Paris - Day Six

Whoops, I'm a day  behind, and now it's hard to catch up!  Thursday, we left the hotel early, and went to the Louvre.  The Metro conveniently lets you off right inside, so we bought our tickets and then tried to figure out where everything was.  I'd only been once before, in 2005, and the map wasn't much help, so we just wandered around with our mouths open.  The good news is that everyone else was doing that, too.

 This is as close as I could get to the Mona Lisa.  I was in the front row of a pressing crowd, and it felt like I was at a Rolling Stones concert.  Enough already!  I'm too old for that!

 This was actually one of my favorite paintings.

 These two girls were seriously sketching!

 Krista said, "How did Lauren, Tracy and I get here?"  Hmmmm....they should've put their clothes on!

 This one's for my friend, Holly, as I believe the dog to be an Italian Greyhound ancestor!

I think the man in this painting favors Neil Young.  Don't y'all, too?

Maybe this was me in a prior life, although I think I could've looked a bit happier to own that cute little pup.

 People were also practicing their painting.  I wish I could paint like that!

Some of the French Crown jewels are at the Louvre, such as these tiaras and brooch.

Krista wanted to see Napoleon's apartment, so off we went.  I thought it was a little over the top, but Krista says it was beautiful...

The Louvre itself is so impressive.  Despite all the masterpieces that are housed there, I was in awe of the actual buildings.

We left mid-afternoon, stopping at their really phenomenal gift shops on the way out.  We'd allotted a few hours to check out some kitchen stores, but first went straight to a cafe and had lunch outside in the sunshine.  Afterwards, we found a jewelry shop, Metal Pointus, that I'd wanted to visit.  Their work was very different...way cool!  I treated myself to a pair of earrings, a bracelet and a ring.

The kitchen stores were both fantastic.  Nancy, you would've loved them.  La Bovida has been around forever, and they have just about everything you'd ever need. They're only several blocks from Dehillerin, and the people are nicer (not to mention that everything is priced).  Professional chefs shop here, but they also sell to the public.

It was fun to explore a new neighborhood!

We eventually ran out of steam, and had to return to our hotel.  After a break, we dressed for dinner and walked to Boulevard Montparnasse for the best dinner we've had since we arrived.  We ate at Chez Clements, where the service and the food were perfect.  Krista helped me back to the hotel afterwards...I'm such a lightweight...one glass of champagne and half a half bottle of wine, and it was lights out for me.









Paris Day Five - Part II - Iles de Cite and St. Louis

Tuesday's Rodin post wore me out.  Those photographs take a long time to post when the connection isn't the best.  So, I thought I'd put the second part of yesterday into a new post.  There are two very small islands in the Seine, Ile de Cite (home of Notre Dame and Saint Chapelle) and Ile de St. Louis (home of Johnny Depp).  After a short rest, we Metro'd over to the Ile de Cite, and walked through their plant market before approaching Notre Dame.  The market had lots of dried lavender for sale, like these little packets.

That little speck holding the yellow shopping bag is me!

It was such a spectacular afternoon.  As we walked outside of the cathedral, we passed children playing in the park.

We soon crossed the bridge over the Seine onto Ile St. Louis.  It was warm enough for ice cream, so we stopped at Berthillon for an afternoon treat.  Then we wandered around the Ile, but, alas, we did not spot Johnny Depp.  It was, however, easy to see the charm of the Ile, and why he and Vanessa would call it their home!

 This Retriever was taking his afternoon snooze.

 Lots of cheese to choose from in this window!

 The trees were beginning to bud, and springtime was here!

 We found a favorite candy store on the Ile that we'd visited on an earlier trip to Strasbourg.

 This little guy has become my best friend in Paris.  Oui, it's the ATM host!

 Krista found these umbrellas to be a little scary.

 I think a romantic person must live here...

 Many people were sitting along the Seine, enjoying the sunshine.

As the sun began setting, we headed back to the Metro, and then home to our little hotel room.  It'd been a long day, hours and hours since we'd started out at the Marais and then the Musee Rodin, so we decided to skip a fancy dinner and grabbed pizza and wine instead.  It hit the spot.  Back at the inn, Krista immediately fell asleep, while I watched television for a bit before retiring. I miss Posie, but I'm sure having a good time here. Thanks for joining us!