France - Day Thirteen

Friday was my last full day in France. Looking back through two weeks of photographs, it seemed as though I'd been there forever, but surely it wasn't time to go home yet! There's still so much to see and do...after all, there's no place like Paris!

This morning I took the metro down to the sixth arrondisement. This is where I usually stay, and I missed it this trip. While the Ile Saint Louis is beautiful, it's also incredibly noisy and you actually hear English spoken more than you do French. It was a good opportunity to stay in an apartment for a change, but I plan to go back to the sixth on my next visit. I love the close proximity to Luxembourg Gardens, which, in my opinion, is the best park in Paris. First, though, I stopped for my favorite breakfast of pain au escargot and chocolat chaud.

My favorite flower vendor is there, too. It's just a small stand, but they always have the best flowers. This morning, I stopped and told her so, and she gave me the biggest smile!

There are also some charming children's boutiques here, and since I was looking for something special for my little neighbor bebe, Dylan, I stopped into one. The lovely and helpful Tatiana waited on me, and she could not have been nicer. Thank you, Tatiana!

There's a new dog boutique in town, and I bought Rose and Coco some trendy bandanas. This sweet greyhound had just visited.

 Afterwards, I walked up Raspail to the outdoor market.

The weather was finally cooler, and it actually seemed like autumn. My next stop was Poilane's for some of their world famous "punitions," which are little round butter cookies. Then, on to Jean-Charles Rochaux's for chocolats. I always bring home his "toothpick chocolats," which are tiny chocolat truffles, for gifts.

I had more stops to make, including a lunch break (ham and butter on baguette, eaten while sitting on a bench people-watching), before I finally had almost more than I could carry back to the Metro and home.

It was a glorious day, capped off that evening by seeing chanteuse Carolin Nin perform an homage to Edith Piaf at a tiny theatre near the Pompidou Center. The Essaion theatre was built in the thirteenth century. Holding only around fifty people, it was the perfect venue.

Goodbye, Paris. I'll be back.