Au Revoir, Paris!

All too soon, Thursday morning came and it was time to pack up our hotel room for our final half-day in Paris, before catching the Eurostar back to London.

Our hotel room was sweet - teeny tiny bathroom, but plenty of space in the main room. I loved the stone wall and high ceilings. (We should have gotten pics when we first moved in, before it was full of our stuff, but these are better than nothing!)

We left our packed bags in the hotel and went out to enjoy our last morning, starting with a trip to Paul's bakery, which was the right choice. We didn't know it, but later, we saw that Paul's was in the major train stations even in London, and was a hugely 130-year-old successful chain.

We bought a lovely variety of pastries to share, including some savories for the train ride later.

Stace led us to Jardin du Luxembourg, a stunning collection of statuary, ponds and lawns where the French Senate meets in a 1612 palace.

Not a bad spot for breakfast.

Sad this one was blurry!

We then went back to the hotel, through this alleyway of ancient apartments, shops and restaurants. This one, Le Procope, is the oldest cafe in continuous operation, open since 1686. Intellectuals including Ben Franklin, Voltaire and Thomas Jefferson were among its patrons.

Then, it was on to the Metro and the train station, for our trip back to London. Paris, we loved you!

Landmarks!

On the second part of our second (and last) full day in Paris, we visited that most landmark of landmarks, the Eiffel Tower.

Surrounding the tower is a huge park, where tourists and locals alike were relaxing on the grass with picnic dinners (complete with alcohol - drinking in public seems to be totally legal here).

We waited in line to buy tickets to take the elevators to the first (lower) lookout landing.

The view from here was great! We didn't feel that we were missing out by not heading all the way up to the top landing.

What a great experience!

Here are the girls in front of Notre Dame Cathedral, the majestic 800-year-old church that suffered a catastrophic fire this spring. The wooden roof would have been right behind Cora's head.

Still, we were glad to be able to get as close as we were for these photos.

On our final night, we found a restaurant with a much more affordable fixed-price menu. Stace and Violet both went for that option, with a starter, main and dessert, while Cora and I decided to share the fondue.

(Unfortunately, the cheese used messed with Cora's tongue, and two-thirds through the meal, the grease/fat messed with my tummy. We had to leave before Vi and Stace could get their dessert!)

Violet enjoyed her fanciest of meals, duck a l'orange.

The restaurant reminded me and Stace of the Moulin Rouge area cafe we'd visited our first trip to Paris, when a cat surprised me by walking along the back of our booth, right behind my head.

We had just told the girls that story when we looked further into the room and found a cat on the next booth!

It was a lovely and memorable moment on a fabulous day.

Sainte-Chapelle

Stace got up and out early on Wednesday, while the girls and I got ready. After breakfast, we started with a bit of shopping.

After looking in a few stores, Cora and I found the perfect shop for us. Adorable and affordable - we bought several things and changed before we left!
(And for the record, I AM still a couple of inches taller - she's on her toes here!)

We then got croissants for our walk.

Our next stop was Sainte-Chapelle, the nearly 800-year-old chapel with walls of stained glass.

The stories of the entire Bible are told in stained glass, row by row, going up and down the window panes.

It's breathtaking.

Stace and I had visited here on our 2002 trip, and we knew we wanted the girls to take in the beauty as well.

Good times!

We took a hop-on, hop-off tour boat that stopped at the major sites along the Seine.

One of those sites was Notre Dame Cathedral - here was our first view of the mighty cathedral, which survived a tragic fire a few months ago.

Silly sisters!

A Long Walk Through Paris

 After eating crepes near the Sacre Coeur, we embarked on an epic walk south near many of Paris's famous landmarks.

Here's the Arc de Triomphe.

Strolling along the Champs Elysees - so many famous shops!
Stace particularly enjoyed the Renault showroom.

 It was a gorgeous day - warm enough to require hydration and sunscreen, but a good 30 degrees cooler than the record-setting heat Paris had endured just the weekend before our trip.

 We checked out the courtyard of the Louvre - some day maybe we can make it inside!

 I love this little photographer!

 Stace was having fun with the portrait setting on his cell phone.

In the evening, we found a cafe for dinner that was showing the England-U.S. women's World Cup soccer game, which was being played elsewhere in France. Cheers went up from various tables of tourists, depending on what was happening in the match.
(For the record, the U.S. won the game.)

Sacre Coeur

 We woke up a bit late Tuesday after our late night Monday, and had breakfast in the hotel lobby (which was lovely, but took a while). We learned that everything starts late and ends late in Paris - Stace wanted to buy a jug of water for our room, but the corner store wasn't open until 10!

After breakfast, we headed to the Metro and took the train up to the Sacre Coeur area. It was very different than where we were staying - much more ethnically diverse, as we walked up a street wall to wall with hairdressers specializing in black hair.

  The beautiful Sacre Coeur Basilica, or Sacred Heart, was built between 1875 and 1914.

 We were able to take in part of a Mass, all in French, of course. The priest is getting the elements ready for the Eucharist.

Violet took this one!

 After our tour, we walked down the shopping district just across the street to join the other tourists hunting for treasures.

 Then, we stopped for a snack of crepes and alcohol (when in Paris!) at the same restaurant Stace and I went to when we visited in 2002.

Some view!
Our waiter was classically French - not rude, but not overly friendly, lighting up for his smoke break as he passed inches from our table. Yep, he was smoking just a few feet away, still in his apron.
Cora couldn't get over the number of people smoking. It's so different than California!

All Aboard, to Paris!

We said goodbye to Sue and Gord on Monday morning, and boarded a train at Yeovil Junction bound for London, and then on to Paris.

Yes, Paris!

Traveling is exhausting!

In iconic Waterloo Station!

We took the Underground from Waterloo to St. Pancras Station, where we were to take the Eurostar. What a beautiful building! We were across the street in this photo, at a place where we stored our big suitcase, which we didn't want to drag around Paris.

The Eurostar was very comfortable, an enjoyable way to travel.

On the other side, we eventually figured out how to buy Metro tickets and get on the Metro, in the right direction toward our Latin Quarter hotel.

Our first view when we came up from the Metro station in "our" neighborhood - Starbucks!

I didn't get a great photo of our hotel, but here's Violet in the lobby. Hotel St Andres des Arts was very old, and we had a great experience there. The location was outstanding, right in a happening area that felt very safe, and walking distance from the Seine, Notre Dame and other must-see sites.

We went out for a late dinner, around 9 p.m., and that was the norm in Paris! Especially with the late, light nights.

Even walking back to the hotel around 11 p.m., it was packed, everywhere. We loved the vibe!