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Final Thoughts

We had a flight back to LAX at about 3:00 in the afternoon, so we had plenty of time to get our stuff together and get to the airport. But one thing I had to do was get three more croissants for our final breakfast. I shall miss a lot of things about Paris, not the least of which are these delectable morsels from La Maison d’Isabelle.

It was very special for Diane and me to be able to show Jeannie around these two wonderful cities and some of the surrounding areas. We have been fortunate enough to get to know these towns pretty well over the years, and coming back is always a treat.

What was best? Hard to say. But the trip to the Lake District in England and the visit to Monet’s home in Giverny were pretty hard to beat.

But the real deal is that discovering new things and visiting old friends are best with those that you love. We scored big this time.

It will be nice being back home (my god, I haven’t touched a ukulele in over two weeks!). Travel is like that; it’s great leaving and great coming home. And being home will give us time to plan our next trip!

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Night or day, remarkable. As we left, I did not bid La Tour Eiffel “au revoir” (goodbye), I merely said, “à bientôt” (see you soon).

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Paris is, indeed, a beautiful city.

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From the river.

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Many house boats rent space along the Seine. I’m told that rental space is about 1,000 euros per month to park your craft here. There are some available on VRBO or Airbnb. Gotta check it out.

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The sky was magnificent from the boat.

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I love the condiment caddie stand thing. The bread all over Paris is so good. I have to take up my bread making game up a notch when I get back home.

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Very cool.

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The organ inside Saint-Eustache is, with 8,000 pipes, the largest pipe organ in France.

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Inside Saint-Eustache.

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Saint-Eustache Cathédral.

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At the LEGO store in Les Halles shopping center.

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Biggest city hall in Europe.

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We were not able to walk down that street.

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About as close as you could get. You can see the wooden supports for the flying buttresses.

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Day Fifteen: Beautiful Day For Our Last Stroll Around Paris

We arose, had our petit déjeuner (breakfast) and set out.

Our first piece of business was to take a stroll around Notre Dame, to check out the state of reconstruction going on after the devastating fire in April. As you may well expect, we were unable to get close, as the construction zone was well cordoned off. There was also a pretty substantial police presence circling the area. No shortage of machine guns here, as well.

It just breaks your heart to see this 850 year old masterpiece unable to welcome visitors to see the wonders inside. To see the magnificent flying buttresses having to be reinforced by wooden supports is just sad. What took almost 175 years to build was almost destroyed in several hours.

French President Macron wants the rebuilding to finish in 5 years to be ready for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Bishop Patrick Chauvet puts the number at 6-7 years until reopening, while experts familiar with medieval restoration maintain that these timelines are unrealistic and the work could take two decades to complete. My job, it seems, is to take could care of myself and stay healthy do I can once again experience this dear lady of Paris.

Walking north of the river, we passed through the Marais district. Long ago this was the home to much of the nobility. After the French Revolution, the nobility was out and it became a popular and active commercial area. By the 1950’s the area has become rundown, so in 1964, a restoration and rehabilitation program was enacted, turning old hotels into museums, old buildings into art galleries. The only mistake I saw was the Pompidou Center, a modern monstrosity in the center of otherwise gorgeous architecture. Today, this area is hipster heaven, with trendy restaurants and fashion houses everywhere.

On our way to our next stop, we passed by Saint-Eustache, another giant cathedral in the center of the Les Halles district of Paris. It is a youngster by Notre Dame standards at only 500 years old. Last restored in 1840, it is in dire need of work on the immense stain glass windows and frescoes. One result of the Notre Dame fire is that people are now beginning to give more attention to the other churches and cathedrals in this grand city. There are 197 churches in Paris right now, with (get ready) 37 called Notre Dame.

Hunger set in and there is no better place to have a bite than the Rue Montorgueil. This is a pedestrian street in the Saint-Denis district, lined with restaurants, cafés, bakeries, fish stores, cheese shops, wine shops, produce stands and flower shops. A wonderful place where Parisians (besides us, I saw few tourists) shop and socialize. We picked an outdoor cafe and had another delightful lunch, socializing ourselves in the sunny weather.

From here, we walked through the Passage des Panoramas, one of the covered arcades that dot the Grans Boulevards area of Paris. There are twenty of them in Paris. They house restaurants, tea shops, antique dealers, art galleries, used and Antiquarian book stores, and in the case of the one we explored, many Philatelists and Numismatist dealers (stamp and coin collectors). Very cool places.

By the time we got back to the river, the sun was beginning to set. We arrived at the Pont Saint-Michel just in time to board a tour on the Seine. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, the clouds were magnificent, and it was kinda warm, for a change. Perfect time for a boat ride. We sat up top in the open air, and were treated to a fact filled trip up and down this historical body of water. The guide was terrific. She gave the rap in French first, and then in English. It was fun trying to see how close my translating skills were.

Getting back to our apartment, we started our packing duties, getting ready for the long trip home tomorrow.

We had seen Notre Dame for the last time so as the sun set, we went out again, this time to see the other lady in town, The Iron Lady, for the last time. Every night, they light up the Eiffel Tower, and every hour, the tower sports a flickering light show. The place to view this is from the north side at the Place de Trocadero. When you climb the stairs from the metro stop, there is a large building that you must walk by that completely hides the tower from view. So when you reach the corner of the building and turn left, you see the entire thing at once, all lit up. It really takes your breath away.

We watched the light show. Jeannie, who has quite a thing for fireworks, loved it. By the time we left, the weather had changed and it was raining pretty hard. Not hard enough however, to wash the big smiles from our faces. This was a fitting end to a great vacation.

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A windy day at the outdoor cafe.