This morning I had to check out of my hotel. They kindly stored my bags for me so I could stay in the city a bit longer. I had a final destination in mind, as will be revealed later. I decided first to go to the Arc de Triomphe. I’ve seen it at a distance on multiple trips, but the last time I was really there was in 2008. Previously it only required to pay admission if you wanted to climb to the top. Now it apparently costs €12 just to look at it up close. Never mind.

I just wandered along the Champs-Elysée until it was time to go to my final destination. I looked in a few shops to waste time, but it’s not really my thing. Finally, it was time. Time for my final meal of the trip . Jamie suggested it. I have a very smart daughter. Ladurée, here I come.

They probably would have seated me in the lovely dining room upstairs.

Sadly I didn’t have a reservation. So they seated me downstairs in a sunroom type area. Not as elegant, but still very nice. They also had seating outside by the street, but I preferred to not hear the traffic noise.

I hadn’t eaten anything all day in preparation for this. I have a question about French cuisine, why do they put eggs on everything? I’m not a big egg eater. I chose the Chicken Caesar Salad with avocado. It wasn’t in the description, but unsurprisingly it came it’s hard boiled egg in it.

For dessert, because there must be dessert at Ladurée, I had a chocolate eclair in honor of my mom, who loved chocolate eclairs. And for my brother, Dave, who would be very upset if I left Paris without eating an eclair.

By the time I was done there and got back to the hotel to collect my luggage it was around 3:00. Today is a train strike day, and I figured my odds were better if I attempted to get to the airport before people started clogging the trains to get home from work. It went off without a hitch

Now I’m in a soulless Ibis hotel room at the airport. The best thing I can say about it is that it’s convenient, clean and it’s the best WiFi I’ve had on this entire trip. It could be worse.

Tomorrow I have an early flight to SFO. Now I’m more than ready to get home and see my family. I still plan to summarize my trip and my impressions of it, and maybe add some more photos since I’ll have good WiFi. So it’s au revoir to Paris for now. I think the odds are good that I’ll be back !

Yesterday morning I went to the Pont de Grenelle, where there is a replica of the Statue of Liberty. Pont means bridge.

The best view is from the water.

After that I decided to go to Jardin des Plantes, a botanical garden. After all the effort to go there I found it wasn’t that great. In June it should have been green with a lot of plants flowering. Many of the plants looked half dead. Not wanting to waste my time, I left.

The next stop was Montmartre. This is the highest point in Paris. On a nice clear day you can get incredible views. It was crawling with people. After taking the funicular up to Sacre Coeur I walked around Painters Corner to see if I would find a small watercolor I couldn’t live without. We buy watercolors on our trips as our souvenirs and have a gallery wall of our travels on our great room wall. We’ve bought two here on different trips. I didn’t find anything, but I did stop for a break and liquid refreshment.

I picked up a few things to take home, then had time to kill before meeting Susan for dinner. It’s her last night in Paris and we thought it would be nice to spend it together. Even though most of my time here was at the apartment we shared we really didn’t see much of each other. She chose a restaurant near Luxembourg Gardens, her absolute favorite place. I decided to go to LG and enjoy the beautiful summer day. I took a book with me that I’m trying to finish so I don’t have to take it home. I headed for the nice shady area next to the Medici Fountain. Guess who I found there! We didn’t hang out together because she just wanted to soak in her last moments there. We later walked around the park and she reminisced about her childhood spent there, and then later taking her son, Ryan, for extended trips when he was young.

She showed me an even smaller replica of the Statue of Liberty right there in Luxembourg Gardens. I never knew it was there. Next to it is a plaque describing the long friendship between France and the U.S. There’s an American Oak tree planted as a tribute to those lost on 9/11.

The small oak tree is to the right of the statue

Dinner was good.

I walked Susan back to Notre Dame, not far from her hotel. We said our goodbyes. I know she doesn’t want to leave, but is ready to go home. I feel the same.

Today is my last full day in Paris. I’ll be spending tomorrow night at an airport hotel. What to do on my last full day? Rush around and see as much as possible? Or just enjoy the beautiful day? I enjoyed the day. I went to Musée Marmottan – Monet in the morning. They have the largest collection of Monet’s anywhere. The museum is located in an old mansion. It was more crowded at opening time that I thought it would be. A large class of about 30 kids who looked to be 5-6 years old were there at the same time I was. They weren’t misbehaving, but they did act like kids, as kids do. It took some of the pleasure out of being there. I looked and looked, going around the ground level twice and upstairs twice. I only saw one Monet. What the hell? Jim and I went there in 2014. I I know they had more than one. Finally I asked someone. He instructed me to go all the way through a special exhibit and at the end I’d find stairs leading down to the Monet’s. I think signs might have been nice. When I found the Monet’s I also found the kiddos. I spent some time and then left.

Now where should I go? Hmmm…maybe I should go back to the hotel and take a nap! And that’s what I did.

I spent the rest of the afternoon at Luxembourg Gardens, hanging out by the fountain and reading. It was a nice relaxing afternoon.

Around 6:30 I started thinking about dinner. Where should I eat what will probably be my last dinner in the city on this trip? First I walked to a restaurant that Susan W. recommended. They were closed and there wasn’t a sign indicating when they would open. Strike 1. Then I walked to a place that Betty G. had recommended for their soufflés. Closed. Strike 2. Then I walked to a place someone else had recommended. I didn’t put who it was in my notes for Paris. The menu wasn’t appealing to me. Strike 3. I ended up walking to Susan R.’s favorite restaurant, Le Flore en L’Ile, on Ile Saint Louis. I was first there on her recommendation in 2016 when Jim and I took Philippe there. I was there with Susan last week, but I wasn’t up to eating. I think we ate there another night. It’s hard to remember with the days all running together. Anyway, my dinner was delicious.

Chicken Satay with Basamati rice. It wasn’t like what I normally think of as chicken satay, but it was really good.

I got crème brûlée for dessert in honor of my dad and my sister, who both loved it. Yum!

I walked back to the hotel to call it a night. I needed to completely repack in preparation of checking out of the hotel in the morning and storing my luggage there until I’m ready to go to the airport hotel. Instead I’ve spent the evening on the blog. It takes a long time on my phone, especially adding the photos. I’m sure I’ll add more pictures and information after I return home. I’ll have time to repack in the morning.

This picture was taken outside my hotel room window at a little after 10:00 p.m. tonight. It’s still so light out.

Yesterday I moved to Hotel Parc Saint Séverin, located in the Latin Quarter. This particular area is very touristy, but thankfully the hotel is on a very quiet pedestrian street just outside of the tourist zone. I was able to get into my room early. Once I dropped my luggage in the room I met up with Susan at Hotel de Ville to go explore the Canal St. Martin area. I had to cross over the bridge to Ile de la Cité, then over another bridge to Hôtel de Ville. As I got to the far side of the bridge I had to go through security. I was wanded and my purse was looked through. Their having a celebration for the 2024 Olympics, being held in Paris. Yes, 2024. The French like to celebrate and demonstrate.

The Canal St. Matin area is supposed to be the newest up and coming area and attracts hipsters. I was underwhelmed.

I needed to return the apartment key to Suzanne between 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. She texted me at about 5:30 to tell me her plans changed and I should arrive by 6:30. Yikes! I had to walk to the Maria’s, which meant crossing back by Hôtel de Ville again. I got wanded twice in the same day!

Today I woke up after sleeping over 7 hours. I haven’t slept that much in a very long time. I love this room. It’s quiet and the room has black out curtains.

My goal today was to hit the outdoor markets. I love going to markets in France. First I went to Rue Mouffetard. It was primarily fruits, veggies, cheeses, etc. I didn’t stay long.

As I walked down Rue Monge towards the river I passed the street where we stayed in 2008. I stopped at Eric Kayser for breakfast.

The next market was at Bastille. That was a good one. It had more variety.

The 3rd market I went to was the Aligre. It had two components. The largest area was primarily fruits, veggies, meats, eggs, etc. Off to the side was an area that was a flea market. As I was leaving a man stepped on the toes of my right foot. Hard. Great, my right foot hurts and my left ankle hurts. I stumbled across the Promenade Plantée. It was an elevated railroad track and is now a park, similar to the High-line in NYC. I walked it to the end (or beginning, depending how you look at it), though I didn’t start at the other end.

I limped my way back to the hotel and decided to take a nap. Even though I had a good nights sleep, I’ve been sleep deprived since I left home on the 5th. In reality it’s probably been longer than that. Today is the 24th. Yep, a nap is a good idea. I set my alarm for an hour and woke up refreshed. I wandered around the area and did some shopping.

Here are some random pictures I took:

I only have a few days left. I wonder what tomorrow will bring?

Today I went to a museum that was new to me, the Musée Jacquemart-André. It’s in an old mansion. The owners were childless and spent their years together collecting art. Now anyone who goes to their house can enjoy it too. I paid a brief visit to Parc Monceau, then headed for the big department stores. I was really in search of a place that I had the best omelette of my life in 2011. Sadly I couldn’t find it.

I took these photos in Galleries Lafayette and on their roof.

The Eiffel Tower is a mess with construction. I think they are making it more secure. I started at the Trocadéro, then took a bus to the other side of the river to get more photos. Here are a few.

Tomorrow I will be moving to a hotel in the Latin Quarter. I’m hoping they have WiFi. There’s no WiFi in this apartment and posting pictures is painfully slow. I had such a wonderful opportunity to stay in this apartment. Sadly it was not disclosed that some work would need to be done during the last part of my trip. I’m okay with moving. My only complaint, besides the lack of WiFi, is that the noise from outside is very loud, all of the time. It’s a little less between maybe 2:00-5:00. Sometimes. Even though the hotel is in a touristy area, the street it’s on is small and there isn’t much traffic. I’m hoping to get some sleep there.

This is the view out of the kitchen window in the apartment.

You can see the top of the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame. I tried to get a good photo of the Tower lit up at night, but it didn’t come out well.

This morning I went to Versailles. My goal was to avoid the over the top chateau, since I’ve been there twice, and just see the gardens and Marie Antoinette’s cute hamlet. I picked up a sandwich and headed for the palace. Me and possibly thousands of other people.

All that gold on the exterior gives you some idea of what the interior looks like.

I walked through the gardens to the Grand Canal. I sat on the grass by the water and ate my sandwich while watching the boaters. There were a lot of school groups there, with students of all ages.

I twisted my ankle on the cobblestones, but I forged on the the Petit Trianon, where I discovered I would have to pay €12 (about $14) to go in there, in order to access the Hamlet. I’ve been there before, and I know how much further the walk is. I may regret it later, but I left. I took the little train back up to the chateau, and caught the RER back to Paris.

I was tired, my ankle hurt, and I just wanted to lie down for 30 minutes. So I did just that back at the apartment. It’s impossible to sleep well because of all the exterior noise.

Today is the first day of summer. In Paris they have something called Fête De la Musique. People play music all over the city. I wandered around different neighborhoods enjoying a variety of musicians and DJ’s.

For dinner I went to a place that had been recommended to me – Breizah Cafe. They are known for their food from the Brittany region. I had a smoked salmon crepe, or as they call it in Brittany, a galette. It’s made of buckwheat. It was very good. I’m going to try to replicate it at home.

After listening to more music and walking close to 10 miles with a bum ankle I decided it was time to call it a night. If you can call it night. It’s now 10:30 p.m. and it’s dusk. Sunset was officially at 9:56 p.m., but it isn’t dark yet. It’s been a long day, literally. Happy Summer!

I had a great day. I left the apartment before 7:00 in order to be sure I would get to my train on time. I was going to Giverny!! Actually, the train goes from Gare Saint-Lazare to Vernon. From there it’s a short bus ride to Giverny, the location of Monet’s house and gardens, and the subject of many of his paintings. I tried to buy my admission ticket last night, but after an hour of frustration I gave up. Thankfully the ticket line wasn’t long. I chatted with a few people while waiting for the bus and to buy my ticket.

When I got in I headed directly to the water garden. I was hoping to beat the crowd. I didn’t succeed. I went through the water garden, flower garden, the house, and back to the water garden.

I ran into the couple I had met from Orlando and mentioned a nice restaurant I had heard about in town called Baudy. After I left Monet’s place I set off to find the restaurant. It was in a lovely outdoor setting. I should have taken a picture. Who should I see there but Terri & Ken from Orlando! They invited me to sit with them. I had a delicious lunch and glass of wine. It was a very warm day and the restaurant was nicely shaded.

We were on the same train back to Paris and sat together. I thanked them for taking in a stray. Ha!

From Gare Saint-Lazare I took the metro to meet up with Philippe and his mother. I hadn’t met her yet and was looking forward to it. He was running late, so I met him at the bar where he works, Boteco. It’s a Brazilian place. He made me a Brazilian Mojito. They also serve food kind of like tapas. His mom couldn’t make it, but we did FaceTime with her. I got to meet his “little” brother though.

It was a wonderful day!!

Yesterday afternoon I had a Paris Greeter walk scheduled with Pascal. He planned to spend approximately 4 hours showing me architecture and gardens in the 16th, an area I’m unfamiliar with. Susan decided not to go. In the morning she went her way and I went mine.

The first thing on my agenda was to get my Navigo Découverte (weekly metro/RER/bus pass) renewed. I originally got it the end of December 2008. I thought they were good for 10 years, but mine expired in July 2017. Once done, my next thing was to get train tickets for Giverny for tomorrow. First I tried an address in the Rick Steves Paris 2016 book. It was near Gare de Lyon. Unfortunately I shouldn’t have trusted an old book. But I was only 2 blocks from the apartment we rented in 2014, on maybe the cutest street in Paris. Of course I had to take a look.

When I came out of the metro to try the next place it was raining. Do I have a raincoat and umbrella? Yes. Did I have them with me? No. I ducked into the nearby Starbucks to use the toilettes and wait out the rain. When I left there to go to the SNCF boutique near the St. Paul metro stop, the rain had become a mist. When I arrived at the building there was a crowd of people waiting. It was after 10:00. After waiting 15 minutes without them opening I decided to go elsewhere for the tickets. I took 1 step and felt intense pain in my left knee. A knee I have never had a problem with. Great. I decided maybe Tuesday wouldn’t be good for Giverny. I took it fairly easy leading up to the walking tour. I even resorted to going to Five Guys on the Champs Elysée for lunch. So embarrassing…

I met Pascal for a very long walk in the 16th arrondissement. It was interesting, but too long in my opinion. Afterward I decided to go the the Eiffel Tower. It was disappointing to find the entire side by the river, or possibly more, is blocked off. Then the RER station I walked to was closed for renovations. And I walked, and walked, and walked some more. Susan texted to see if I wanted to have dinner with her at an Italian place on Ile St. Louis. I was exhausted by the time I arrived. I took a bus back to the apartment. It was a very tiring day. I walked 13 miles.

The locals enjoy hanging out along the river on a beautiful warm day.

Today (Tuesday) I went first to Marche des Enfants Rouge, the oldest covered market in Paris. There weren’t many stalls open, so I didn’t linger. I then went to Gare Saint-Lazare to buy my train ticket for tomorrow. That done, I went to Luxembourg Gardens. It is such a beautiful park, and there were many people out enjoying the nice day. Before I arrived I bought a sandwich and ate it there. I love picnics.

After hanging out in the park for awhile I just started walking. I came across a demonstration. The French like to demonstrate. This was to protest the Trump administration’s policy of forcibly taking children from their parents at the border. They were loud and passionate. It’s good to see the world is paying attention.

I went to Saint-Sulpice, a large church I hadn’t been to before. There was a flea market outside. I saw this table set up for lunch. I’m not sure if they were sellers or buyers, but the French know how to eat.

One thing we always do in Paris is we go to the pet store on the Right Bank near Pont Neuf to see the puppies and kittens. They are so cute! I also had my first crepe of the trip, so now I feel I’m officially in Paris! I wandered over to the nearby Louvre, but only to see the courtyard. I’m not sure if I will go to any museums on this trip. I think I’ve seen all that interest me. Some multiple times.

I had told myself I should take it easy after my tiring day yesterday. I went to the Monoprix near the apartment for yogurt and bananas for the rest of my breakfasts in the apartment, then decided to call it a day. I only walked 7.5 miles today and climbed the equivalent of 19 flights of stairs.

I’m so excited for tomorrow! I have to leave the apartment no later than 7:00 in the morning to catch my train. The traffic is loud outside the apartment. I hope I can fall asleep at a reasonable time. Maybe the wine I’m drinking will help.

I arrived in Paris yesterday in the early afternoon. My train came into Gare l’Est and I decided to splurge and take a taxi to the apartment. It cost less than €10, and I didn’t have to hassle with buying metro tickets, etc.

Susan was waiting for me at the apartment, located in the Marais. It’s small, as most Parisian apartments are, but it’s beautiful. There’s even a view from the kitchen window of the top of the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame. I dropped my things and then we left to meet up with my friends, Nigel and Carol, from England. They came to Paris for the day just to see me. They are so sweet. We went to a café down the street and got a bite to eat. At 4:00 we were all supposed to be at Carette at Place des Vosges to meet up with a Rick Steves forum regular. Brad lives in Virginia and has been in France for a couple of weeks. We had a nice visit.

After leaving the others, Susan and I proceeded to walk around. We eventually stopped at her favorite café on Ile St. Louis. She got dinner, but I wasn’t hungry. I settled for a glass of rosé instead. Before going back to the apartment I stopped in a little store to get yogurt and bananas for breakfast.

When we returned to the apartment the tiny old elevator wasn’t working. The apartment is on the 6th European floor. That means the 7th floor in the U.S. This picture was taken looking down before the final flight of stairs.

Sunday morning we went to Château Malmaison. Napoleon’s wife, Josephine, lived there. He was often gone because war took up much of his time. The Château is outside of Paris. We had to take metro line 1 to La Defense, then a bus to Malmaison.

Susan wanted to linger for awhile and I was ready to return to Paris. When I got off the metro I had to find a place to eat. I was hungry! After I ate I just walked and walked. Here are random pictures of things I saw today.

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I bought a bottle of wine. Looking at the rosés I saw something strange amongst the bottles of French wines. Barefoot wine? In France?

Yesterday morning Jo and I took the Flixbus to Trier. It’s less expensive and faster than the train. Trier is the oldest city in Germany, established in about 17 BC. Upon our arrival, just after noon, we walked to our hotel and checked into our room, then set off to explore. We covered a lot of ground. We walked through the Hauptmarkt, Dom St. Peter (around 350 AD), Liebfrauenkirch (1235-1260 AD), Konstantinbasilika (306-310 AD), Kurfürstliches Palais (17th/18th centuries), Palastgarten (laid out on the 17th century) and some other places. I really enjoyed walking around the town.

We went to dinner down on the Mosel River.

As we ate, outside, it began to rain. Fortunately there was an umbrella over us. By the time we finished eating we decided to walk back to the hotel and call it an early night.

Day 2 –

It was raining as we ate our breakfast. We checked out of the hotel and took a bus to the train station. We stored our bags in a locker, bought umbrellas, and away we went. Our focus was Porta Negra (2nd century AD). It was the Roman gate on the north side of Trier. It was very interesting.

We then checked out a few more things before our 1:00 walking tour.

We stopped for a snack and I tried Spaghetti Ice. It’s actually vanilla gelato (shaped like spaghetti) with strawberry sauce and white chocolate. It was tasty.

The walking tour lasted 90 minutes. We revisited some places we had been (not going inside) and learned a lot more of the history of the town.

I am now back on the Flixbus, heading back to Frankfurt. The consensus was that while the Flixbus world be okay for a shorter drive, the train is better for anything over a couple of hours.

Tomorrow…Paris!!

On Wednesday, 6/13 I arrived in Frankfurt and was met at the train station by Jo and her daughter, Bianca. We went to dinner, where I had a delicious schnitzel with green sauce, a Frankfurt specialty.

We then took a walk around the New Altstadt. It’s going to be fabulous when it’s completed in September.

I saw this in Jo’s neighborhood.

Thursday we leave for Trier.