Last of the lovely days in Paris!!

1) Phil and me in lovely “private” garden of public building;
2) Place des Voges arcade;
3) Place des Voges;
4) Statue in Place des Voges;
5) Phil’s lunch – she did NOT want this picture taken!!

Allo! Hello!

Well, this is our last blog for our Paris Spring Adventure 2008! We got home last night right around midnight, after a LONG travel day CDG/Dulles/Phoenix and then driving from there. Hadn’t realized that going west, the 3 ½ hour trip (Phoenix/DC) turns into almost 5 ½ hours! Oh well!

So…our last full day in Paris! We picked Philippa up at Gare du Nord around 9:45 p.m. on Thursday night. It was SO great to see her, and we were thrilled that she came all the way from Northampton, England to spend some time with us!! Have to admit that we did stay up pretty late (for us!); about 12:30 a.m., drinking wine and catching up on all her news.

As a result, we weren’t up too early on Friday morning; probably about 7-ish, and by the time we were all showered, dressed, breakfasted and ready to go, it was probably close to 9:30. Phil hadn’t really had any plans for Paris – she wanted to do whatever we wanted to do on our last day! And we had basically done everything we’d wanted to do, so that we could do what she wanted to do on Friday! So…confused?

Decided, then, to start the “walk in the Marais” that was in our guidebook. It started at St. Paul church, which we visited first. It was stunning. We have found that Parisien churches could be either absolutely spectacular (like Notre Dame) or not so spectacular (like St. Agustin). St. Paul’s is definitely a winner. Beautifully decorated domes, lovely glass and elegant lines.

From there, we began the “official” wander; through the Place des Voges, which is really lovely, and down various little side streets which the Marais is filled with. Lots of lovely old buildings, landscaped squares and pretty parks; it is indeed a lovely place to wander!

Walked past the Musée Victor Hugo, but didn’t stop; decided (at R’s urging!) that we did need to stop at the Musée Picasso … oh my… The building that houses the museum is really superb – recently renovated and the entry stairs and stairwell were incredible! Then the artwork…well…let me only say that I REALLY wanted to go back to Musée Marmottan Monet just to get the taste of the Picasso work out of my month/head/whatever! R figures that the man never, EVER threw out a piece of paper – instead, he would scribble on it and sign it (and then sell it)! LOTS of that there … but the interesting thing is that there were some pieces from much earlier in his career, and the drawing was wonderful! So…the rest was by choice, obviously! (And if I am insulting any Picasso fans out there, I apologize…it’s just that I’m not!)

By this time it was definitely time for lunch, so we headed to a fairly plain bistro called “Café de la Perle” – and actually had a really excellent lunch! I had their special salad of the day – mozzarella, tomatoes, lardons and salad; R had a salad with warm artichoke bottoms stuffed with goat cheese – excellent! And Phil had a country omelet filled with potatoes and ham. Everything was GREAT! Good selection!

It was starting to rain by this time, and Phil had expressed a desire to see the Moulin Rouge, so we bused first to Gare de l’Est and caught the bus to Pigalle. Walked to the Moulin Rouge from there, stopping for Phil to get a wonderful smelling crepe made right in front of her, and smeared with Nutella! She said it was terrific, and it looked and smelled like it!

As it was a bit damp, and the climb was all uphill, we caught the Monmartrobus – part of the public transportation system, but a much smaller bus; like a big van, to transport people up and down those REALLY narrow streets! Got off at the square near Sacre Coeur and had a really good look around. Even though it was a bit moist (mizzle again) the artists were out in full force on the square – and this time, I just couldn’t resist the lady who painted beautiful poppy pictures, and decided on a small oil painting! (Anyone who has visited us knows that I’m a sucker for prints, paintings, photos, etc. of poppies! Even have poppy cups and serving plates…). She packaged it us for – (and I am pleased to report that it arrived in GREAT shape!) – and warned us that it needed to dry from 3 weeks to a month! (She paints mainly with a palette knife, and the paint is applied fairly thickly; lots of depth to it.) (And we know it’s REALLY wet, as after we took it out of its wrapping when we got home, R managed to get a small smear of yellow on him, and I got into the green from another edge! Oh well!)

Then we visited Sacre Coeur; really a lovely place. Also had a nice walk around the square in front of the church, as the view is pretty spectacular! (Would have been better had it been clear…) Walked down from there, and caught the bus back to the flat … whew, nice day; now time to get packed and organized!

Phil and R took a short neighborhood walk, while I packed. And everything fit!! And I didn’t even have to 1) expand either suitcase, or 2) use the extra folding bag that I had brought “just in case.” Wow! I did carry some fairly heavy glass back in my carry-on, but it arrived safely, which was really the point.

Philippa took us out to dinner Friday night, right down the street; Le Torchon. (A place we had visited in the past with Alain and Graciela.) It’s a VERY small place, but just lovely; nice menu, although we all managed to chose the same thing! Got the entrecote (which was really good; excellent sauces, but to be honest, not a patch on the restaurant L’Entrecote!) with veggies and potatoes. My entrecote had sauce Roquefort, and it was GREAT! For dessert, Phil and R had tarte with apples and rhubarb, and I had tarte citron – all excellent!

Got back to the flat around 10, and to be honest, we were all pretty beat after the late night on Thursday, so off to sleep! Up at 6 and into “travel” mode. Finished packing the cases, locked everything up, cleaned up the flat (dishes, etc.) and were out the door by 7:45 a.m. We dropped Phil off at Gare du Nord, and reached CDG by about 9. Checked in, and went upstairs in the terminal (a real dearth of restaurants in CDG Terminal 1…) to the only restaurant available. Mix-up on the order, so we split an order of scambled eggs (excellent), bacon and toast. Flight right on time; no problems at all!

Did watch a very interesting movie “The Jane Austin Book Club.” It was excellent, and I’d recommend it to all! (We are both, in fact, going to read all six of the Austin books in the very near future; very inspiring!)

Arrived about half-hour late at Dulles, but still with plenty of time to catch our flight connection. Cleared customs/immigration and re-checked suitcases; no problem. Headed to a restaurant called something like Firkin & Fox, and we started with a hot spinach/artichoke dip. R then had a Greek salad, and I had a salad (with BLUE CHEESE dressing!!) and a HUGE hamburger with cheese and bacon! YUM!! Flight to Phoenix on time and not full, so I was able to actually get 3 seats across and as soon as we were aloft, down I went! Was able to get several good hours of sleep in. Landed in Phoenix at 9, had luggage and rental car (even though Budget’s computers were down and they had to do EVERYTHING by hand…) organized by 9:45; home just about midnight!

We were both so tired that contrary to custom (which is, unpack and put away, regardless of the time) we both were asleep quickly; unpacking waited until this morning! I got a good 6 hours in; R about 3 ½ …hope we both can sleep tonight, as I’m fading even as I type this! (Thank heaven for spell-check!)

So – great trip, but it’s nice to be home! I’d like to thank everybody who commented on the blog itself or sent emails! Nice to keep in touch!

So…until the next trip … whenever that is!!
Much love,
m