**again, i am still figuring out how to put pics in my posts, so this is why they are out of order and not aligned... bare with me!
DAY 5
like i said in an earlier post, i scheduled us to take one of the "ho/ho buses" (hop on/hop off) which stops right in front of the eiffel tower-perfect! we just had a short walk and could leave the damn wheelchair in the apartment! the ho/ho bus goes to all the tourist spots and paris landmarks, and lets you hop off and back on all day long as you like, and it totally worked out for us.
we used it to get to the notre dame, and had a nice liesurely ride past wonderful paris while on the way. about notre dame.... it is just spectacular. really. the ancientness of it all, and of this city, just astounds me. really. we toured the ancient church on our own, i lit candles and said prayers/rosary for my great grandmom Irene, and wrote my prayers in their book to be blessed. then we headed out into the cold for a bit to eat nearby. the only snaffu was that the bus driver told us (all) the wrong time for the last bus, and we had to take a taxi back home.... still no problem... it's paris!
honestly.... although they are great, i don't want another grilled ham and cheese sandwich for a long while!
DAY 6
today was our last day here, and of course i'm wishing that we had more time. just one more week, at least. one more week and my french would be even better. one more week and juan would have a better understanding of this place, and be more comfortable here. one more week and i will have discovered a few more wonderful patisseries with amazing breads and pastries, and one more week to discover more little out of the way brasseries/cafes with incredible food. aahh, just one more week...
so here's how our last day went down...
WONDER OF ALL WONDERS!! THE SUN CAME OUT JUST FOR US!! yes, after days of coldness, wetness, dampness. we got sunshine. glorious sunshine. our last day was a beautifully clear, crisp, sun filled day with blue cloud kissed skies. oh paris, you shouldn't have!
so, we got off to an early start, for us, at around 11:30am, and hopped on the famous bus #69, which stops less than a block up from the apartment. it's famous because its route passes alot of the famous paris landmarks like the louvre and d'orsay museums, the tomb of napoleon, and it begins at the eiffel tower. it doesn't pass the arc de triomphe though, but everthing else it passes is so very good enough!
once on the bus, we headed straight for the musee d'orsay, and i must say now that after being there for hours, it is hands down my favorite museum. it houses all the greats - monet, van gough, matisse, cezzanne, renoir, and whistler. or at least great to me. honestly, i enjoyed these guys more than the mona lisa. i was touched. bitten really. by the discovery and now love of wonderful art. which i thought i had always appreciated and liked, but not this way. no.
after the d'orsay, we had lunch - our last grilled ham and cheese sandwich, thankfully, for a very long time - along with the most amazing hot chocholate, but not at the famed angelina near the louvre on rue de rivoli. we just didn't have the time. (major pout). then we headed back to the apartment in a leisurely way, back on the bus.
we hopped off the bus at rue cler, a well known street market that's not far from the apartment, and picked up dinner - a good bottle of pinot noir and a syrah, some fresh zucchini, tomatoes, bread, and croissants and juice for the morning. the last stop was at the cafe champs de mars for a couple of grilled fillet mignons and voila! dinner! off to the apartment. i whipped up a mustard vinaigrette to drizzle over the steak that i reheated, and the zucchini and tomatoes i sautaed in butter... mmmm!! then, the wine.... heaven i tell you!
that was it. our last two days in paris. we didn't get to see and do no where near as much as i would have liked to, and i'm trying hard to get over that. but what we did do, it sounds simple and small as i read it back to myself. but it really wasn't. it was spectacular.
be well :)
like i said in an earlier post, i scheduled us to take one of the "ho/ho buses" (hop on/hop off) which stops right in front of the eiffel tower-perfect! we just had a short walk and could leave the damn wheelchair in the apartment! the ho/ho bus goes to all the tourist spots and paris landmarks, and lets you hop off and back on all day long as you like, and it totally worked out for us.
we used it to get to the notre dame, and had a nice liesurely ride past wonderful paris while on the way. about notre dame.... it is just spectacular. really. the ancientness of it all, and of this city, just astounds me. really. we toured the ancient church on our own, i lit candles and said prayers/rosary for my great grandmom Irene, and wrote my prayers in their book to be blessed. then we headed out into the cold for a bit to eat nearby. the only snaffu was that the bus driver told us (all) the wrong time for the last bus, and we had to take a taxi back home.... still no problem... it's paris!
honestly.... although they are great, i don't want another grilled ham and cheese sandwich for a long while!
DAY 6
today was our last day here, and of course i'm wishing that we had more time. just one more week, at least. one more week and my french would be even better. one more week and juan would have a better understanding of this place, and be more comfortable here. one more week and i will have discovered a few more wonderful patisseries with amazing breads and pastries, and one more week to discover more little out of the way brasseries/cafes with incredible food. aahh, just one more week...
so here's how our last day went down...
WONDER OF ALL WONDERS!! THE SUN CAME OUT JUST FOR US!! yes, after days of coldness, wetness, dampness. we got sunshine. glorious sunshine. our last day was a beautifully clear, crisp, sun filled day with blue cloud kissed skies. oh paris, you shouldn't have!
so, we got off to an early start, for us, at around 11:30am, and hopped on the famous bus #69, which stops less than a block up from the apartment. it's famous because its route passes alot of the famous paris landmarks like the louvre and d'orsay museums, the tomb of napoleon, and it begins at the eiffel tower. it doesn't pass the arc de triomphe though, but everthing else it passes is so very good enough!
once on the bus, we headed straight for the musee d'orsay, and i must say now that after being there for hours, it is hands down my favorite museum. it houses all the greats - monet, van gough, matisse, cezzanne, renoir, and whistler. or at least great to me. honestly, i enjoyed these guys more than the mona lisa. i was touched. bitten really. by the discovery and now love of wonderful art. which i thought i had always appreciated and liked, but not this way. no.
after the d'orsay, we had lunch - our last grilled ham and cheese sandwich, thankfully, for a very long time - along with the most amazing hot chocholate, but not at the famed angelina near the louvre on rue de rivoli. we just didn't have the time. (major pout). then we headed back to the apartment in a leisurely way, back on the bus.
we hopped off the bus at rue cler, a well known street market that's not far from the apartment, and picked up dinner - a good bottle of pinot noir and a syrah, some fresh zucchini, tomatoes, bread, and croissants and juice for the morning. the last stop was at the cafe champs de mars for a couple of grilled fillet mignons and voila! dinner! off to the apartment. i whipped up a mustard vinaigrette to drizzle over the steak that i reheated, and the zucchini and tomatoes i sautaed in butter... mmmm!! then, the wine.... heaven i tell you!
that was it. our last two days in paris. we didn't get to see and do no where near as much as i would have liked to, and i'm trying hard to get over that. but what we did do, it sounds simple and small as i read it back to myself. but it really wasn't. it was spectacular.
be well :)
2 comments:
God, this is so amazing. I love the details you describe, I feel like I am right there with you.
oh babz!! thank you so much for those words. i really want you to feel like that. i am in no way a writer, although i secretly aspire to be one (hence the blog...)
stay tuned, i have a few more pics, and i am trying to get myself togetehr (jet lag) so that i can post some of my thoughts and observations about my trip.
be well!
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