Final Thoughts

Hello, friends. I have sort of put off this 'final thoughts' post because it represents the end of what was a fabulous vacation... Truth be told, it has been a bit hard to come back to the states. The hellacious trip home aside, I really didn't feel anything 'pulling' me back home, but that's a topic for another post back on Lisa's Yarns (maybe next week). I'm still sorting through how I feel about being back.

But here are my final, discombobulated thoughts in bullet point form:

• What will I miss about Paris? I will miss the little jars of spicy mustard that you tend to find on the tables of cafes. I will miss how much walking I did! I will miss the feeling of looking down a street of Paris and thinking - 'oh my gosh, this is so beautiful, can this be real?' I mean, you are surrounded by 13-18th century buildings that are just SO beautiful. Every street sort of took my breath away. I will miss speaking French to people - I know very little French, but I loved attempting to communicate! I will miss the delicious gallettes! I will miss all theses things and so much more!
• Traveling alone to Paris was fabulous. Would I love a fabulous person to join me in my adventures? Hell yes. But if I wait until someone fabulous comes along, I could be waiting forever. Honestly, I really was not at all lonely on this trip. And it is interesting is to compare how I felt on this trip v. my time spent alone in Paris in 2008. On that trip, I was far less comfortable dining alone - this trip, it didn't phase me one bit to sit in a cafe or restaurant alone. It's great to see how much more comfortable I've become in my own skin. The point of all this rambling is this: if you do not have someone to travel with, do not let that hold you back. Just go.
• Staying in an apartment is Europe is the way to go. Seriously. Don't waste your money in a hotel. You get much more bang for your buck renting an apartment - and you get a much more authentic experience, in my opinion!
• My goodness, Parisians know how to accessorize with a scarf. Whether you are a man or a woman, you do not leave the house without a scarf. Seriously. I wish they would hold scarf tying classes for us Americans - Parisians have it down to an art form.

Those are my final thoughts. It truly was the trip of a lifetime and the perfect way to celebrate my 30th birthday. I honestly would not change a thing - the whole week was just wonderful. I am a Francophile for life.

Please let me know if you have any questions! Wondering how I found an apartment? Curious about my favorite part of this trip? Or my favorite meal? Ask away!

I will leave you with one final photo from Paris. As I've said before, I know that the lights are not out permanently on this little blog. I will be back in Paris.

The Longest Day

I am home, but my gosh, that was THE worst day of travel in my life. Anything that could go wrong, did go wrong. Here's how my day played out, bullet-point style (warning: this is a long, ranting post):

• I left my apartment around 6 am on Sunday morning and walked to the closest metro line to take the metro to a different train line that takes you to the airport. Got there to find it was closed. The metro apparently opens late on Sunday... I should have known that this was a sign of bad things to come. Luckily that main train station I needed to get to was only about a 1.5 mile walk I think? But still - not the best start to my day.
• I got to the airport at 7:30 am and was told that my flight had just been cancelled. I was pretty much like - wtf? Turns out it was cancelled due to weather - which just totally shocked me because it had been beautiful all week while I was gone. So hearing that MSP was getting 12-15" of snow? No way!
• So I got in line to re-book my flight. They let me choose what airport I flew into, so I chose Atlanta because it is a Delta hub and I figured there would be multiple flight options to Minneapolis once I landed there. I would have preferred to fly into Chicago as that's the closest airport, but I figured they'd get hit by this same storm so I thought it was best to avoid that airport.
• Paris's airport is officially the most expensive place to spend any length of time. Case in point: I bought a coke (I was dying for caffeine and needed a serious pick-me-up). It was 5 Euro for 33 ml. So basically ~$7 for the equivalent of can of coke. I felt ridiculous spending that much on a non-alcoholic carbonated beverage. I mean, for that price, shouldn't it have at least come with a glow stick?
• Boarded my flight to Atlanta at 1 pm. Pulled away from gate. Returned to gate for medical emergency - it was a nose bleed??? So we spent an extra 1.5 hours on the plane due to that delay.
• Landed in Atlanta. Airport was utter chaos due to all the cancellations in Minneapolis. No one seemed to know what was going on. I was told by one person that my flight was still on, albeit moved to 10:30 pm. Then 2 other people told me it was cancelled? Can't you, I don't know, look that kind of thing up in a computer people? When I went to get my bag tagged, the gate agent said, "there is no way you are getting to Minneapolis tonight." Taps keys... "Ok, you are all set, you will arrive in Minneapolis at midnight."
• Boarded flight around 10 pm. Took forever to take off because they did not have enough ice? At this point I was like - I think people would rather get home than have ice in their freaking drinks! But I digress... Pulled away from gate. Returned to gate for medical emergency #2. This time - gull bladder attack. I wanted to stand up at this point and shout, "IF YOU DO NOT FEEL WELL, DO NOT GET ON A FREAKING AIRPLANE PEOPLE." I bit my tongue instead and cursed the fact that we had now spent an extra 2 hours on the plane between delayed leaving the gate and the medical emergency.
• Landed in Minneapolis at around 2 am (I think). At this point, all concept of time was lost. You could have told me it was 5 pm on a Tuesday and I wouldn't have argued with you. The exhaustion had set in.
• Now for the fun part. Collecting my bag. 3 flights from Atlanta landed at the same time, including my flight which was a 747 with 400+ people. It was as if the ground baggage people decided to play plinko with our luggage amongst 3 different carousels. It was utter chaos. I have never seen since disorder and chaos, honestly. Here is a picture.




That is all the unclaimed luggage that arrived

• My bag did not arrive. Which REALLY pissed me off because I had collected my bag after customs and it was re-tagged for Atlanta about 3-4 hours before that flight left. There is NO REASON why my bag shouldn't have been on that flight. And the Delta agent who tracked my bag didn't once utter the words, "I am sorry" or "I apologize for the inconvience."
• At this point, it was 3 am. I had pre-booked a Super Shuttle home so I headed over to that area and was told that the shuttle doesn't run at 3 am, but they would cancel my reservation and I'd be refunded in 5-10 business days. Um, I'd just like to know how they can charge my card on the very same day that I book the freaking reservation, but it take 5-10 business days to refund? Whatever.
• Got in line for the taxi. Taxi ride home was interesting because the road to main road to my condo had not been plowed so we had to take a little detour. That taxi ride cost more than my round trip shuttle would have cost me but at that point, I was like, whatever, I just need to get home.

So there you have it. At 4 am CST, I finally arrived home. After being awake for 30+ hours, I was very, very, very happy to crawl into my bed.

So a pretty epically craptastic end to what was an amazing vacation. I of course am not letting the ridiculous trip home color my thoughts on my vacation at all, though. It was amazing trip.

When everything kept going wrong, I kept thinking - this is the universe's way of telling me I am not meant to leave Paris.

I'll probably do one more 'final thoughts' post about Paris and then will shut the lights off on this blog until my next trip...

Day 8: Cafes of Paris and the Latin Quarter

Bonsoir. All good things must come to an end... this is my final blog post from Paris. How sad!

I woke up this morning to rain so skipped my run, got ready for the day, and headed out. It was quite a cold rain so I stopped for cafe creme #1 in my neighborhood before heading to the Trocadero area. It was extremely overcast so today was not the best day to see the Eiffel Tower, but oh well!

I saw it on my last trip and already have photos of it from that trip hanging on my wall at home so it's not like I needed a perfect photo of it!



I was chilled to the bone from the cold rain so stopped in at cafe #2 for my 2nd cafe creme of the day. I had planned on walking from the Eiffel Tower towards city center, but decided to hole up in the cafe and read all morning instead.

Next I headed to the Hotel de Ville area so I could do some shopping at BHV, the store I browsed in earlier this week. I tried on the coat I saw earlier this week and decided it wasn't anything I HAD to have. Instead I purchased a pink scarf - I had to buy something for myself!

Then I stopped in cafe #3 to have some fries. Healthy? Non. Delicious? Oui.

Then I headed over to the Latin Quarter for the walking tour. It was still cold and rainy but I figured if I can handle sub-zero temps, I was not going to let the rain bother me. The tour was awesome - I learned so much about this area of Paris. In case you were wondering, it is called the Latin Quarter because it is the home of Sorbonne University where Latin was the language of instruction....

I loved this area so much, I might stay in the Latin Quarter on my next trip to Paris....

After the tour, I stopped in to cafe #4 of the day. I was really cold after being out in the rain for 2+ hours, so I warmed up with a cup of soup - and read some more. I finished my 4th book today. Luckily, I have one more loaded on my nook so will have plenty of reading material for the trip home!

After attending mass at Notre Dame, I had my last gallette of the trip. Yum. It did not disappoint!



Now I am back in my apartment. I am sad that my trip has come to an end! However, returning to Paris is certainly not a question of if, it's a question of when (maybe in a couple of years?) I just really love this city; it feels like a 2nd home for me.

Thanks for following along and commenting - I've thoroughly enjoyed blogging. One downside to traveling alone is that you can't turn to someone and say - "Look - isn't that beautiful?" So instead, I came home each day and shared the beautiful sites of the day with all of you. This blog will now serve as a digital scrapbook; I know I will look back on it on days when I am really missing Paris.

So au revoir for now. My flight leaves tomorrow morning at 10:50 am - fingers crossed that I get 2 seats to myself on the way home... or a handsome, single seat mate! That's bound to happen for me some day, right? :)

I'll close with a quote from Hemingway from A Moveable Feast:

"There is never any ending to Paris and the memory of each person who has lived in it differs from that of any other. We always return to it no matter who we were or how it was changed or with what difficulties, or ease, it could be reached. Paris was always worth it and you received return for whatever you brought to it."

Day 7: Palace of Versailles

Bonsoir! I spent the bulk of today at the Palace of Versailles. The oppulence of this place just blew my mind away. King Louis the XIV spent a whole lot of money on this get away in the country (it's about 21 km outside of Paris). Here's the view of Versailles as I approached it.



It was really cool to walk through the grand apartments and see where the Kings and Queens of France lived. My favorite room was the famous "Hall of Mirrors". I loved all the chandaliers - so gorgeous!



The views of the gardens from the various apartments were great, too.



This was quite the place to live! Although, I don't know how "comfortable" it would be to live here since it's just, well, SO grand... It was interesting to see that they had billiard tables, though. I don't know nothing about the history of that sport but I guess I was surprised that it was something the royalty did?

After touring the apartments I headed outside to check out the gardens. The gardens were MASSIVE!


I would love to come back here in the spring or summer when everything is in bloom. It was fun to walk around, though, and the gardens are beautiful even during winter! It's so odd to me that everything is so green over here - back home, everything is covered in snow!


I kept thinking about how this whole area is considerably larger than the area of land that my hometown in North Dakota occupies. It seriously took me about 20-30 minutes just to walk to the middle of the gardens!

I also toured Marie Antoinette's apartment but I do not have any photos of this. I kind of got to a point where I OD'd on taking photos...

I got back to my apartment and rested a bit before heading out for dinner. Tonight I went to a place that had a set menu where you could choose an appetizer, main dish, and dessert. Interestingly, appetizers are called entrees over here. I think maybe because entree means enter, and an appetizer is how you 'enter' the meal? I don't have any pictures, but I tried something new tonight... I had rabbit for the first time. My friend Nora's mom had told me that I should try this while I was in Paris. It was actually really good! It was in a mustard sauce. I had mussels for my appetizer and creme brulee for dessert. Yum. That sounds like a lot of food, but the portions were small.

Tomorrow is my last full day in Paris. This vacation went by WAY too fast. Usually, but the end of a vacation, I am anxious to get home and return to my usual schedule. I really don't feel that way this time, though... A large part of that probably has to do with the fact that I took this week off from studying for the CFA (which has totally consumed my life) - so knowing that I have lots of studying to return to is not all that appealing...

Tomorrow my plan is to go for one final run in the mroning, head to the Eiffel Tower area, and then do a guided walking tour of the Latin Quarter. I'll cap off the day with mass at Notre Dame and one final meal out, which will probably be a gallette. Oh how I j'adore gallettes. :) They aren't gourmet or anything but that's probably my favorite thing that I've eaten here!

Au revoir - I am off to do more reading. I'm on book #4 of my vacation!

Day 6: Museums of Paris!

Bonsoir! Another day has come and gone - this vacation is going by much too fast!

I was pretty tired out from the Normandy tour so I slept in this morning and then headed out for another run along the Seine. I was feeling pretty tired but the fresh air from my run rejuvenated me! I got ready for the day and headed out to tour some museums.

My first stop was l'Orangerie. This museum is known for the beautiful displays of Monet's Water Lilies. They are beautifully displayed in a circular room.




The museum also had works of other impressionist artists, such as Cezanne, Renoir, and Matisse. I love the artwork of the impressionists - definitely my favorite type of art!

I walked back through the Tuileries towards the my next stop, the Louvre. I just love the huge parks, like the Tuileries.



As you can see, they have chairs around the pond. In the summer, children float little boats on these ponds. So cool.

Next I headed into the Louvre. Holy cannasta, it is massive. Truth be told, I only tackled one wing and one floor of the museum. It's just too overwhelmingly massive for me. I am glad that I went, though. I saw the wing of Italian artwork, including the famous Mona Lisa.

At this point, I started to get museum ADD, so I headed out and walked along the Seine towards the Latin quarter. I was craving a gallette, so I headed toward the St. Michel area to find a creperie. I really need to figure out how to make these gallettes when I get home. They are SO good. This time I had one with ham, cheese, and onions, topped with an egg and a little salad.



Yum. It tasted even better than it looks. I might need to have one more gallette before I go home... I think it might be my favorite thing to eat in Paris!!

After my late lunch, I was hoping to check out the Conciergerie, which is where prisoners were held during the Revolution - including Marie Antoinette. Unfortunately, it is closed this week. :( Bummer.

So I walked home along Rue de Rivoli and stopped at Hotel de Ville. Hotel de Ville is so beautiful! I love the carousel on the corner!


You can go ice skating in front of the Hotel de Ville right now. I opted not to, but seeing the skaters definitely makes me think of the Barrister as we went skating together in December.



I am thinking it may be a good idea to avoid this corner for the rest of my trip (I've walked by it multiple times now and run by it in the mornings) - it conjures up memories that I really don't want to think about right now...

I cleared my mind with a little window shopping in the beautiful BHV.


I came very close to purchasing some outerwear but then I remembered that I already own, um, 12+ jackets, possibly more... So I really do not need another. Amber is probably laughing as she reads this because she heard all about my outerwear obsession on our marathon road trip. I am drawn to outerwear like a moth to a flame...

After that, I stopped in at multiple Tabacs and got REALLY good at asking (in French) if they had stamps for post cards. Dear God, it is hard to find postage card stamps! I stopped at 5 different Tabacs. No luck. Finally I stumbled upon a post office and was able to purchase some! Success!

I celebrated the fact that I won't have to ask about postage stamps anymore by having a couple of glasses of wine in two different cafes and read for a bit before heading back to my apartment.

Je suis fatigué. And I am craving french fries so I might go to the cafe on the corner and have some for dinner. I swear they taste better over here - especially when dipped in mustard. Oh and the mustard tastes better over here, too!!

Tomorrow I will head to Versailles. I only have 2 days left in Paris! I honestly could spend a month in this city. Or maybe a lifetime? Ok, kidding... I can't afford to live here - and I am sure it wouldn't be as lovely if I was working each day... And I'd miss my family/friends. But seriously, this city rocks.

Day 5: Beaches of Normandy

When I booked my apartment back in June and started to sketch out an itinerary for the week, one of the first things to go on my to-do list was a tour of the Beaches of Normandy. I am so glad I did this tour - it was a very humbling experience!

The Beaches are about a 2.5 hour drive from Paris. We arrived at Caen Memorial Museum and had about an hour to walk around. Here's a picture of me in front of the museum.


The museum did a great job of explaining WWII and the events leading up to the war. Walking through the museum made me really miss my paternal grandfather. The 2nd anniversary of his death is on Monday, the 21st of February. He was a lover of history. I'm sad that I won't be able to talk to him about this experience.

The musuem had a great 17 minute film that you could watch after touring the museum. It was a split screen film - one side of the screen showed things from the perspective of the Allies landing on the beach, the other side of the screen showed things from the perspective of the Germans who were on the beach. They showed some parts of the battle, but a lot of the film focused on these young men getting ready to hit the beaches. They were so young and really did not appear to be afraid - one of the soldiers even winked at the camera.

After the film, we then had lunch at the museum. There were about 10 of us on the tour - some from Canada, some from Australia, some Americans, and then 2 Frech women. I sat at a table with the 2 Australians and 2 Americans - who happened to live in Wisconsin (one state over from where I live)! So random! It was nice to have some company at a meal for a change. I really don't mind eating alone, but it was nice to make conversation in English! The Australian couple live in Brisbane, which is only an hour from where I studied abroad, so it was fun to talk to them about the area and the various things I saw/did while in Australia.

After lunch, we headed to the coast to see the various Landing Beaches. Our first top was Pont du Hoc, which is between the Beaches of Utah and Omaha. 225 rangers scaled this 30 meter cliff. They showed footage of this on the film at the Caen museum. I can't imagine scaling this cliff - let alone while under fire.


It's difficult to tell how steep that cliff is, but I would say it is comparable to the cliff that you see in the distance of this photo.


Out of all the areas we stopped,this area showed the most damage from all the bombs from the war.


The guide emphasized that the land was smooth and level before the war, so everything you see is as a result of the bombs.

Our next stop was the Beaches of Omaha where the most lives were lost on D-Day. It's a 5 mile stretch of beach.


We landed at low tide - the guide said that this is how much sand the GI's had to run across... Again, hard to imagine running in sand, carrying as much weight as they were carrying, while they were under fire. Only 2 of the 29 Sherman tanks expected to support the troops made it to shore, so things really did not go as planned that day. The General considered abandoning the attack, but the GI's slowly but surely gained hold of the beach.

There is a war memorial there called "Les Braves".


The placard explaining the memorial reads:

The Wings of Hope So that the spirit which carried these men on June 6th, 1944 continues to inspire us, reminding us that together it is always possible to change the future.

Rise, Freedom! So that the example of those who rose against barbarity, help us remain standing strong against all forms of inhumanity.

The Wings of Fraternity So that this surge of brotherhood always reminds us of our responsibility toward others as well as ourselves. On June 6th, 1944 these men were more than soldiers, they were our brothers.

Our next stop was at the American Cemetary where approximately 9,000 US soldiers are buried. I really can't find the words to describe it so I'll let the pictures do the talking.






We made 2 final stops: Gold beach where the British attacked and set up a temporary harbor and Juno Beach where the Canadians landed.

The tour was really well done. I think if I had more time, I would have tried to spend a night in Normandy and spread it out over 2 days because it is a lot to process in one day. Plus there are a lot of small museums along the way that would be interesting to stop into if you had more time. But I am still very, very glad that I did this tour.

I was the youngest person on the tour by about 20-25 years and a couple of people asked me why I had decided to do this tour. I guess they were a little bit surprised that a person my age would be interested in the Beaches of Normandy. It makes me a little bit sad that they thought my generation was not interested in WWII.

This tour definitely makes me want to read more books about WWII. I'm looking forward to getting some book suggestions from my brother when I get home!

Evening of Day 4

Greetings! I just got back from my tour of the Landing Beaches of Normandy. It's going to take me awhile to sift through all the photos so I'll be back tomorrow with a post about that. I am definitely very, very glad I did the tour. After seeing movies like Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers, it was surreal and humbling to see the beaches in person...

When I last left off, I was getting ready for the ballet! I wanted to have dinner in my apartment before the show so decided to buy one of the rotisserie chickens I've been drooling over all week at the local butcher shop.


I bought a small chicken and resisted the urge to buy some of the potatoes since I still have the fingerling potatoes I bought at the market on Sunday...

I shredded the chicken, cut up some greens that I had bought on Sunday and topped it with avocado and tomato, and a vinagrette that I mixed up with dijon mustard, balsamic and red wine vinegar. Yum! I don't have the French knack for presentation, but here's a picture of my delicious and healthy salad!



While it is fun to eat out, I am really enjoying eating meals in my apartment. I usually eat about one meal out a day. It's a great way to save money and I do not feel like I am depriving myself since the meals I am fixing have been delicious!

After dinner, I got dressed and headed out for the ballet (terrible self-photo, ignore the running clothes on the floor!)!



I got to the Opera area a little early so I could enjoy a glass of wine before the ballet. The Opera house is so so so gorgeous. As usual, my pictures do not do it justice. I am really terrible at night photos & photos of the interiors of dark places. I have an old point & shoot camera and I never have been able to figure out the night settings! These shots give you an idea of what the place is like, though.





The ballet was beautiful. It was danced to Vivaldi's 4 Seasons, which is one of my favorite pieces. This is my first ballet since seeing the Nutcracker in college - I really, really enjoyed it and was impressed by the dancing and the music. I would definitely love to go to another ballet back in Minneapolis.

All in all, it was a wonderful night.

And I am off to bed! I had planned on going to Versailles tomorrow but I am going to wait and go on Friday as I need a slower paced day tomorrow. I bought a Paris Museum Pass so tomorrow I plan on leisurely popping in and out of some museums. A couple of you commented and convinced me to give the Louvre a try, so I will probably head there tomorrow night after dinner. It's open late on Thursdays so I figure if I go in the evening, the crowds should have thinned out by then.

Good night, everyone!

Day 4: Champs Elysees

Good afternoon, everyone, and happy Tuesday! I woke up to rain this morning so decided not to run as I'm not a huge fan of running in the rain! I wanted today to be an easy going day as I know tomorrow will be a big day since I'll be gone for about 14 hours for that Beaches of Normandy tour! So I took my time getting ready, finished book #2 of the trip (A Secret Kept which was good but not as good as Sarah's Key, the other book by the author), and headed down to the cafe on the corner for a cafe creme.


I must say, it's really nice to sit and savor my coffee for a change! At home, I am usually gulping it down on my drive to the park & ride where I catch my bus!! I sat in the cafe and started a new book - Murder in the Marais. I am not usually a mystery reader, but this book came recommended and it's set in the arondissement where I am staying, so I had to check it out!! I read the first couple of chapters and did some people watching.

Once I was caffeinated, I took the metro to Champs Elysees which is one of the most famous boulevards in the world. It's lined with upscale stores, such as Cartier and Louis Vitton, and some American-based companies like Gap and Abercrombie & Fitch. I stopped into Zara for a bit.


I think I did about 3 or 4 case studies on Zara in my MBA program, so it's fun to see the store in person after reading so much about their sucessful business practices. I saw quite a few things that I would love to own, but I decided to hold off on buying anything for now.

I continued on until I got to the end of the boulevard where you find the Arc de Triomphe. I climbed to the top of the Arc on my last trip so this time I just viewed it from afar. It was commission by Napoleon to commemorate his victories.


After that, I headed back down the other side of the street and stopped at Laduree. Laduree is a famous patisserie that is known for their Macaroons.

They had a beautiful Valentine's Day window display!


I waited in line for some macaroons and got a couple of shots of the delicious sweets that they sell.



Macaroons are made with almond flour, so they are a gluten free treat that I can enjoy! I bought 4 macaroons - raspberry, dark chocolate, vanilla, and coffee. It was hard to choose which 4 to buy!

I had some mussels and fries for lunch. I got the small 1/2 portion of mussels, which was quite a generous portion in my opinion. They were steamed in white wine and were so good!! I think I could eat mussels every day!



Now I am back in my apartment. I am going to a Ballet tonight at the Palais Garnier so I wanted some downtime in my apartment before I start getting ready for the evening!

I probably will not do a blog post tomorrow since it will be a full day for me. I have to be at the tour office at 6:45 tomorrow so it will be an early morning for me! I am really looking forward to touring the Beaches of Normandy, though.

Here's the interesting fact of the day. It turns out that Jim Morrison died in a bathtub in an apartment across the street from where I am staying! Confession: I know the name Jim Morrison but I didn't really know who he was, so I had to google him... Classic rock is just not my genre, so that's why I didn't really know who he was. I guess the circumstances of his death are a bit unknown and some people think he is still alive... He does have a grave at the famous Pere Lachaise cemetary, though!

Au revoir for now! I'm off to iron my dress that I will wear tonight!

Day 3: Happy Valentine's Day!

Bonjour & Happy Valentine's Day!! Even though I seem to be perpetually single on this holiday, I still really do love it. As a lover of all things pink, how can't I?

I started the day by going for a run along the Seine. What a beautiful place to run. I would never get sick of running next to this river! I ran to the Pont de Neuf and asked someone to take my picture. That's my first siting of the Eiffel Tower, by the way - I haven't made it that far down the Seine yet!



After my run, I had breakfast in my apartment and then took the metro to the Tuileries station. I booked my tour of the Beaches of Normandy on Wednesday and then headed to Angelina's to treat myself to some chocolate. It is Valentine's Day, afterall!

Last time I was in Paris, I wanted to go to Angelina's, which is known for its hot chocolate, but it was like 90 degrees on that trip and hot cocoa just did not sound appealing! I am glad I returned to Paris so I can try this delicassie! Yes, it is known as being a touristy location, but hello - I am a tourist!

I ordered 2 of their signature items - a hot chocolate and the mont blanc. Good thing I went for that run today. ;)

This is the richest, most decadent hot chocolate I have ever had. They bring you a little pitcher of melted chocolate and a side of home-made whipped cream. Then you mix them yourself!



Oh my gosh, it was so good! The mont blanc is GF so I had to try that as well! It's a meringue, topped with whipped cream, topped with a chestnut paste. So good!


This was a rich treat! I am not going to feel guilty about the calories because I have done so much walking, I am sure I am burning them off. I drank all of the hot chocolate but could only finish 1/2 of the mont blanc. That's a whole lot of sugar for one sitting! Angelina's is a beautiful little cafe, though, so it was a really charming place to enjoy this delicious treat!

After that, I walked through the jardin des tuileries towards the Louvre.



I have not been inside the Lourve and I don't know that I will go inside on this trip either... There are 35,000 exhibits in the Louvre and that just sounds overwhelming to me. I do better with smaller museums, like d'Orsay... I am sure I'll make it inside some day, I just don't know if I have it in me this trip! I do love the courtyard of the Louve, though!




When I took that walking tour on Saturday, the guide said that the pyramid in the courtyard is very controversial. Apparently some people think it was inappropriate to place such a modern structure in such a historical area. I personally like the juxtaposition of the new v. the old - and the pyramid is visually appealing in my opinion!

I crossed over the left bank of the Seine and walked through the St. Germain des Pres area, which is another charming area of Paris. EventuallyI came upon Pont des Arts.



For any Sex and the City fans, this is the bridge where Big tells Carrie, "you're the one". This is the bridge where lovers bring a lock, attach it to the bridge, and throw the key in the water. I read an article that said the city of Paris is not a fan of this tradition and plans to cut the locks off the bridge at some point. That article was written last May, though, and there are still locks on the bridge...



I continued walking along the Seine. I was in search of the bookstore, Shakespeare and Co! I had a generally idea of where it was and luckily, I stumbled right upon it!



This is a famous bookstore full of books written in english. Hemingway references this shop quite a bit in A Moveable Feast (which I finished yesterday, by the way). I wandered around the bookstore - which has both new and used books. They had a fantastic section on the history of Paris. I was tempted to purchase a book (multiple books, actually), but resisted as I figure my suitcase is heavy enough as is!

After wandering around the bookstore, I sat on the bench outside and gazed up on the Notre Dame - what a site to behold!! At that point, all the walking of the past couple of days seemed to catch up with me and I decided to take the metro home.

Now I am back in my cozy apartment where I plan on relaxing for the rest of the day. I'll probably have a meal of cheese, olive, and crackers and maybe some Paella tonight. I imagine the cafes will be quite crowded tonight so I think it's a good night to eat in!

So another wonderful day in Paris. I am so glad I took this trip - it's really the perfect way for me to celebrate my 30th birthday. The city is even more beautiful and enchanting that I remember it being. I know solo travel seems odd and unappealing to some, but I really am enjoying my time here on my own. I really am not the least bit lonely! So far, I've made conversations in English with someone each day. Today, I spoke to a couple from the British Columbia province of Canada - I had been to BC in October so it was fun to talk to them about that. They were probably in their 60s and were just finishing a 1 month stay in Paris! My point is - I really don't feel alone here. It's pretty easy to spot other Canadian/US travelers and I am not too shy to initiate a conversation if I feel like talking!

This morning I was thinking about how I do look forward to a day when I can share this city with a boyfriend or a husband. For now, though , I am thankful for the strength I had to walk away from relationships that were not right for me. In these last 30 years, I have learned that there are far, far worse things than being single!

Love After Love

The time will come when,
with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other's welcome,
and say, sit here. Eat.

You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you
all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.

Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,
the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.

~ Derek Walcott