if they were to attempt to cross traffic here!

After snapping pics of the famed arch, it was time to traverse the Champs Elysees. Although we hardly seemed like the chic Parisians of yore who whiled away their Sunday afternoons by parading the grandes avenues to see and be seen, it was a fun place for us. An equally good view of the Arc de Triomphe actually came from much further down the Champs. (Please note that I risked bodily harm to take this photograph. I was almost stampeded by three Japanese tourists in a hurry to get into Louis Vuitton).

Chanel, and Prada, and Van Cleef, oh my! Every designer who is anyone has a flagship store there or the nearby Avenue Mountaigne, but the mainstream has now made its presence on the Champs as well. Not far from Nina Ricci was Sephora and the Virgin Megastore. Rebecca didn't care much for haute couture, but she was certain that there should be a toy store in this mass of shops. I promised her that if there was a toy store, we would go in. As my luck would have it, there was a Disney Store on the Champs Elysees. True to my word, we went in so she could buy a Tinkerbell purse that we could have bought at the mall 15 minutes from our house. Moreover, I had to stand in line for half an hour in an unairconditioned store to do it. One of the highlights for me was a trip inside the mint green Laudree cafe to see their fantastic buffet of macaroons. The line was incredibly long, so we didn't eat there (I knew there was a Laudree in the department stores too). But even the way they package things up just feels sumptuous, doesn't it?

It was a really fun day, full of a lot of walking and exploring, and we were exhausted! That night, we strolled around in the Marais and had dinner at one of the little cafes near the Place des Vosges. Ramy and I did a little more strolling than our other two ladies, however!

Paris: Day 5

Sunday was an absolutely GORGEOUS day in Paris - perfect temps in the mid-70s, clear, with brilliant blue skies. Since we'd had a good breakfast that Rebecca actually ate at the American in Paris cafe the day before, we decided to go back again. Rebecca enjoyed having her pancakes. Then we were on the metro, headed to Montmartre!

Not being extremely athletic or gluttons for punishment, we decided against hiking up the mountain to get to the basilica. Instead, we took the funicular up the mountain. Rebecca thought it was very cool and wasn't scared at all.

Sacre Cour really does look like clouds, and I like how it was designed so that with every rain, it actually gets whiter, rather than dirtier!

Rebecca used the steps of the basilica as her own personal fashion runway.

Of course, there could also be found dozens of people hawking their souvenirs. Apparently, the Eiffel Tower is the only souvenir worth attempting to foist onto tourist, because they're everywhere. These people are selling them for anywhere from 6 for 1E up to 2E each, and you can find the same ones not only at the Eiffel Tower but also at Notre Dame and Sacre Cour!

























As I have mentioned, I love cathedrals. I was the only one of my family who wanted to actually tour the basilica, so I headed inside while they enjoyed the view and a snack from the outside. Unlike many of the other cathedrals that are tourist attractions, Sacre Cour Basilica does not allow photographs inside the basilica and also forbids tours while mass is going on. They demand complete respect while inside the place of worship. The inside of the basilica was also beautiful - it carried the mosaics of the Byzintine style inside also. As a bit of history for those who don't know - the Franco-Prussian war was not going well for France. Parisians were in great despair, and it became popular to lament about how God had forsaken them. In a show of faith, Sacre Cour was built to demonstrate their faith and they promised to maintain prayer and worship there forever. And so they have. The basilica is celebrating its 125th anniversary, and they have this huge sign marking how they have lived their faith.

The view of Paris from the steps of the basilica was stunning as well.

Just steps from the basilica is Place du Tertre, where many artisits hang out and sell their works. Many also are painting or sketching while they are there, and there is no shortage of people trying to get you to sit for them so they can paint or draw you or your child. We bought a couple of watercolors while we were there, and they are lovely. We might have been convinced to shell out for a painting of Rebecca, but we knew she wouldn't sit still that long!

After we'd browsed the art, we grabbed a bite at one of the many cute little outdoor cafes.

In Montmartre, Ramy finally tried the famous French bouillabaise. However, he decided that he liked my fish stew better. Awwww! (He got points for that).

Being full, we browsed in the cute little eclectic shops for awhile. Then we grabbed the Montmartre train and took it into Pigalle. This is definitely the red light district of Paris! Although it's home to the famed Moulin Rouge, it's far more known for its seedy sex shops and whorehouses now. We didn't spend much time here, because its also a hotbed of crime (and really, how many sex shops were we going to visit with my mom and our 3-year old in tow?).


























The funniest moment of the whole trip occurred here though. Across the street from the Moulin Rouge was this huge air return. Kids (and adults too) were all up on top of the grate, enjoying the air stream. Rebecca hopped up to be part of the action. Of course, since she had on a dress, her dress flew up in total Marilyn Monroe smile. My mom ended up snapping a pic before I grabbed her off, and as it turns out, the Moulin Rouge is in the background. She looks like a total showgirl! We decided that we'll keep that pic for her future husband.