"Paris is Always a Good Idea"!

Yes....at the time I write this, we are home from Paris.  I guess I was just having too much fun to write while we were there!  (Actually we had horrible wifi in our apartment, which made it virtually impossible!). 

After a crazy day of returning the car and almost missing not one...but 2 trains, we finally made it to Paris! Our apartment is fabulous...First off, after all those spiral staircases....this apartment has a TINY elevator!! WooHoo!!  It's on the 2nd floor of a beautiful building; large living room, 2 spacious bedroom, 2 modern bathrooms with GLORIOUS  (American style) showers (!), and a kitchen with all pink appliances.  We love it! (except for the unreliable wifi...but c'est la vie!).

 Our apartment is in an area we had never stayed in before...the Canal St. Martin area in the 10th arrondissement, between Gare du Nord and Place de la Republic.  It's considered a hip and romantic area, kind of an up and coming neighborhood.  The tree-lined canal actually feeds from the Seine, and has numerous bridges that cross over it.  In the evening, the shores are lined with people sitting in groups, drinking and eating picnic foods...it's really something to see.

Fun things we did during our 4 days in Paris:

We took a boat ride on the Seine...this is always such a great way to see the city!

Rebuilding at Notre Dame continues.  They were hoping to have it done in time for the Olympics next summer...but are now saying by the end of next year it will be done...fingers crossed  There is a fantastic documentary on PBS about the rebuilding effort that I highly recommend!  I found it fascinating that they are scouring the French countryside and cutting specific trees on homeowner's land...getting the identical timber to rebuild the ceiling framework - wouldn't that be exciting to know that a tree on your property was used in the rebuilding of Notre Dame?  It was also great to see so many of the teams doing the reconstruction work being led by young women!

The beautiful Pont Alexander Bridge...the gold just sparkles and shines!!

And a selfie on the Pont Neuf!

We ate lots of oysters...and some snails!

We had breakfasts at local cafes.

And we ate more oysters and washed them down with rosé!

We went to the Dior exhibit...hard to explain how lovely this exhibit is...even our gents who mostly went to this just to humor us, enjoyed it.

I could not capture the creative way the displays were done for each collection...each room was more lovely and more creative than the one before.

So many timeless and classic styles...

This hand embroidery blew my mind!

These white pieces are all hand made muslin patterns that were eventually used to make garments;  they had 2 dressmakers there actually demonstrating the hand work in making the pleats and fine seamwork on these pattern pieces.

Wowza...the colors!

The 3 story rainbow display with a spiral staircase down the middle is impossible to photograph...but it was breathtaking!

The accessories were as amazing as the garments! 

We returned to one of our favorite restaurants in the Marais for dinner:

We stopped in at the AMAZING (and super tiny) famous Barthelemy Fromagerie to pick up some tasty treats to enjoy in our apartment with wine before heading out to dinner...gotta have a bit of an "appero" hour every evening, right?  The shop keepers (all in their white lab coats) were so helpful in helping us make our selections then wrapping each bit of cheese in such a beautiful way!

We strolled through the Jardin du Luxembourg, stopping for photos at the beautiful Medici Fountain, and watched the kids play with the same sailboats in the pond that I played with as a 7 year old!

This is probably the most tranquil spot in all of Paris...the Medici Fountain!

Of course we did some sitting in the sun...I think vacation is agreeing with John...he looks pretty relaxed!

And here is proof that I sailed those same boats in 1964!

We did some strolling in parks...this is the Tuilleries.

We did a bit of shopping...hitting up the famous cookware store E.Dehillerin, but couldn't find what we were looking for.  This is France's oldest cookware store (we are talking 200 years old), and was actually the inspiration for Chuck Williams to open Williams & Sonoma in 1956.

We kept an eye on "the Iron Lady"...

We did a lot of cafe sitting...

 

We did some onion soup tasting...always on the hunt for the very best...this one at La Marine was the winner.

We visited old haunts...the first apartment we rented with our kids in 2001 at 69 Rue du Bac...and the restaurant across the street where we ate several dinners that summer...

We looked up the beautiful art nouveau style Hotel Lutecia where Babette's great-aunt lived at one point.  They were so kind there (and what a magnificent hotel!).  Babette has a clock from her great-aunt and she was looking for a bit of info about the hotel  They told her who to contact for more info on this historical item...can't wait to hear what she finds out! (And I'm told that if you have read the Gamache series by Louise Penny, this hotel plays a big part in one of the books.)

Do you know the word "flâneur"?!  It loosely means to be a "stroller", a "wanderer" although it doesn't translate exactly...we definitely spent a lot of time being flâneurs in Paris (in fact, it's one of my favorite things to do there)!  While we were being flâneurs, I had plenty of time to examine the variety of bistro chairs in the cafes we were passing.  It's easy, at first, to think they are all pretty much the same.  But when you really start looking at them, there is such variety of shapes, colors and patterns.  These chairs can cost as much as $800 each!  And next to the Eiffel Tower, they are about the most iconic Parisian item I think!  (So be a flâneur next time you are in Paris; wander until you find a cafe with chairs that speak to you, then sit and relax over a coffee or glass of wine, and watch the world go by - it's one of the best things to do in Paris!)

See...they really  are all different; each one has it's own personality!  

So pick a cafe. Any cafe. And then sit down. Relax. Take a load off. Sip something and savor it. People watch. Decide f you're hungry. Or not. Pause. Catch that French joie de vivre vibe. Give yourself permission to slow down and chill before you hit those Paris streets again.

Art work is everywhere in Paris!  We stumbled upon the Louis Vuitton store and encountered the Yaoki Kusama sculpture outside the store (along with her iconic polka dots on the store):

I kind of hate to end the blog...it means our wonderful trip is over...but I'll leave one last quote that I love here.   

"Travel changes you.  As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small.  And in return, life - and travel - leaves marks on you.  Travel isn't always pretty.  It isn't always comfortable.  Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart.  But that's ok.  The journey changes you...it should change you.  It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body.  You take something with you.  Hopefully you leave something good behind."   (Anthony Bourdain)